Tony Brown's Journal; 525; Black Soap

one We'll marry find happiness in central city. We've always asked that question about the white people on soap operas and the fictional events in their lives. But daytime dramas are adding a new dimension of American life. Now you can ask about Jesse's problems in Pine Valley, Deedy Bannister's in Monticello, and Henrietta's affair with that handsome Ed Harding in Bay City. Of course, they're all black. Will blacks find happiness in soaps? I'm Tony Brown. In a moment, black soap. This four-part series examines the historic treatment of Afro-Americans in the white-controlled

commercial TV industry. One, blacks in white TV traced the image of blacks from the early days of Tom's, pickin' in ease. And dim-witted cooms. We must be the first two people to set foot in here in years. How shall we disame two people set foot out of here? Oh, Willie, there's nothing to worry about. I've been nervous. Here, let me have the light. Oh, you will take the light? And then you have it, huh? That's why I want you. To a golden age of respectability. And back to Tom's, pickin' in ease, fat mammies, and dim-witted cooms.

And although certainly there are more blacks on television than ever before, they are still pegged in those old racist stereotypes for the most part. In part two of the series, goodbye Sergeant Ross was the question. But the larger issue was the lack of power of so-called black television stars. A media coalition charges that the male lead in private Benjamin is being shoved out of the series and his job. Is Hal Williams portrayal of Sergeant Ross too strong for white control television? For black actor to go on the line and complain.

I should keep my big mouth shut as a matter of fact. Just last week, I had several close friends of mine tell me that I should not, I should be very careful what I say to you on camera. In part three, black soap, you can ask about that rascal Jesse's problems in Pine Valley, CD Banisters in Monticello, and Henrietta's affair with that handsome Ed Harding in Bay City. It's been a long time since I felt like a woman. It's been a long time for me too, Henrietta, too long. Will blacks find happiness in soaps? Is TV off-color is part four? Sixty-five percent of blacks consider themselves as unfairly treated by TV news, an exclusive TV guide survey found. I think that the footing we thought we'd gained in the past decade isn't as substantial as we'd hoped it would be.

I was always fearful of that. I have no answer, because I've seen the representation of black people on all the series television as diminishing over the past three years as just gone from a few people to not too many, except for the comedies, and well, they need a lot of work. Our blacks left out because they're incompetent. White incompetency has been the rule rather than the exception, so I'm saying now we have a lot of black and Hispanic incompetence in competence here, so why can't our incompetence work with your incompetence at that level? And what are blacks doing about their media problems if anything? It is undeniable that black Americans are becoming increasingly more concerned about the images that are projected about black people in the movies and on television. We're not going to make promises we can't keep, but in the name of God and justice, we're not going to let people continue to trample on us as they have in the past. After more than three decades of television and black involvement with the medium, our

image still adds up to this. Tony Brown's journal is brought to you by Pepsi Cola Company and your local Pepsi Bottlers. When soap operas made the transition from radio to the new electronic gadget called television, it was representative of all of America's celebrated traits, including the exclusion of blacks from meaningful roles. In fact, television soap operas have historically been a reflection of white middle-class America. And the prevailing programming consensus was that blacks were not a part of mainstream America. Interestingly, about one-third of all blacks can now be classified as middle-class. To begin with, soap operas were designed to sell household products. They now are tracked over 12% of the non-white households, as compared to about 7.7% of the white households.

Ironically, one-fourth of the viewers are now black, and they too buy a lot of soap powder. Pressure from civil rights organizations over the years gradually forced producers, networks and sponsors to include black parts. Even though black started out in minor roles, a new direction has started on daytime soaps. These dramatic vehicles to sell household items are now courting the large black soap viewership by increasing the number of black characters. In fact, over the last 12 months, five of the 14 daytime dramas have introduced major black storylines. Remember, you've got a fierce competition in daytime soap operas. There are about a dozen or more soap operas, some running for an hour in length. And the object is to get as big an audience as possible. That black female viewership is crucial to boosting your ratings. Remember, the black consumer market is a multi-billion dollar one. And now that with so much competition and so many other competitions for the leisure

time interest of all Americans, the producers of the soap operas want black viewers. Dr. J. Fred McDonald has written the first book length study of the history of blacks in television, blacks and white TV. Dr. McDonald is a professor of history at Northeastern Illinois University. How do you compare the image of blacks in primetime situation comedies with the image of blacks in daytime soap operas? I think that's one of the most interesting situations in television, because although there are not that many blacks in soap operas, when they do appear, they aren't cast as coupons and tombs and mammies and all those other stereotypes, the storylines of soap operas demand mature representation, they demand interesting development of character. On the prime time, however, the lessons of soap operas seem to have been lost. In nighttime programming, you get the predominantly comedic representation of black.

