Tag Archives: black in america

CNN'S BLACK In America: On Black LGBT Folks

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….yes. We weren’t there. At best, we got Phil Wilson of Black AIDS Institute, who was interviewed but was not talked about as a Black gay man, but who’s observations on HIV/AIDS were made about the whole community. Secondly, the family they profiled, the Rands, the first family had a son who was a dancer studying at Julliard who’s only appearance was in a photo wearing a purple unitard. I am not certain he’s gay, but I’m just sayin!

As usual, we were marginal, sidelines, and noticeably invisible-not to say anything of lesbians, and transgender folks, who were completely absent.

D-LIST: CNN Denies Me Entrance to 'Black in America' Screening

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I, like Kathy Griffin, am so D-LIST!!!!

Last week I received an email from my homegirl, a very smart and talented journalist and editor, that CNN was having a screening and reception for their upcoming 2-part special investigation called “Black in America“ tonight at the CNN Center in Manhattan hat they’ve been promoting the hell out of. The event, according to the email, was going to feature CNN reporter Soledad O’Brien and Time Warner Chairman, Richard D. Parsons (He’s Black!).

Well, I am Black in America! And I dabble in media work. So I figured it would be good to attend the event, and tell you all about it here. So I emailed immediately to RSVP as the email requested, as did my friend. Yesterday, she and I (as we do daily) send a flurry of gchat messages talking about what we were going to wear, who else we thought might be there, and a good networking opportunity for Educated Black People like ourselves! As of yesterday we hadn’t heard any thing when I asked her if she had gotten a response from them confirming her place. She hadn’t, and neither had I. So we assumed we were good to go. Well, NOT SO MUCH!

Under the cloak of the night, and presuming I’d be asleep (which I WAS NOT), I got an email from “CNN Screening” sent at 210AM which read coldly

“Regretfully we must decline your rsvp as we are at capacity. Thank you for your interest”

First of all, it’s RSVP-ALL CAPS. And where is the “.” after the word interest? Is this the kind of punctuation we should expect from a multi-national million dollar news organization? And what’s up with them sending it in the middle of the damn night? What if I had bought a new outfit the day before? I am so not appreciating this treatment CNN. I can’t wait to see what the series looks like. If the correspondence about it’s premier is as tacky as this, I can’t imagine what this series is gonna look like, let alone the substance. I will be SURE to write all about it when I am watching on regular cable like the rest of America.

Maybe this treatment is thematic-being responded to late, half-assed and when they think you’re not looking is definitely what is like being Black in America.