(ThyBlackMan.com) You can imagine how surprised and affected I was while watching the strong, intelligent Melissa Harris-Perry break down in tears during a recent on-air apology on MSNBC. The apology came after a week of controversy following what I would call “Black-Baby-Gate,” an incident during which Melissa and a group of poorly chosen guests decided to poke fun at Mitt Romney’s black adopted grandson, Kieran.
I’ve spoken my piece regarding how I feel about that what Harris Perry did, but I honestly didn’t think that it would come to this. Since the incident occurred, Melissa Harris-Perry has been threatened with being fired, and it almost looks like she might actually go. When black people are on television groveling and in tears, you know that there have been some uncomfortable conversations behind-the-scenes.
Here are a few direct and immediate thoughts I had about the “Black-Baby-gate” incident and Melissa Harris Perry’s tearful apology:
1) What she did was in poor taste, but she knows this. The joke was bad and if she were a white male, she’d be allowed to apologize and go on with her life.
2) Her apology was sincere, she deserves credit for that. Similar to Russell Simmons’ apology for that strange Harriet Tubman Sexx Tape (I gave my thoughts on that too), I can give both of them credit for
apologizing sincerely and without conditions. However, we all know that being sorry for something doesn’t exclude you from being punished. But there are typically differences in what people might perceive to be an appropriate punishment.
3) Melissa shouldn’t be fired for what she did. Even her biggest critics know this. But this isn’t the first time that someone has created an artificial controversy to take down a prominent African American commentator. The same thing happened to Roland Martin and Marc Lamont Hill, both of whom were fired from CNN and Fox, respectively, due to what some might call “Spontaneous political combustion.” This is where a forest fire breaks out after what might normally seem to be a tiny, insignificant statement or action. Happens to black people all the time.
4) It was sad to see the once strong and proud scholar breaking down like a school girl in front of millions of white people, using tears as a weapon to gain sympathy. I’ve known Melissa for years, and I doubt that she was half as heart broken as she appeared to be.
5) It’s ironic that Melissa Harris-Perry wasn’t nearly as bold today as she was when she publicly castrated Dr. Cornel West a few years ago on behalf of the same liberal Democratic friends who are offering her up as a sacrificial lamb right now. Maybe she can call her bosses in the White House, or have the good Rev. Al Sharpton jump to her defense? Naw, Sharpton is a sharp man (pun intended) and he knows not to board a sinking ship when he sees one.
6) I’m saddened that Melissa Harris Perry, like many other black television commentators (i.e. Don Lemon) are allowed to say whatever dastardly thing they want about black people, especially men, but are publicly flogged when they engage in a similar act of disrespect toward white people. MSNBC had no problem when she was promoting excessive baby-mamaism by acting as if it’s OK and normal for a woman to have five kids with three different men. They also said nothing when she hosted a segment telling a young black female college student that she was empowering herself by being an exotic dancer and twerking for the obscene and disrespectful rapper Juicy J. As a father, these were the segments that brought tears to my eyes.
7) Melissa’s predicament reminds you of what happens when we are overly dependent on people of other races to provide us with platforms, power and opportunity. As quickly as they gave it to you, they can also take it away. Since President Obama was elected, Melissa Harris-Perry has been used as a tool of the Democratic establishment to control the African American vote. The problem with being a tool is that once your use has expired, you’re going to be thrown out. Again, I don’t think MHP deserves to be fired for this incident, but the fact is that when you play this political game with those who don’t respect black people, you’re going to be one of the first to go.
You can watch the segment below:
[youtube XqCIUyhYg2s]
Staff Writer; Dr. Boyce Watkins
Dr. Boyce Watkins is the founder of the Your Black World Coalition. For more information, please visit http://BoyceWatkins.com.