For whatever reason, prime time, which is considered much more expensive time and much more profitable time, demands or has demanded to this point that the blacks be cast for the most part in those old minstrel stereotypes. We got away from it for a while in the late 60's, but we've come back with a vengeance since the early 1970's and right up to the present day. We feel like our blacks cast in the cune or the tombs or the picniny or the shrekish mammie stereotypes. Major black stars have emerged in another world, the edge of night and all my children. And are establishing a beachhead for black actors and previously all white storylines. I see that he's the real fool for turning his back on you. Perhaps the most prominent black storyline takes place in Bay City on NBC's Another World. The series has attracted such renowned stars as Howard Rollins, who was nominated for an Oscar for his role in Ragtime.

Now in the story, Ed Harding, played by Rollins, has fallen in love with Henrietta Morgan, who after 18 years of marriage is discovering her own self worth in the arms of another man. I'm letting my feelings run away with me. I'm going too fast, maybe, but tell me, you know, Henrietta, do I really stand a chance? Oh, Ed, this is all happening so fast. I don't know what's going on yet, not completely, but I do know that I need you, you're kindness is your love, it's been a long time since I felt like a woman. It's been a long time for me, too, Henrietta, too long. I want to give you all of the things that you want all I love you need, all the happiness.

Oh, yeah? Yeah. Everything. Everything. Well, we live in a town called Bay City, which is a little outside of Chicago, Illinois. I'll say I, since I play her, and a mother of two children, one RJ, who's 16 years old, and one Mary Sue, who's 11. And I've been married to Robert Morgan, who's a policeman, for 18 years or so. I have begun my own catering business to supplement the family income, which is doing more than well and created a problem in the marriage because I was making more money than my husband was making. And we had problems in the marriage, which 18 years, usually something, something wears

down in the relationship. My husband was having an affair with another character on the show, Quinn Harding. And we became estranged, eventually fought. And I asked for a divorce and began to see her brother Ed Harding. And it looked like we were possibly going to fall in love and then there became the conflict of the children not being able to deal with the father and mother breaking up. And I chose not to see Ed Harding until I could get the kids and me straight. Blacks have not traditionally been a part of soaps. And soaps have traditionally been, for the most part, middle-class white experiences. You're being introduced into the storylines now. The storyline that is following your family in Henrietta, do you find that compatible with the everyday experiences that black people have in this country? Oh, yes, very much so.

Our situation is, I'd say, we're basically middle-class, but not that far up. We are a family trying to make it. And both my husband and I are under tremendous pressures. The outside world, the whole hassle of trying to make a living, to make ends meet, to be good. Parents is absolutely devastating the relationship between us and taking its toll. I think everybody is going through that today because of the economic situation. From the feminine issue point of view, what is fascinating is that here's a woman who has done nothing but really support her family, all of her life suddenly. She started a business that has the opportunity of being more successful than she ever dreamed of. And suddenly, her role is being redefined and causing absolute havoc for her whole family. Look, I'm doing what I'm doing for the children's sake. RJ is not ready to handle a divorce and need this Mary Sue. I'm taking it one step at a time.

