I don't have to like it because he's Black

There seems to be a misconception that Black people should support the art of other Black people, simply because they are Black.

Every time a discussion of Tyler Perry films comes up someone will say that it is horrible that Black people don’t support him because he is a Black filmmaker providing jobs for Black people in front of and behind the camera.

When Beyonce’s “Girls Who Run the World” single came out and many women (Black and White) didn’t like it I saw on many blogs people say things like Black women should support her as a Black woman instead of tearing her down.

I don’t have to support art that I don’t like from Black artists just because they are Black. That is absurd. I don’t dislike Tyler Perry films because he’s Black, I dislike them because I think they are bad films. Disliking a Beyonce song is not “another case of Black women tearing each other down,” it is a case of not liking a song because it doesn’t appeal to me.

If you are a supporter of supporting Black art then I think you do a disservice to artists if you allow them to put out product of a low quality and accept it as gold just because they are Black.

I like/dislike and critique artists from the same perspective, regardless of their color. There is no “handicap” given to them winning my opinion because they look like me.

If you are in Philly and want to support what I would say is GOOD Black art, Check out Marc Bamuthi Joseph’s “Word Becomes Flesh”

13 comments

  1. This is so true! What did MLK say? He wanted his children to "not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character." This applies here as well. We shouldn't support things just because they are somehow "related to us", but because the CONTENT of what they have to offer is GOOD. Great post!



    precious-curls.blogspot.com

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  2. @Precious H - agreed. Thanks for commenting :-)

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  3. Some people actually, genuinely like Tyler Perry. People of all races. It could be a difference in taste... He wouldn't be the #1 grossing minority in Hollywood if that were the main reason people were supporting him.

    I agree with you. Supporting bad quality makes everyone look bad.

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  4. @kiera181 - it definitely depends on taste. I don't think people ONLY support him because he's Black, plenty of people just like his stuff.

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  5. Thank you for this post. I feel the exact same with anything Asian-American that I'm "supposed" to like because it's made by "my people."

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  6. @Thu- thank YOU for the comment :-)

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  7. exactly.....all of this grading on a curve or heaping praise on someone for existing is bull. If I don't like something, I don't like it

    Vonnie
    http://www.socialitedreams.com/

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  8. Great point and agreed. Let's account for taste. Say I'm at a restaurant run by a black person, but the food isn't good. I don't have to stomach something just because someone with similar colored skin created it. My palate can't take everything and I shouldn't have to alter taste for that reason. It's silly.

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  9. @CC - OMG, that is the BEST analogy to explain how absurd that thinking is.

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  10. Wait - does that mean I'm supposed to love Lady GaGa just because we're both white?

    'Cause I can't stand her. Or Ke$ha. Just sayin'.

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  11. Great post! I respect the crafts/talents/gifts of others, but I don't have to like EVERYTHING they do.

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  12. @Shannon- You MUST like Lady Gaga, it is required of you lol. Thank for commenting!

    @MerelyMarie - Glad you liked it!

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  13. I so relate to this post! Well said and put.


    www.datfunkyfro.blogspot.com

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