Opinion
Human Tragedy and Triumph
“Challenging People to Shape
a Better Future Now”
B ERNIE F OSTER
Founder/Publisher
B OBBIE D ORE F OSTER
Executive Editor
T ED B ANKS
Advertising Manager
J ERRY F OSTER
Account Executive
L ISA L OVING
News Editor
H ELEN S ILVIS
Multimedia Editor
D AVID K IDD
Graphic Designer
M ONICA J. F OSTER
Seattle Office Coordinator
J ULIE K EEFE
S USAN F RIED
Photographers
The Skanner Newspaper, established
in October 1975, is a weekly publica-
tion, published each Wednesday by
IMM Publications Inc.,
I
am always fascinated by the
impact of human emotions on
our consumer behavior –
whether those emotions are
inspired by tragedy or triumph.
Two television broadcasts made
ratings history recently, one
because of a tragedy and one
because of a triumph: the 54th
Annual Grammy Awards on CBS
and the contest between the Los
Angeles Lakers and the New York
Knicks, Feb. 10, on ESPN.
Nielsen
research
has
proven Americans love sports and
music programming. African-
Americans are typically well-rep-
resented in both. The Grammy
Awards have been a viewing
favorite. Research backs up the
common sense notion that Blacks
tend to gravitate to programming
where there are larger numbers of
people who look like us – but this
year, the number of us who
watched the Grammys was almost
off the charts (no pun intended).
The recent 54th Annual Grammy
Awards attracted nearly 40 million
viewers (39.9 million), which
made it the largest Grammy audi-
ence since 1984 and the second
largest in the history of the broad-
cast. Of those 39.9 million view-
ers, African- Americans made up
6.21 million. That means a whop-
ping 60 percent more Black folks
watched the Grammys this year
than last (3.7 million out of a total
viewership of 24.7 million in
2011).
Some people like me may tune
in to see who’s wearing what.
How fabulous will our favorites
N IELSEN
Cheryl Pearson-McNeil
be, or how outrageous? Others are
true music aficionados. While the
why for this year’s phenomenal
success of the Grammys has not
yet been officially analyzed, I sus-
pect that the tragic news of the
sudden death of beloved music
icon Whitney Houston the night
before piqued the increased inter-
est. If you were like me and my
up when they got to the Whitney
tribute. Someone from Ft. Wayne,
Ind. (my hometown) actually
alerted me when Glen Campbell’s
tribute came on. (You couldn’t
grow up in the Fort without being
inundated with his music back in
the day). So I loudly and proudly
sang along to the tribute. My son
watched me with his mouth hang-
ing open in disbelief. “Really,
mom?! Seriously, you LIKE this
country music?” (If he reacted like
this to my Glen Campbell tribute,
he does NOT want to be around
Some people like me may tune in to
see who’s wearing what
friends, we were reeling with dis-
belief. Tuning into the Grammys
seemed to offer a kind of solace
and comradery in our collective
desire to pay homage to a musical
phenomenon who was one of our
own.
Now, in the interest of full dis-
closure, the show didn’t hold my
attention for long beyond the lus-
cious LL’s prayer for “our fallen
sister” (a very nice touch). But
after his intro and having glimpsed
the outrageous outfits of Nicki
Minaj, Gaga and the sweet
acknowledgements from Alicia
Keys and Bruno Mars, I begged
my Facebook friends to wake me
when my sister, his Aunt Natal-
ie, goes berserk over Kenny
Rogers). Following Jennifer Hud-
son’s moving tribute of “I Will
Always Love You,” and after
fighting back tears, I clicked off.
On the flip side, Americans love to
cheer on an underdog, a “Rocky,”
a champion who rises from the
ashes of obscurity to achieve vic-
tory. In two words: Jeremy Lin.
It was my basketball-playing son
who turned me onto the phenome-
non that was taking place with the
undrafted 23-year old, Harvard-
educated Asian-American from
California and his fortuitous
match-up against the New Jersey
Nets. Lin has averaged 27 points
per game – launching him from
bench warmer to global superstar.
In addition to a 73 percent
increase in viewership of Knicks
games on MSG and ESPN in New
York, nationally the February 10
game between the Knicks and the
Lakers on ESPN was the most-
watched Friday night regular sea-
son NBA game on the network, so
far this season - with just over 3
million viewers.
On top of that, NM Incite (a
Nielsen McKinsey company)
reports that social media buzz has
also hit a frenzied pitch around the
world since the first February 4
game. Even the phrase “LinSani-
ty” has been coined. The online
chatter about Lin has surpassed
conversations about the Knicks,
LeBron James and Kobe Bryant
combined. Now, that’s powerful.