For our sake, too. Henry, I've been doing a lot of thinking lately. Yes, Bob. I know you've been doing a lot of thinking, out loud about Quinn. Does she really come to visit you here? It's funny. I can't imagine this hearting in a place like this. I would have thought that she would have made room for you in her bed by now. What about the image business? We are very sensitive. We who are black about our image. Do you feel perhaps we are too sensitive? No, I don't think we could ever be sensitive enough. I do think that we, in life, we are paranoid, but on television because it affects particularly our children and also us on several levels that you don't even realize. We could never be too sensitive about it. Because what I find is that although the producers are well-intentioned, I've come to understand, they do not necessarily realize that a word, a name, or phrase will devastate somebody

black watching. Whereas it would never even occur to them, it would be perfectly all right. The only people that can influence and inform them is us, the performers, and the viewing audience. The best way to influence what's on television is by writing in. Well, it's kind of on probation, you know what I'm saying? The ghetto bread Jesse Hubbard is the most glaring intrusion into the Lily White middle-class genre of soaps on ABC's All My Children. Controversy has erupted over Jesse's character, perceived by many as exemplifying many of the negative traits usually associated with black people. Well Jesse is a product of a deprived environment. He grew up with things not really in his favor. His father left him when he was a young kid.

His mother loved him very much. He loved his mother very much. He lost his mother at an early age as a young adult. He's a survivor, you know, by any means possible. Not really taking the law into his own hands, bending at some times. He's not a criminal or anything like that. He's somewhat juvenile, somewhat delinquent. After any choice of his own, I think, because of the way he was, because of the environment. The leading black citizens of Pine Valley, Dr. Frank Grant and his wife Nancy, played by husband and wife team John Danielle and Lisa Wilkinson, discovered a skeleton in the family closet. You see, his name is Jesse Hubbard, and he is the delinquent son of Frank Sister, who married below her class. After her death, you know, the grants took him in. But Jesse's anti-social behavior made it very difficult for him to fit in.

Do you know that he even put a knife to his uncle's throat? He's been forced into a situation where people of his own race are somewhat superior as he sees, and he doesn't like this. He doesn't like the fact that people, the black people that he's been forced to live with or think that they're better than he is, or he thinks that they're better than he is, and this creates problems for him. However, he's pretty, well, I can't say he's that adaptable, but he's learning. He's learning to deal with different situations. Darnell Williams was nominated for an Emmy for his portrayal of the volatile, bigoted, tough-talking, black ghetto teenager. How do you feel personally about Jesse's evolution? Well, I feel good because it's a positive evolution. He came on the show, and he was kind of rough. A lot of people didn't really understand what was happening with Jesse.

I had the feedback, the kind of feedback that said, we like what you're doing, but it's again the same thing that we're not too thrilled with. It's a stereotypical role. When I understood that, at the time that I got the job, I didn't care. However, why didn't I care because I hadn't worked for quite a while, and I knew this would be the beginning of something that I worked for quite a while. I think the initial response on the negative thing was because they didn't understand where Jesse was coming from or where he was going. They didn't realize that Agnes Nixon, the creator of the show, wanted to show Jesse in the raw, put him in an environment with goodness, a black family, a black soap family, be that as it may.

She wanted to see Jesse come from bad to good. What kind of storylines do you foresee for blacks and soap operas? I think there are two major areas we can see here. One will be the increased representation of blacks on certain shows, not all soap operas. We don't want all soap operas integrated because we don't have to integrate all of them. We want to integrate a few in order to sell our soap powder. You're going to see more and more intelligent, mature, good black storylines, but kept within the narrow boundaries of not really being too well integrated is particularly in terms of sexuality. Everybody knows you're living with that creep. Don't you dare call Jesse a creep. He happens to be a wonderful friend. I can pull him anything that I want to, Jenny Garner, and I'm not the only one he thinks it's very disgusting that you're living with him. Jesse and I are sharing an apartment, friends. The only thing that's disgusting is in your room and watch it, Jenny. Jesse was involved with a white girl. What happened to that?

Well, they're still involved. She was brought on, I think, the initial storyline was to have that interracial thing, but I think they sort of backed off that. Although soap plots are spiced with infidelity, mental illness, suicides, and murders, some things are still relatively taboo, such as incest, homosexuality, and interracial relationships. Because if you got romantically involved with a white man, you might, if you follow the history of some other black actresses who had relationships with white men in these soaps, you might get written out. That's a possibility I haven't had to face yet. This is D.D. Bannister. Oh, excuse me, Marianne Alda. You see, Marianne plays the feisty young lawyer, D.D. Bannister, on ABC's The Edge of Night. I see. So, now that you know the baby isn't yours, that changes everything, right? Yes, of course.

