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Recent Comments
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Date: August 17th, 2009
Name: Clarencio
Subject: D.L. Hughley as the new Step-in-Fetch-it
Comment: Yes. yes. I just came across this article in the wake of my brother's death. He was in your face and told the truth. Like it needed and still needs to be told! Its a challenge to all people to do the right thing but especially to Africans be it hyphened with American, Asian, European,... Its the same. Hold your head up high and be proud. Nappy hair is hair the same as straight, wavey, or curley. There is no shame in that.
Iskandar Langalibalele died on 8.9.2009. He never gave up.
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Date: December 7th, 2008
Name: Mr. Brown
Subject: DL Hughley
Comment: DL is funny Doc got a problem. I guess you didn't think the Hughleys were funny.
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Date: November 24th, 2008
Name: Dr. Pilgrim-Graham
Subject: psychology
Comment: I originally received this e-mail from my father; and just reread it. Still relevant. Excellent job. However, one point: you implied in the article that CNN's intent in airing DL's show just before such a significant election served to send a message to African Americans to remain in the box as stereotypic entertainers who make whies laugh ... However, I believe CNN had a VERY different message.
For example, by the timing of DL's show's premier, I think CNN was sending a warning to WHITE....
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Date: November 24th, 2008
Name: Daetwan Williams
Subject: DL Hughley
Comment: I guess I get the opportunity to play the Bill O'Reilly to your (and most of your commentors) Keith Olbermann. First and foremost, it must be realized the D.L. Hughley is a comedian not a news reporter. He is the same type of comedian as Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert, hosts of The Daily Show and The Colbert Report, respectively. Additionaly, CNN is a news network, but it is also in the business of ratings. Ratings keep networks alive. CNN has steadily watch the ratings of shows like the Daily Show .....
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Date: November 20th, 2008
Name: Patricia G
Subject: D L Hughley You shoulld be ashamed of yourself...
Comment: I agree with every single word Dr. Watkins. It is shocking that CNN even thought this was acceptable. Amazing. Pimps? Uneducated? I never will understand why he is around anyway. He is not funny. Does not even make me smile. I was shocked when he was considered a King of Comedy. Who is his audience? Can someone please tell me? Everyone I speak with do not find him funny at all. And yet he has had a sit com (not funny), numerous programs...is the pool for black talent that shallow?
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Date: November 9th, 2008
Name: Linda
Subject: DL and CNN
Comment: I am an avid CNN watcher. I enjoy the diverse reporting, however scant it may be. But I miust concur, being a fan of DL Hugley and then seeing him on CNN giving a comedic take on the news is hard to watch. I have yet to be able to sit through a show I just flip the channel. At first I figured that that DL was going to talk to politicians and bring in the laughs as Chris Rock did in the past, but that was not the case. I wonder if his attempt at comediy at the expense of African Americans....
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Date: November 8th, 2008
Name: jazlynn
Subject: DL Hughley
Comment: I loved the article and I totally agree....DL and whole lot of other black entertainers (most rappers) is a coon! We are extremely intelligent people and it's time we show the rest of the world what we are capable of. I love the fact that we as black people are different from the rest of the world but at the same time we need to do better. I also agree with whoever pointed out that DL is a grown man nobody made him do anything. CNN is not to blame ....
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Date: November 2nd, 2008
Name: Sadonea
Subject: DL Hughley
Comment: I am very disappointed with CNN's decision to add a comedy show to their schedule hosted by DL Hughley.
DL Hughley does not represent the African American's view, humor or expression on any topic and CNN should have made a statement before airing the show reflecting that.
This is not a show that is beneficial to the public on any level. I will not watch it and I feel that this comedy show was aired for political reasons. I fear that this comedy show was not a very wise investment
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Date: November 1st, 2008
Name: JOANNA COLEMAN
Subject: CNN/DL HUGHLEY NEW SHOW
Comment: DL HUGHLEY HAS LOST MY RESPECT...DID HE FORGET WHO PUT HIM THE INCOME BRACKET THAT HE IS IN...THE BLACKS THAT HE IS HURTING AS WELL AS SENATOR OBAMA...PAID TO SEE HIS JOKES..BUT NOW HE IS THE JOKE..EVEN LESS THE MODERN DAY BLACK SAMBO! I HATE HIS NEW SHOW..WHAT A SELL OUT!
