Sharpton and The Boondocks
I think it’s safe to say that when a show outrages Al Sharpton, that show should receive more attention. Not because Al Sharpton is incensed, but because whatever the show did to induce his indignation is probably important, intelligent and worth seeing. The show in question is “The Boondocks”, based on the Aaron McGruder comic strip of the same name. The thing that is different about The Boondocks, when compared to most other comic strips and animated shows, is that the creator and the majority of the characters are black.
The thing that is great about The Boondocks is that, along with telling great stories with interesting characters (which should be any storyteller’s primary goal, in my opinion), it addresses the issue of racism in a society where there is still a pretty significant disconnect about race relations. Plus, McGruder tells these stories in a medium that is not associated with such weighty issues: comic strips and animated shows. What truly makes The Boondocks stand out for me is that the racism it addresses is not limited to “whites hate everyone”, which is that de facto standard for racism discussions, but instead talks about racism as it applies to everyone. Let’s face facts: there is still plenty of racism, and it flows alike between blacks, asians, hispanics and whites in all directions.
McGruder is also brave enough to take on the issue of personal responsibility. This can get tricky, because personal responsibilty is something not many people, regardless of race, are apt to take on these days. What The Boondocks did to anger Sharpton was to dare to resurrect the image of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. The show posited that King had woken from a coma and was disgusted to discover what had become of his civil rights movement. King uses the word “nigger” in a fiery speech that he gives and this, apparently, has pissed off Sharpton. King is also branded a terrorist sympathizer in part because of his belief in non-violent protest as a means for change, which in the post 9/11 world might seem a bit too namby pamby for many jingoistic knuckleheads.
What McGruder did was refocus attention on what Dr. King spoke for and fought for. McGruder then pointed out what a terrible irony it is that the civil rights movement has led to a culture in which blacks discriminate against themselves as much as any white person ever did. Then McGruder asked a question: what would Dr. King say if he were alive today?
Sharpton, instead of embracing the message of the show, has threatened to picket Cartoon Network’s offices if he doesn’t get an apology and a promise that the use of the word “nigger” in The Boondocks will be ended. Sharpton is showing the same foresight and intelligence that most of the world’s political leaders display: he is actually going to protest against perhaps the only network that will air a show as edgy, intelligent and (let’s face it) black as The Boondocks. What the hell is he thinking?
I may be a white guy who doesn’t understand what it means to have grown up black, but I enjoy The Boondocks because the characters are great, the stories are great and McGruder gets me thinking, sometimes out of my own “comfort zone” (which is where the best kind of thinking is done). And hey, what does any other race know about growing up white? For that matter, what does one person know about how any other person lived their life? What did MTV Diary once say? “You think you know, but you have no idea.” In the meantime, Sharpton ought to be supporting The Boondocks, not trying to tear it down.
January 26th, 2006 19:01
Sharpton is out for himself. If he was getting a cut of the Boondocks tv profits he would be glorifying the show.