Page 73 - Blackness News Today

So when we would write out a storyline, wed send that off to dr. poussaint, and that would come back with all his notes on it, and alvin poussaint was the guy that grounded us to make sure that we were always representing this black family in the best light. - in the 1980s, "the cosby show" gave a vision of blackness that was comfortable. - were here to say goodbye to lamont goldfish. - the way that it conveyed blackness specifically was often quite subtle. it was in the art that was on the wall...

The genre-defying artists latest work, "Freedom Is a Constant Struggle," is a meditation on the impact of Gullah Geechee traditions on American music.

- the way that it conveyed blackness specifically was often quite subtle. it was in the art that was on the walls. it was in the music that was being played. it was in the sweatshirts that they wore referencing a historically black college. - "cosby" doesnt come on on nbc when theyre at their height. he comes on when theyre in the dumps. - fight, fight! (upbeat music) (audience laughs) - and next thing you know, the number one show on television is an african american comedy. (laughs) (audience ...

♪ its not unusual to be loved by anyone ♪ beretta smith shomade: and so when fox comes around and says, how can we gain audience? oh, black people. so they initiate a series of shows that target an audience that had not been targeted. malcolm venable: martin lawrence is this increasingly mega popular comedian on the scene. martin lawrence: i know big bird been out of business but what the fuck is up? jacqueline coley: if you want to just compare martin and the fresh prince, martin in no way ...

>> people forget that carlton was one of the first black nerds on screen, showing that there are other ways to be black. >> its not unusual to be loved by anyone! >> so when fox comes on and says how can we gain an audience, well, black people. they initiate a series of shows that target an audience that had not been targeted. >> martin lawrence is this increasingly mega popular comedian on the screen. >> if you want to compare martin at the fresh prince, martin in no way ran away from blackness...

That was doing very well for themselves, that was upper middle class where family values in the most traditional of senses was a core of the series. - mr. cosby brought in dr. alvin poussaint to be a consultant on the show. so when we would write out a storyline, wed send that off to dr. poussaint, and that would come back with all his notes on it, and alvin poussaint was the guy that grounded us to make sure that we were always representing this black family in the best light. - in the 1980s, "...

And it completely reinvigorates the sitcom genre. - i am your father. i brought you in this world and ill take you out. (audience laughs) (soft upbeat music) - "the cosby show" absolutely created a phenomenon of must-see tv. - "the cosby show" is consider the pinnacle black sitcom. gives you a black family thats not just incredibly tight knit. - listen. lets put on some music round here. - it was also a family that was doing very well for themselves, that was upper middle class where family valu...

- he attracted a lot of people who werent fans before that night. ♪ ♪ - the 90s was a glorious moment for black television, because you saw these representations that youd never seen before. ["yo home to bel-air" by dj jazzy jeff & the fresh prince] the premise of "the fresh prince" was, this kid comes from philadelphia... - ♪ in west philadelphia, born and raised ♪ ♪ on the playground is where i spent most of my days ♪ - his mom says, "im gonna send you to live with your uncle." he ...

Queer harry, a founder and president of national birth equity collaborative. doctor julia, its so nice to have you here today on a very serious topic. why are black women suffering the most pregnancy complications and maternal deaths? >> thank you so much, katie, for having me. so we know that the united states does not value birthing people, that do not value women, and as your last segment show, there are policies in the supreme court. we have created a structure that when you add both blackne...

Wreckage down here at depths of 12,450 feet, tom. that is the reality of what they are dealing with, and as the coast guard has said time and time again, they have never had a search-and-rescue operation at these depths before, tom. >> you are right, sandra. at those depths in the ocean and beyond are the most extreme environments in the world. you have, and its hard for people to imagine unless you have been there, but its total blackness. unless they have an artificial light source and we dont...