Thursday, July 23, 2015

On Bland and Cosby

On Sandra Bland
From what I can tell, Sandra Bland's crime was having an attitude, for not knowing her place.

One thing's for sure - I'm going make sure my door is locked next time I'm pulled over.

You know there's something wrong when a law abiding citizen is afraid of being pulled over for a broken headlight.


On Bill Cosby
The pain of it is, he was such an influential man, so integral to the fabric of our entertainment landscape.

Did you know he was the first African-American to win an Emmy, for I Spy? A TV show that featured him as an equal to Robert Culp?

Did you know that before he demanded otherwise, white stuntmen would do their jobs in blackface when stunting for a black actor?

He is part of the pantheon of great comedians; many who were influenced by Pryor were equally influenced by Cosby's storytelling.

The Cosby Show put me on TV. As a middle class black girl, I saw my family and aspects of my world in the show. All of the other black family shows used 'the ghetto' as a reference point. I cannot overstate the importance of seeing yourself reflected in the mass media. In retrospect, I felt a little less different and alone because of it.

And after A Different World, what was the next show to focus on life in college?

Disheartening is too soft a term.

How could one who helped pave the way be so horrifyingly insecure?

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