Uh-huh. And you think you can just come over here and start all over again with me, just as though nothing had ever happened. Wait a minute. You're making a sound like... Calvin, don't you understand? It's not that simple. Get him in out. D.D. is a lawyer. She came from a poor family and tough, tough neighborhood, and she worked real hard, and her parents saved all their money and to send D.D. to law school. And she worked, also, to put herself through law school. And now she's in Monticello, and she's in love with Calvin Stoner, people who watch the show will know Calvin and D.D. have been an item for a while. He's a police detective, and she's a real gung-ho, one of those gutsy, ballsy career women. When she first came on, she was very strong, and now I've backed up and showed her vulnerability showed in her weak spots, shown her flaws. And I think the importance is to get, as well, rounded a person when you're doing so because when you're doing any kind of acting as possible, and blacks are getting a chance

to do that now, before we were oftentimes, we were pretty one-dimensional, you know, just getting a chance to be... Generally, we were the friend of the white guy, or the white girl on television, and we listened to their problems, and we didn't get a chance to have problems of our own. Oh, come on, D.D., you know that's not true. I love you. Look, Calvin, I don't love you. Don't look so injured. That's what you wanted. You told me once that I'd be better off if I stopped loving you. So I have. I have. Just go, Calvin, please. And just when we were about to really get together, my brother got out of jail, and he came into

town and he's been causing more friction between the two of us. So we've been having a typical soap opera storyline, love life. You little snake. You really haven't changed at all, have you, Troy? No, maybe I haven't. You're just no good. That's it. And I don't even know why I waste my time trying to save you. Well, I'm no good, huh, and I suppose you are good, and you know good from bad, because you're sleeping with a married man. That's good, did he? But in order for it to be believable, it seems that many blacks in the minds of whites and white writers are associated with ghetto. I don't think it's fair to say that blacks are always associated with ghetto, although I think primarily, right now, you probably will see more of that than the other, but

I think as the evolutionary process of having more blacks in the television in the medium comes about, you'll see more of the other, you'll see more blacks coming from middle class simply because there are more blacks coming from middle class now, different as the generations change. There are more people who have, there are more people who are blacks who are going to college, and more black people going to college, whose parents went to college. How do the black viewers relate to your character or to you as an individual? I've had little old ladies come up to me in restaurants, different public places, and just hug me because they were so happy to see someone that they could relate to as a sister or as a daughter, or you know, as somebody that they knew, somebody like that, and their family, somebody that they felt good and strongly about. Then I've had another kind of response from people that I find a little disturbing, and it's primarily among younger kids, among teenagers, I'll have kids come up to me and say, you're that girl on that soap aren't you, and I'll say, yeah, and I'll say, oh, well, girl, tell

me, what is it about Raven? What does she like? And it's interesting because it's almost as though I'm not really an actress, but because of my position, I get a chance to go to the big house, so what are the white people really doing? You know, I have a feeling that in their fantasy lives, some of these girls can't relate to the character because they can't imagine themselves going out of their neighborhood or with their own confines or can't imagine becoming a professional. And I think for some kids, their fantasy is to be white because they get all the goodies, you know, and I think that's kind of sad. Blacks have more difficulty, one study says, distinguishing between television and real life. And like their parents, children tend to believe in the reality of television. Studies show that black children are more likely to imitate white role models than black role models, and black teens are more likely to use television to learn social behavior. In addition, black youngsters also watched television to learn what people were like

in various professions. One is a pervasive and powerful medium, shaping society's perceptions of blacks and blacks perceptions of themselves. One case in point. I have a son who's eight and a half now, and I remember when he was four, we were watching television, and it was late, it was nighttime television, one of those cops and robbers shows, and he said, oh, here comes the bad guy. And I said, Christopher, how do you know he's the bad guy? He said because he's brown, and that really, I mean, that hurts because I realized that my son was getting all these negative self-images about black people just because of what he was seeing on television. And that's scary, but I think it's starting to change a little bit. I think it's really changing on daytime a lot. Last week, on part four, Tony Brown's journal presents his TV off-color. For a transcript, send $2 to Tony Brown Productions, $15.01 Broadway, sweet 2014, New

York, New York, $1.0036. Please include program topic and allow three weeks for delivery. Tony Brown Productions produces this program and is solely responsible for its content. Tony Brown's journal is brought to you by Pepsi Cola Company and your local Pepsi Bottlers.