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Date: November 1st, 2008
Name: Deborah Thigpen
Subject: DL Hughley
Comment: I think that you need a reality check, some where you have forgotten where you came from and the people that have worked so hard before you to make it possible for you to be where you are today. Sometimes we have to really think about what we will really do for a job, if you feel that you have to continue to be little African Americans,or any other race then shame on you. This is a serious election not only because of Obama, but the choice that McCain has made for his running mate Palin
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Date: October 31st, 2008
Name: Iskandar Langalibalele
Subject: DL Hughley
Comment: Your commentary hit it on the head. The genocidal culture wars against the black community continue to be waged across america in every possible venue. This is the result of a steady onslaught to redefine our colonized society since the revolutionary period of the Sixties. Our ability to claim our dignity and delink from Imperialism and the racist class struggle that it imposes upon us, while at the same time strengthening ties with our Motherland and the Caribbean continues to be compromised....
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Date: October 30th, 2008
Name: D. A. Bernard
Subject: DL Hughley's Def (and Dumb) Comedy Jam on CNN
Comment: Dr. Watkins is on point in this commentary. I watched the program in horror at the spectable Hughley made of this historic moment. Obama has run an admirable campaign - one to be held as the standard of greatness for generations to come. CNN and Hughley made a gross miscalculation with Break the News. In fact, someone should be fired for allowing this program to go on and Hughley should perhaps look into becoming a social commentator because a comedian he is not.
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Date: October 29th, 2008
Name: H. Lewis Smith
Subject: Don't Blame Corporate America For Hughley's Idiocy And Buffoonery
Comment: Though I fully support Dr. Watkins' efforts in wanting to hold CNN accountable for its actions I am at the same time deeply disturbed with the prospect of a "state of mind" that too often prevails over issues of this sort. In efforts to hold corporate America accountable for any of its actions displaying Black America in a negative and/or buffoonery imagery there seems to always exist a psychological pattern of a policy or practice based on or characteristic of paternalism emulating from the Black community.
D.L. Hughley is not a minor, he is supposed to be man, no one twisted his arm to go along with this charade. So why isn't he being held accountable as well? Corporate America is not the parents of the D.L. Hughely's of Black America. Far too often in matters of this genre Black people are all too willing and eager to re-admit into Black America to the asylum of pimps, thugs, criminals and buffoons who are co-conspirators with corporate America. As a consequence they don't even get as much as a slap on the wrist. Instead we pursue a paternalistic policy of holding corporate America solely responsible.
So yes, by all means, CNN needs to know and understand that repercussions can and will come about when Black America's image is being tinkered with, but that same message needs to be sent to any and all black participants as well. Otherwise, the only thing that is being accomplished here is the spinning of wheels in the sand.
H. Lewis Smith
Founder/CEO
United Voices for a Common Cause
http://www.theunitedvoices.com
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Date: October 29th, 2008
Name: Afi G. Osakwe
Subject: Response to DL Hughley’s Def (and Dumb) Comedy Jam on CNN
Comment: I am a Black man. I am not inspired by DL, Obama's candidacy, or the Black Bourgeosie's interpretation of what is acceptable to White America or themselves.
Let those who have not allowed themselves, and thus a collective politico-economic identity to be co-opted for the last 50 years, continue to throw stones. Once your're deemed acceptable to the racist infrastructure of this country, then you are no longer a threat. That being, you can be hired, contracted, elected and hob-nob with them....
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DL Hughley’s Def (and Dumb) Comedy Jam on CNN |
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By Boyce Watkins
October 29th, 2008
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D.L. Hughley as the new Step-in-Fetch-it |
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[Election 2008]
I continue to be irritated by Fox News, which is why I don’t watch it. We know clear racism when we see it, and it should not be legitimized by our viewership.
However, I’ve always given CNN a pass. I’ve overlooked the fact that nearly every financial analyst on the network is a White male, since that tends to be the norm in almost every academic department in America. I could almost overlook the atrocious spectacle called “Black in America”, which presented African Americans to the world as pathetic lab rats to be studied and pitied. When it came to CNN, I presumed that they are simply victims of the same institutionalized racism which plagues nearly every other corporation, university and media outlet in our country. I don’t get mad at every racist I see, since I truly, and perhaps naively, believe that most Americans strive to be good people.
