Two decades of serving as an African-American Studies Professor has placed me on the frontlines of education. It is from this position that I have witnessed a most unfortunate shift in the educational arena.

Although I have worked primarily with African-American students, I believe that the alluded to disappearance of the serious reader has occurred among non-Black student populations as well. Put simply; many students possess neither the discipline nor patience to sit down, devoid of distractions such as cell phones, and engage a book in a substantial manner. As an educator, I can attest to the fact that this shift has been in a word, disheartening.

In many ways, it is laughable that this shift has occurred at the very moment that there has been unfathomable access to information via the internet. I am sure that I am not the only professor whose lectures have been altered by the stated resistance to reading. Not only have my lectures changed but also my understanding of the worth of scholarly studies that appear in University presses and academic journals. A trusted colleague recently stated after lecturing about a recent publication he spent years researching and writing.

“Man, ain’t nobody reading this shit.”

Although most academicians would love to push back against that sentiment, we each begrudgingly realize that there is much truth in such sentiments as the average citizen will never engage such intellectualism.

It is my students shortened attention span that led me to the belief that the arrival of films and documentaries such as I Am Not Your Negro, If Beale Street Could Talk, and Birth of a Nation would provide a path for this latest generation of African-Americans to be made aware of their history and the bounty of intellectuals who have dedicated their lives to illuminating our glorious, yet stony, past.

Alas, my optimism has been dashed by a call for a boycott of the recently released Harriet. As a historian, I cringe at the thought of what I believe is our most reliable means of reaching non-readers being criticized for befuddling reasons. I can do little more than sigh as the referenced population nitpicks at Harriet for things such as:

• The appearance of a Black “slave catcher”
• The murder of a Black female character by a Black Male
• The insinuation of a romantic relationship between a slave-holding white male and Minty.
• The absence of a visual display of the brutality endemic to the system of American chattel slavery.

The voluminous criticism of Harriet by a vocal minority speaks volumes regarding their inability to differentiate between a documentary and a Hollywood film designed to be edutainment — partially educational, yet overwhelmingly entertaining. Looming even larger is the unfortunate reality that the proposed boycott threatens to abort both in-progress and yet to be “greenlighted” projects dealing with the Black experience.

As the so-called “woke” community argues among itself regarding Harriet, they fail to remember earlier criticisms regarding the dearth of Black stories on the big screen. It is a wicked circular argument that they engage in that begins with (a) the criticism of Hollywood for not placing stories of Black (s)heroes on the big screen, (b) criticism of Hollywood for placing “whitewashed” Black History on the big screen. Not even the in-depth involvement of Blacks in the creation and debut of the film silences such foolishness. I guess that it is true that you cannot satisfy everyone.  

This unwise never-ending unfruitful course of action threatens to create an insurmountable roadblock for the sharing of Black stories in the technology-driven new millennium. It is time for us to face facts, movies such as Harriet are going to be the most accessible path to expose succeeding generations of Black children to the heroic stories and tales of our people. As mentioned above, these stories appearing on the big screen are merely edutainment, emphasis on entertainment, and therefore must be supplemented with lessons from parents, teachers, and the larger community. I hope that those who have unwisely chosen to call for a boycott of Harriet will abandon that endeavor and realize that it will be the most reliable means that Black children will be introduced to this grand ancestor.

I hope that we can agree that Harriet serves as the catalyst to a conversation that would have never occurred in many homes had she never made it to the big screen. However, if foolish boycotts that serve the interests of no one in our community are successful, the recent explosion in Black cinema may come to an abrupt and most unfortunate end.

Dr. James Thomas Jones III

© Manhood, Race, and Culture, 2019

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