First and Foremost I want to compliment Soledad O’Brien for taking on this challenge and huge commitment to try and cover the experience of being black in America. When I saw the commercial for the original Black in America my first thought was how much pressure that is to have on your shoulders. The documentary Black in America is the first of its kind, the first documentary to take a serious look at where we as blacks stand in this country and give others a realistic view of what it’s like to be “Black Like Me”. We as blacks in this country don’t get a whole lot to call our own, but when something does come around we not only want, but need it to be the best. Every time a black man or women does something nationally he or she is not representing his or herself, that individual is representing our people. When Tiger wins a major, we all win and count that as another notch under our belt. The same is true when Thurgood Marshall is appointed as the first Supreme Court Justice. One white man’s victory or defeat is his and his alone, one black man’s victory or defeat he shares with the rest of the country. All that considered, she did an amazing job.
One of the segments featured an extraordinarily motivated principal named Steve Perry whose school sends 100% of their graduates to college. Before I continue consider this, in 1993, approximately 381,000 students in grades 10 through 12 dropped out of high school. Steve Perry not only keeps his students but he sends 100% of them to college. Every single student that walks across Capital Prep’s stage is attending a four year university in the fall. This principal and the rest of the staff under him were by far the most impressive of the documentary. There were many great stories featured on Black in America 2 but the idea of sending every kid in your school to college is daunting. Every school has their knuckle head, that kid that is given all the opportunity he could ever need and just doesn’t take advantage, that kid that every teacher has tried to help and failed and is left to be a burden on his community and family. That kid doesn’t exist at Capital Prep. Why? Because the Dr. Perry takes an interest in everybody! Breonna Arnum, 17, a senior at Capital Prep, said during the documentary that Dr. Perry serves more as a father figure than principal for the majority of students. You would be hard pressed to find another principal that wakes up before dawn to pick up kids that aren’t his. I could list the proof of this man’s determination for days but my point is that he should serve as an inspiration to black men and women all over the country to not be afraid to work hard. Don’t be afraid to put in the work necessary to achieve what you want. Dr. Perry did and continues now and look what he has accomplished.
Another person who was chronicled during Black in America 2 was John Rice, who is the owner and founder of Management Leadership for Tomorrow (MLT). John Rice’s program helps minorities all over the country “break that glass ceiling”. There is a serious shortage of minorities in leadership positions, minorities who work for themselves and own their own company. Minorities who have the money to live well, give to charity, buy momma a new house, save for retirement and then some more left over. What it boils down to is MLT is about helping minorities get the jobs that will make them wealthy. You give a man a fish and he eats for a day, you teach a man to fish and he eats for a lifetime. Many professionals give fishes, John Rice is one of the few teachers we have. Instead of signing an impersonal check and leaving someone else to distribute the blessing he has taken it upon himself to train the minority CEO’s of tomorrow. Simply put, this is giving back at its best.
Overall I was impressed with Black in America 2 and if you haven’t seen it you need to. Once again, I salute Soledad O’Brien and CNN for taking on this challenge and providing this documentary of inspiration.