But the new CNN show, “DL Hughley Breaks the News” was something I simply cannot forgive.
In Hughley’s new show, he attempts to add a comedic spin to the presidential election with “commentary” by characters such as “Freddie Mac”, a pimp who apparently caused the financial crisis. In the interview with Freddie Mac, the pimp makes typical pimp-like comments such as “bitch betta have my money”, and “pimps up, hoes down” in reference to the 2008 Presidential election. There are also segments which explain that President Obama’s healthcare plan would include “gold grills for everyone”, along with other equally tasteless jokes that have no place on an allegedly “mainstream” news network just a few days before one of the most significant elections in American history.
Nearly every joke on Hughley’s show came back to some generalized stereotype, reminding us that African Americans are seen as relatively trifling “social critters” and not much of anything else. My good friend Roland Martin at CNN has never received the same respect as political caricatures like Nancy Grace and Glenn Beck. So, the most degrading thing CNN can do is to finally give an African American a show after he agrees to turn the stellar Obama presidential campaign into a minstrel show. I am not sure if Flavor Flav or Juan Williams (the educated version of Flavor Flav) could have done a better job.
I have to say that DL Hughley lost my respect 2 years ago during the Don Imus debacle. After working hard on the phone with Rev. Jackson and Rev. Sharpton to construct a plan to challenge Imus’ corporate sponsors, I was saddened to watch DL use this situation as an opportunity to say things that no self-respecting Black public figure would say. On the Jay Leno show, I dropped my face to the floor when I heard Hughley say, “Yes, those women really WERE a pack of nappy headed hoes!” I could not understand why Hughley could not simply make the appearance as a comedian citing the quality of his work, rather than a Black man agreeing to engage in the degradation of Black women for the enjoyment of a predominantly white audience.
At that point, I decided that when DL Hughley is on a show, I will not watch him. I can understand the grit and grind of getting ahead, but getting ahead at all costs makes you a professional garden tool. Perhaps the show’s resident pimp, Freddie Mac could use DL as one of his employees. The idea that this seasoned comedian would leverage his Blackness in such a degrading way simply makes me wonder why he never developed greater range as a performer. His laughs always go back to the same old unintelligent place, like the little kid on the school bus who memorizes 800 “ya mama” jokes and recites them one by one to keep the other kids laughing. Just when Obama taught us all to step outside the box, CNN and DL Hughley have reminded us to stay inside the socio-political ghetto.
The audience members are not laughing WITH you DL, they are laugh AT YOU.
I make these comments as a Black man, which I’ve been for quite a while now. I am a loyal fan of Katt Williams, Chris Rock, Dave Chapelle, Richard Pryor, Wanda Sykes, Eddie Murphy and other cutting edge and incredibly talented comedians. I don’t wear my “Black Panther Hat” everywhere I go, and I have as many guilty pleasures as anyone when it comes to laughing about things that might be considered offensive. I also say this as a moderate fan of Def Comedy Jam, most forms of hip hop and nearly everything else that reflects the beauty and diversity of being Black in our great nation. But the truth of the matter is that there must be a point where the line is drawn, like realizing that you don’t put a porn shop inside a church or bring a gun to a baby shower.
It is amazing that CNN would sign off on this show right before such an historic and politically sacred event, sending a clear message to African Americans that the only way to get their attention is to “be really black and make us laugh”. This once again underscores the necessity for more black-owned media outlets. Perhaps if there were a greater diversity of Black-owned media in America, we would not have to sell each other out for our moment in the sun. Until that time, I’ll be getting most of my news from the Internet.
Congratulations DL, it appears that your show will be a smash hit. You’ve become America’s favorite nappy headed hoe. I really hope it was worth it.
www.BoyceWatkins.com
Dr. Boyce Watkins is a Finance Professor at Syracuse University and author of "What if George Bush were a Black Man?" For more information, please visit www.BoyceWatkins.com.
Watkins will be on NPR this Friday morning at 9:15 am. He'll also be on Hot 97 in NYC Sunday night at 9 PM with Marc Lamont Hill discussing Obama's candidacy. If you would like to join Dr. Watkin's list for financial advice during these tough economic times, please click here.
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