A Place On ‘The Black List’

After The Washington Post ran a series of surveys and stories called "Being a Black Man" in 2006, comedian Bill Cosby lambasted the project for being too rosy. "I'm not interested in hearing that things aren't as bad as they seem," Cosby told an audience. Now, with Obamamania at a fever pitch, the black community is under a microscope (see: CNN's hotly debated "Black in America" documentary) and every examination of it invites the criticism that the view is either too dismal, or not dismal enough.

"The Black List: Volume 1," a new documentary on HBO, is bound to irk Cosby-esque pessimists. It features interviews with 22 prominent African-Americans from all walks of life: former secretary of State Colin Powell shares the frame with guitarist Slash. Interviewer Elvis Mitchell and director Timothy Greenfield-Sanders don't strive to paint a full portrait of black America (as if that would be possible). Instead, they engage with some of its most esteemed members and, in doing so, pose intriguing questions. What is the secret of black achievement? Why does being black seem to motivate some, but enervate others?

When Nobel Prize-winning author Toni Morrison speaks about how her father pushed his daughters to succeed and how being outside the white establishment freed her to create, it's evident that her success came because she's a black woman, not in spite of it. Too rosy? Perhaps, but just as real and valid as any other black experience.

© 2008