I don't have to like it because he's Black

There seems to be a misconception that Black people should support the art of other Black people, simply because they are Black.

Every time a discussion of Tyler Perry films comes up someone will say that it is horrible that Black people don’t support him because he is a Black filmmaker providing jobs for Black people in front of and behind the camera.

When Beyonce’s “Girls Who Run the World” single came out and many women (Black and White) didn’t like it I saw on many blogs people say things like Black women should support her as a Black woman instead of tearing her down.

I don’t have to support art that I don’t like from Black artists just because they are Black. That is absurd. I don’t dislike Tyler Perry films because he’s Black, I dislike them because I think they are bad films. Disliking a Beyonce song is not “another case of Black women tearing each other down,” it is a case of not liking a song because it doesn’t appeal to me.

If you are a supporter of supporting Black art then I think you do a disservice to artists if you allow them to put out product of a low quality and accept it as gold just because they are Black.

I like/dislike and critique artists from the same perspective, regardless of their color. There is no “handicap” given to them winning my opinion because they look like me.

If you are in Philly and want to support what I would say is GOOD Black art, Check out Marc Bamuthi Joseph’s “Word Becomes Flesh”