To pretend otherwise is ludicrous. But it is one way, one view, one voice of many, many others. The myth of the melting pot has done much to stanch the ability to talk about race and privilege honestly, perhaps because there is so much pain and fear involved, and perhaps because the language used has been anesthetized. For all the gnashing of teeth, for all the criticisms fallen upon Mfume, for all the potential land mines that lie ahead in this critical moment in television history, I remain hopeful. I want to see something good come of all this.
Television is the most uniformly maligned of all the entertainment media.
Yet it cannot be denied that in its pervasiveness, television offers a powerful, even if less than adequate, laboratory for this discussion to begin. The stakes are actually quite a bit higher. It's about the negotiation of power, a public voice, and the shaping of a popular culture that can be as exclusive as it is inclusive. It means rattling the cage. It means questioning old assumptions and comfort levels.