And so are you. Because, if you
follow these ratings stories, you
know these surges in increased
viewership are a result of people
just like you and me tuning in. It’s
great news for the networks as
well as the advertisers. Those
advertisers are dedicated to reach-
ing us – the consumers. Which
brings me to my mantra, “Knowl-
edge is power.” The power is in
your hands, and so is the remote
control.
Cheryl Pearson-McNeil is sen-
ior vice president of public affairs
and government relations for
Nielsen. For more information
and studies go to www.nielsen-
wire.com.
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Page 4 The Seattle Skanner
Faith of Our Fathers: On the Black Church
B
lack History month often
reminds me of the brutal
past we have endured as a
people. The common thread we all
share is that of a people forcibly
removed from a continent and
their respective nations. They
were brought here across the
Atlantic to serve as human chattel.
One of the biggest criticisms of the
Slave Trade was the forcible con-
version of people and the names
they were given to reflect those of
their Christian masters. The
knowledge of this heinous chapter
in our nation’s history, coupled
with the codified racism that fol-
lowed, have led some to vehe-
mently oppose the Christian faith
and label it a “White man’s reli-
gion.” That stated – I beg to differ
with the description “White man’s
religion.”
The Slave Trade had many con-
spirators of diverse religious back-
grounds, from the indigenous,
ancestral worship of warring tribes
that captured their enemies and
sold them to the merchants or kept
them for themselves, to the Arab
Muslims
who
historically
enslaved non believers and rivals
alike. Religion has always been
used to justify atrocity and one
man’s oppression of another. We
must always keep in mind that
many good Christian White people
fought and gave their lives as abo-
litionists to destroy the institution.
I believe some of our fathers
found a new faith in the journey
across the Atlantic. It was not
something their fathers would rec-
February 22, 2012
R ELEVANT N OW
Hakim Hazim
ognize or something they were
force fed by plantation owners.
They created a culture grounded in
a hope for the future and a free-
dom they would never experience
in this life. They were not earthly
minded. They looked past the
hypocrisy of their captors and
believed in the God of the Bible
based upon their own internal wit-
ness. In spite of all
tangible evidence,
the Black church
believed that God
was with them and
that he in fact died
for them. The preach-
ers insisted that those
who called upon their God would
be saved, but not by human hands,
and not necessarily in this life.
Think of the profound contrast
between modern day saints and the
rampant materialism that is taught
from the pulpits of many Black
preachers today. In the past,
Courageous believers planted
seeds of hope through their simple
instruction the wonderful music
left behind that spoke of the riches
of Christ. Stripped of all earthly
hope, they found an architect who
promised to build them a city
beyond the Jordan, and they sang
(man did they sing!) about it often.
They grabbed hold of a compas-
sionate Christ that loved them and
looked neither like their master or
themselves. He was a spirit, a fire,
a light, eternal and unchanging.
Their music identified with the
bondage of the Hebrews and they
surmised that one day their deliv-
erance would come, and if not for
them – then the generations that
would proceed from them.
I have often wondered about this
faith handed down for centuries.
The faith of our fathers is some-
thing to reacquaint ourselves with.
They were illiterate, yet spiritual
beyond description. Victims; yet,
overcomers in every sense of the
Sunday experience into the every-
day toil of a life in bondage.
In my mind’s eye I can see them
now and I hear the passionate cries
of yearning that ascended into
heaven that came be known as
gospel music. I see their torment
of soul as their family members
were tortured, raped and sold off. I
imagine the sweltering heat of the
sun during the summer and blister-
ing cold of winter and alas I hear a
prayer from the battered psyche of
a people. “Delivah us Lawd, and if
not us, our lil ones.”
That was the spirit of our
fathers. The church is not
about color, but it is about
people called out from
diverse
backgrounds
throughout the history of
the human race. Our spiri-
tual journey emerged out
of extraordinary circumstances
because God reached out to a peo-
ple, oppressed and dispersed
throughout this nation. Whereas
some ridicule the history of the
Black church by citing excessive
expression, emotionalism, shallow
theology/doctrine and the like, I
salute it and thank God for it. I
understand that it is an inseparable
part of our unique history.
I believe some of our fathers
found a new faith in the
journey across the Atlantic
word! They possessed nothing but
were rich beyond compare. Their
faith created a perseverance few
human beings would ever know. I
believe their prayers were
answered regarding many of the
opportunities Blacks have been
given today, but I believe many
remain unanswered still because
many have remained in mental
bondage.
The Black church has a rich her-
itage. Historically, it gave us was a
sense of community and belong-
ing to one another. It was a place
we could go to and seek a God
who would make Himself accessi-
ble when we called upon Him. I
think it was the closest place to
home they knew. They carried the
Hakim Hazim is the founder of
Relevant Now Consultancy and
co-founder of Freedom², a web-
based Christian think tank focused
on believers in America and other
free societies