By Raynard Jackson
Op-Ed
NNPA Columnist
I was flipping through the TV channels last week and came across one of
Spike Lee’s best movies, School Daze. This was a 1988 film written and
directed by Lee. The movie took an inside look at some of the internal
issues that go on within the Black community—issues like dark skinned Blacks
versus light skinned Blacks; Blacks that have “good” hair versus Blacks
with “nappy” hair; Blacks from wealthy families versus Blacks from poor
families. The movie was funny and serious at the same time. I
always say that comedy is simply a funny way of being serious.
The movie’s
setting takes place on the fictional Black college campus of Mission
College. Lee’s concept for the movie was based on his experiences he had
as a student at Morehouse College, as well as his interactions with students
from Spelman College and Clark Atlanta University. Spelman and Morehouse
are predominately occupied by children of the Black elite. They are all
located in Atlanta.
The movie
received critical acclaim and was a financial success. But it created a
firestorm because the elite Blacks did not take well to criticism of their
disdain of Blacks who were not part of their clique—just ask Bill Cosby.
Though the
school in the movie was named Mission College, it was actually shot on the
campuses of Morehouse, Spelman and Clark Atlanta. But, because of the
movie’s portrayal of the Black bourgeoisie, Lee was forced to stop filming on
those campuses and was barred from being invited to speak on their campuses
after the movie was released. He was forced to complete his filming at
nearby Morris Brown College, a lesser known Black college that was not known to
have many people from wealthy backgrounds.
Not much has changed in the 25 years since the release of School
Daze. As a matter of fact, one could argue that this schism
within the Black community has gotten worse.
This view is
personified in the person of President Barak Obama. He is light skinned,
has no connection with the Black community, Ivy League educated, and seems very
uncomfortable around Blacks who are not part of the bourgeoisie.
He is more
comfortable talking about Newtown than he is Chi-town (Chicago). He hangs
with the likes of Jay-Z, Beyoncé, Alicia Keys, and Hill Harper to give him
“street cred.”
Yet, he
ignores the very issues that gave birth to the Hip-Hop nation—police brutality,
Black on Black crime, teenage pregnancy, the glorification of the drug culture,
etc.
The Blacks
that have regular access to this White House rarely, if ever, lift their voices
to address some of the needs and concerns of those who can’t afford to raise
thousands of dollars for the president.
These Blacks
have not once criticized the Obama administration’s lack of action in regards
to the issues of particular concern to the Black community. Oh, I forgot,
they don’t want to jeopardize their invitations to the White House’s Christmas
party.
These Blacks
rationalize that Obama can’t afford to be seen doing anything specifically for
Blacks for fear that Obama will be called a Black president. Well, I thought he
was the first Black president?
So, let me
make sure I understand this; it’s ok to do specific things for the Black
bourgeoisie—private invitations to the White House, rides on Air Force One,
private movie screenings at the White House, but he can’t do things
specifically to address the high unemployment rate in the Black community?
Lee’s movie
has quite an emotional, but yet powerful ending. Laurence Fishburne, one
of the main actors in the movie, awakens from his sleep (along with the rest of
the cast) and meets in the middle of the campus with his pajamas on. Then
he screams several times at the top of his voice, “W-A-K-E UP.”
Unfortunately,
under Obama, the Black bourgeoisie have yet to wake up.
Raynard Jackson is president & CEO of Raynard Jackson &
Associates, LLC., a Washington, D.C.-based public relations/government affairs
firm. He can be reached through his Web site, www.raynardjackson.com. You
can also follow him on Twitter at raynard1223.
