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Is Bravo Helping Make Black Lives Matter? Kareem Abdul Jabbar Thinks So We don’t know about this one… Bravo has been dominating the reality television world and apparently even ex-NBA players have noticed. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar thinks that the network’s mostly African-American lineup are helping humanize the black lives matter movement . In a Time.com op-ed Abdul-Jabbar makes his case: A lot of people look at Bravo TV’s lineup of table-flipping, backstabbing, wig-wearing, felon-making reality shows as a clear sign of the cultural apocalypse. If people are actually watching these shows, they warn, End Times are clearly upon us. I think it’s the opposite. The unrelenting pettiness of most cast members stewed with raw chunks of desperation for fame at the cost of personal dignity may seem unappetizing at first. But the harsh truths about our society that simmer beneath the frothy surface provide a tasty and hearty diet of insight and inspiration. That’s why Bravo may be one of America’s best hopes for the elimination of racism. Really? Well Abdul-Jabbar goes on to spell out the differences between institutional and cultural racism and argues that Bravo is helping to dispel some of the mythology that propels cultural racism. Here’s more excerpts from his argument: Biases are based on fear, and fear is generally based on ignorance. We are afraid of what we don’t know. And if the information we receive about those we fear is deliberately biased, there’s no chance to defeat the bias. The way Americans overcome these cultural prejudices is to be exposed to real people of different cultures so that they can see what they all have in common. Not just the good stuff, like kindness and compassion, but the flaws and self-doubts and mistakes that all humans share. That’s where Bravo comes in. Its lineup of reality shows seems to feature more black people than any other channel except BET. I once called Andy Cohen, Bravo’s former head of development and the current producer of the Real Housewives franchise, the “Andy Warhol” of the new millennium. But his willingness to feature more blacks and members of the LGTBQ community in numerous reality shows also makes him an influential civil rights proponent. Married to Medicine follows a group of black women friends who are either doctors or married to doctors. What a relief it is to know that education and income don’t help them manage their personal conflicts any better than the rest of us. Thicker Than Water follows the Tankard family, whose wealthy patriarch, Ben Tankard, tries to impose strict religious behavior on his children that he didn’t follow in his own youth. Blood, Sweat & Heels reveals the petty feuds and deep friendships of a group of black professional women in New York City as they deal with ambition, cancer, death, and dating. The Real Housewives of Atlanta is a whirlwind of betrayal, from friends, relatives, and spouses. Add to that the aspiring musicians in The Kandi Factory and fashion snarkiness in Fashion Queens, and a large spectrum of non-inner city black culture is represented. Through these shows, the country sees black Americans as neither icons nor victims. Neither paragons nor charity cases. They’re just a bunch of warts-and-all people chasing the American Dream as hard and fast, and often as clueless, as most everyone else. So far-reaching and influential is media, that the next generation of white children raised with the cultural wallpaper of racism lining their homes will grow up seeing a broad spectrum of black lives. And those lives will now matter more. Hmmmm do you think he’s right? We were thinking something along the lines of “The Cosby Show” and/or “A Different World” probably did a lot more to help the cause than Bravo, but do you agree with his logic? Bravo/WENN

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Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Believes Bravo Reality Shows Are Helping To End Racism, Do You Agree?