Urban Thought Collective

I saw history on television. Barack Obama became the presumptive nominee of the Democratic Party Tuesday night. He is the first African American to be a Presidential Nominee in the two hundred thirty two year history of our nation. Television allowed me to be there. I can’t tell you what else was on. I was glued to the delegate count down. Thirty, ten, two then the call, “CNN projects Barack Obama has won the Democratic Nomination”. Wow!

If it isn’t clear by now, let me make it clear, I’m supporting Barack Obama. But this isn’t about politics or the election per se. This is about how in between the sitcoms, dramas, sports, and commercials television allows us to share history… live. How many times have you been able to say I know where I was when? How often was that because history was being made on television.

I can remember coming home from school as a kid while my mother was wallpapering the living room (she did it all by herself)and she keep a television on the floor. But she wasn’t watching soap operas or game shows. She, and therefore I, watched the Watergate hearings. I was nine or ten and I didn’t know the full gravity of the situation, but I remember John Dean testifying on the stand clear as day. It was a sad, but historic, time in our country and I saw it on television. There are too many historic events for me to count that, were it not for television, I would not have seen and consequently not experienced them in the same way. The American Hockey Team beating the Russians, The Challenger disaster, The Berlin Wall coming down, President Regan being shot, Muhammad Ali lighting the Olympic torch, Hurricane Katrina, Nelson Mandela being freed, Tiger Woods winning the 97 Masters, September 11 (although I was in New York watching live out the window as well), The Million Man March, Princess Diana’s, wedding, car crash and funeral are just a sample of dozens of events that are permanent memories or events that shaped my life.

Think how different the world would be if we only had radio. People could tell you that the ninth ward in New Orleans was devastated and thousands of people were suffering. That would have had an impact for sure. But when you SAW it, the shock is almost too much to put into words. To see people on roof tops, dead bodies floating down the streets and chaos at the Super Dome transcended any verbal description. It was real. This wasn’t a video game or some Quentin Tarantino film. There probably isn’t three degrees of separation between any American and someone who died in New Orleans or New York on 911. I believe the depth of the grief we all feel comes from having seen it.

The flipside to that coin is no less powerful. I will never forget having dinner at Mirabelle Restaurant on Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood when Muhammad Ali lit the Olympic Torch. Everyone in the place stood up and started applauding and we shouted “Ali Boma Ye, Ali Boma Ye”! Many couldn’t hold back the tears. We didn’t have to get on a plane, find a hotel, battle the crowds and pray for a good seat. Television brought it to us and I’ll never forget it or the friends who were there.

That’s why Tuesday was so special. My great great Grandfathers were slaves and fought in the civil war. I doubt they ever imagined what I saw in St. Paul. Sure, Barack was in “great voice”. His words were inspiring and powerful, even on radio. But you had to SEE the look on his face when he said “I will be the Democratic Nominee”! He was strong, reflective, surveyed the crow and soaked in the moment without gloating . Even as they crowd went wild in celebration. I thought of my Father, my great Uncle and my great great Grandfathers in that moment. None of them lived to see the day. As I replayed it on Tivo I thought, these are the moments that make television invaluable!

Just think, no one on radio saw Michelle give Barack a pound! HOW COOL WAS THAT!

Let me get my remote!

Darryl Bell is an actor and Chicago native, best known for his roles in classic TV series “A Different World” and Spike Lee’s “School Daze.” His unique television commentary is exclusive to Urban Thought Collective.