Common, Controversy and Coverage

About a week ago Fox News started a "Common Controversy" about whether the Chicago-based poet and rapper should have been invited to a White House poetry reading by the First Lady.

Claims surfaced that Common's lyrics promote cop killing, misogyny, and prejudice against interracial relationships. Karl Rove told the Associated Press that the White House's decision to feature Common and his work in the program "speaks volumes about President Obama and the White House staff." Apparently Mr. and Mrs. Obama were either supporting racism, misogyny and prejudice by inviting Common to perform or were letting racial affiliation cloud their better judgment and ability to lead because everyone involved is black.

As I see it there are three problems with the "Common Controversy." The first problem is context. The snippets that we're hearing of lyrics from Common's songs, especially the 2007 song "A Song for Assata," aren't quoted in their entirety. What we don't get is the end of the story, where, as Jon Stewart points out, Common promotes peace by calling for an end to the violent picture he paints in the song. Also ignored is our nation's history of racial profiling and police brutality that affects people of color.

The second problem is a dangerous mix of "post-racialism" with "laissez-faire racism." Translation: the idea that we live in an era where race and racism are dead relies on subtle and often unspoken anti-black stereotypes that actually justify or legitimate political inaction. Because mainstream press labels ours a "post-racial" era it becomes easy to frame Common as someone who can't stop speaking about or let go of the past and its racism. That's why he and his words appear violent, angry and bitter (when taken out of context). That's also why it becomes easy to associate Common with other highly criticized outspoken Americans like Jeremiah Wright, Bill Ayers and Jill Scott. Like Common, Scott came under fire for addressing historical race relations and the internal "wince" she experienced regarding interracial marriage.

The third problem is perspective. By overplaying black-white racial dynamics the press winds up underreporting other demographics, particularly Native American, Pan-Asian, Pan-Hispanic, mixed race, and new immigrant communities. What's more is that the public's gaze is shifted away from more important events that deserve prime time news coverage. For instance, our ongoing involvement in three wars, reports of Libyan troops' Viagra fueled gang-rapes, investigating why more black men are in prison today than were enslaved in 1850, increasing budget cuts to education and, on a more positive note, celebrating civil rights accomplishments of the Freedom Riders.

At the end of the day the Common Controversy is exactly that ... common. It's the same old uncritical media hype dressed up in newer, cooler clothes. If the hype goes unchallenged then a large number of news consumers may actually believe these inflated interpretations of otherwise ordinary events. And, they may ignore uncommon and extraordinary events that actually affect their lives.

In a world that is at once more connected by communication technology and more fragmented by historical differences, the consequences of media-driven controversies are more profound, and the opportunities for reconciliation and honest deliberation may be smaller than ever before. That is, unless we do something about it.

 

Follow Marcia Dawkins on Twitter: www.twitter.com/drdawkins09

Comments

[Demetrios423]

06:50 AM on 05/19/2011

He has the right to say it. They have the right to invite him. We have the right to not like it. What is the problem?

[mama1974]

12:59 PM on 05/18/2011

If you're not checking voting records you're voting blind. You cannot get a clearer sense of who your canidate is or will be supporting with their votes just by what they say. The political scene has become muddied by misinformation, "misspeaking", out-of-context sound bytes, flip flopping, "spin", and unsubstantiated claims.

[wmnorton]

11:49 AM on 05/18/2011

The Republicans are great at creating fake controversies. They do it to change the subject. The subject they had to change was that the Republicans were going to kill Medicare. and replace it temporarily with vouchers that would not even pay for seniors insurance today. Don't be distracted the Republicans have always wanted to kill Social Security and Medicare. The REPUBLICANS created a big National Debt, ON PURPOSE so they could use it as an excuse to KILL SOCIAL SECURITY AND MEDICARE. When the Ryan Budget showed the country that that was what they will do. and the people became incensed, they had to find some way to change the subject.

[Dandelion28]

10:44 AM on 05/18/2011

Excellent post. But Bill Ayers is African American?

[jumpinjohn011]

11:16 PM on 05/19/2011

Bill Ayers is white as is his wife Bernadette.

[alpina]

04:42 AM on 05/18/2011

"more black men are in prison today than were enslaved in 1850." I'm pretty sure slaves would be outraged by this comparison.

[Rogan]

08:30 AM on 05/18/2011

Have you ever been in prison? Just curious, as to whether you know a thing about what you're talking about...

[alpina]

08:43 PM on 05/18/2011

Have you ever been a slave? Just curious as to whether you know a thing about what you're talking about....Its ridiculous to think that only experiential knowledge is valid.

[wmnorton]

11:31 AM on 05/18/2011

No, I'm pretty sure they would think your uninformed. "In prison" is just another form of enslavement, that for some they may outlive. What we should be talking about is that we are holding more people in prison than all the rest of the world. And since there are so many "prisons for profit", are we doing what our society can sustain?

[alpina]

08:46 PM on 05/18/2011

First, it's (you're) not (your) uninformed (wow, irony alert there). 2ndly, the people who are in prison did something to get there. Slaves I'm assuming did not. A distinction that makes ALL the difference.

[SimplySpeaks]

01:04 AM on 05/18/2011

Very insightful! If our media continues to play puppeteer to the racist and derogatory ploys that have always made us dance we will never free ourselves from the continual perpetuation and blatant falsehoods broadcast throughout this nation. The fact that Common was singled out from the hundreds if not thousands of guests regularly invited to the White House should reflect the sense that the media is stuck in the era of sensationalism, stereotyping and biased journalism. The trickle down effect of such tactics just further divides the country pitting the ignorant against the uninformed, the educated against the extremist. In a society that places little value on academic achievement and advancement, the least we can do is hold our media accountable to higher standards of journalism and reporting.

[jumpinjohn011]

11:57 PM on 05/17/2011

Common visited convicted cop killer Assata in Cuba where she fled to after being convicted. He also supports another cop killer Mumia Abu Jamal. See the common thread. As a man of color I've never been in jail because I never committed a crime. Everyone in jails innocent - Just ask them! Do the crime and do the time. Jeremiah Wright preaches" Black" Liberation Theology; not just theology. Bill Ayers is a terrorist who blew things up. And Jill Scott was getting criticized by Blacks for inter-racial marriage. No hype just facts.

[itsmeinks]

12:45 AM on 05/18/2011

Well Said jumpinjohn011!

[Draekia]

12:48 AM on 05/18/2011

Watch the O'Reilley/Stewart videos and you'll get some idea of why this "controversy" was blown out of proportion.