Another Blackout after Bush’s Iraq speech

I’m flipping between MSNBC, CNN, FOX, CBS, ABC and NBC and surveying the array of voices offering their views on President Bush’s new Iraq plan. Besides Sen. Barack Obama,did anyone see ANY Black folks commenting?

I’m watching Sen. Mitch McConnell, Patrick Buchanan, Lawrence O’Donnell, Joe Klein, Andrew Sullivan, David Gergen, Gov. Tom Vilsack, Ariana Huffington, Michael Crowley, Oliver North, and the list goes on and on. When was the last time you saw ONE Black general or military expert share their views on the war in Iraq or the war in terror? I didn’t see it Wednesday night! Is there one TV network that has an African American on staff as a military expert, and if so, who is he/she and which network?

Is it possible that ANY Black writers, columnists, bloggers, political consultants or analysts had ANYTHING to say about the president’s speech?

Thank goodness CNN has Suzanne Malveaux. The White House correspondent put together the main piece on the president’s piece. I don’t think there was a single African American reporter who filed a piece on the other networks.

Hey, I’ve done the cable TV appearance thing a number of times over the last four years, and there are a number of us who can do the job – well. My goodness, does anyone understand the message that it sends to the American people – and the world! – when we only see a sea of white faces commenting on such a monumental speech? I can guarantee you that many of the folks securing guests never even bothered to step back and say, “Hmmm. Do you think we are getting a good cross section of viewpoints offering their analysis?”

Just the other day as we determined who would go on the front page of the Chicago Defender’s “The Year in Black” issue, I immediately saw too few women on the cover and made the call to add a couple of additional faces.

Now, I’m going to have to turn on NPR’s News and Notes in the AM – I’ll have to listen online or on my podcast since it doesn’t air in Chicago – to guarantee that I will hear several African Americans offering their perspective.

But we see this all the time. When former President Gerald Ford died, the first thing I did was wonder if he had any African Americans in his cabinet. I went to Google and found William T. Coleman. The next day I made a bunch of calls and found him and had him on my radio show on WVON-AM/1690 in Chicago. I doubt he was interviewed by any cable network on his thoughts of working with the president (He was stunned when my producer, Geneen “The Debutante” Harston, called!).

Richard Prince had a piece in his “Journal-isms” column on Ricardo Thomas, who was one of the first Black White House photographers. The Detroit News chronicled his job taking photos of Ford on their sie, and it was fascinating! It would have been nice to hear his voice among the many when Ford died.

We’ve got to do better, and not just keep accepting the status quo. Don’t just call the brothers and sisters when it’s a minority story. Our people can speak on a multitude of issues beyond race, and not allowing them to do so in times such as this only locks us out even further.

Maybe things will be better the day after the speech. But the tone is always set in the first 24 hours. Bottom line? We were absent from the party because we weren’t invited. Again.

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