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Tuesday, 22 August 2006 18:55 |
 | | Roland Martin |
CHICAGO ÇƒÓ Despite living nearly all of my 37 years in Texas, Iëve never been an avid reader of Texas Monthly. Sure, itës the top-selling magazine devoted to the Lone Star State, but being a native Black Texan, itës rare that I will find a consistent number of stories about my history and culture.
In fact, only a handful of African Americans have ever made the cover, and the state has an impressive roster of prominent black Texans.
So
it was a surprise when I perused the newsstand during a flight delay at
Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport to see a headline on the August
2006 issue of the magazine, titled "T.D. Jakes, Thou Art Loosed" by
William Martin (the cover story of the issue was the 40th anniversary
of Charles Whitmanës murderous sniper spree atop the University of
Texas bell tower, a story that has been told countless times).
So I picked up
the magazine and went straight to the table of contents and read this:
"American Idol ÇƒÓ Although many people havenët heard of him, Bishop T.D.
Jakes is one of the most famous ÇƒÓ and richest ÇƒÓ preachers in the
country. Whence cometh this man?"
I was already shaking my head.
I turned to Page
122 and read the opening graph by Martin, who recounts a 1998
conversation he had with a reporter with The New York Times, who called
to inquire about Jakes. Martin professed to not know who Jakes was, and
noted that the reporter said Jakes was "not well-known among experts
who follow rising evangelists."
Now my blood is boiling.
He then admitted
that despite Jakes adorning the cover of Time magazine twice ǃÓ
amazingly, he hasnët been on the cover of Texas Monthly ÇƒÓ many "Anglos"
have never heard of him, probably only seeing him as another prominent
"black preacher."
Letës just cut
to the chase: It bothers me intensely that, as a black man in America,
Iëm expected to know prominent white folks, yet when it comes to my
people, whites have absolutely no clue.
Donët think that
Iëm calling Martin or the Times reporter a racist. Iëm not. Itës just
that by 1998, Jakes was pastoring a massive church in Dallas, was seen
on the Trinity Broadcasting Network by millions, was packing out arenas
across the nation and had national best-selling books, but for two
prominent white reporters, he was an unknown commodity, a nobody.
But in the course of my career, I have seen this countless times.
When the singer
Selena was shot and killed, there were no plans by my paper at the
time, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, to send any reporters down to cover
the story. But after pressing a white editor to consult with our
Hispanic staffers, he got religion and made the call.
Thank goodness.
Only 70,000 people showed up at a memorial service the next day. That
was followed by a massive service at the Forum in Los Angeles, and
People magazine put out a special edition.
When the singer
Aaliyah was killed in a plane crash in 2002, the New York Postës Rod
Dreher wrote a pathetic column questioning her music, even suggesting
that she wasnët worth the horse-drawn carriage her family planned to
use for her funeral because traffic would have to be diverted. I
slammed him on the Web site I ran, BlackAmericaWeb.com, and tried to
explain to the world that she was a figure beloved by millions.
The point is
that there are individuals who are doing remarkable things in this
world, yet itës insensitive for us to dismiss them just because we
donët know them. Sure, I didnët know about Selena, but at least I made
the effort to understand her background and why her story would be
important to tell.
I live in two
worlds ÇƒÓ one black, one white. I have to know who Garth Brooks, Paris
Hilton and the Backstreet Boys are, but if you ask the average white
cat who Frankie Beverly and Maze is, they will give you a big, "huh?"
The only blacks they may "know" of are Michael Jordan or Oprah, who
have long since graduated from blackdom and are safely ensconced in
mainstream America.
See, black folks
must achieve "cross-over" status in order to "make it big," which
simply means that white folks know and accept them. Otherwise, they are
nothing more than a high-profile person trapped in a "black world."
As whites become
the minority in America, my suggestion to you is to leave your safe
world and venture into the unknown. Learn about people you know nothing
about. Experience a world that is foreign to you.
If weëre the great melting pot as we tell everyone, then letës act like it.
ï
Roland S. Martin, editor of The Chicago Defender newspaper, is author of "Speak, Brother! A Black Manës View of America."
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