The Late & Great Gwen Ifill: She Taught Us How to Think About Race!

In an era in which there are more polarized Blacks and Whites, Democrats and Republicans, I wish we had more people (and particularly more journalists) like the great Gwen Ifill left. She did teach us how to think about race, but most of us are either too stupid or egotistical to listen. It’s a darn shame. I miss her so much!

WHY?

Although she was a Black woman in a country that has been plagued by a slavery and racism-centered past, she seemed to have always risen beyond that legacy with such poise, fairness and astuteness. Armed with a no-frills and conservative style, she seems to have been THE LAST OF GREAT JOURNALISTS. YUP, she belonged in seemingly antiquated type of journalists like Bernard Shaw, Peter Jennings, Ted Koppel, who did not wear their RACE, GENDER, SEXUAL ORIENTATION, RELIGION and NATIONAL ORIGINS on their sleeves. Modernly, we have people like Don Lemon, and Megyn Kelly as journalists in a reality TV or Kardashian generation.

This is exactly why I don’t even need a TV set. I get the news from the sources and verify them myself. I don’t like FAKE NEWS… You can bulk them all together CNN, CBS, FOX… they are all fabricated crap. FAKE, FAKE, FAKE… did I say Fake yet?

SO, WHO IS GWEN IFILL?

Her conservative, no BS-style certainly elevated her above the POLITCAL SWAMP of Washington. As a young Black boy growing up in New York in an era in which Blacks were not always shown in a good light, I recalled watching her on “Meet the Press”… She not only represented Blacks well, but also she represented women and Americans at large well. I so enjoyed seeing her, and hearing her race-transcending voice.

In the 2004 US vice presidential debate, she famously asked Dick Cheney and John Edwards about their thoughts on what government should do to end a raging AIDS epidemic among Black women…

And of course, those men who would have been second-in-line to lead our nation were TOTALLY CLUELESS. Indeed, she did her job as a journalist, which is to objectively query her subjects as to expose either their brilliance, flaws, or authenticity or lack thereof.

As a ground-breaking journalist, in one of her last interviews, she was asked the following amazing question:

IS THERE SUCH A THING AS A RACE-TRANSCENDING LEADER?

Ifill responded as follows:

“If you consider race to be a positive, as I do, a wonderful characteristic which makes you who you are. Which gives you a set of cultural norms and backgrounds, it is not a threat; it is not taking away from anybody else. It is part of what shapes me.”

She added:

“It would be enhancing if we as a nation, and as a World, I guess, could talk about RACE in a way that wasn’t about BLAME and REDRESS and ARGUMENT and GUILT.” Instead “we should embrace it as a factor, not everything of what we are.”

I had to hold back tears because she HIT it right on the nail. Thus, as I watch STUPID or IGNORANT or MISGUIDED people from both parties and races argue senseless arguments, I ask myself. WHY hasn’t GOD allowed the message of the GREAT GWEN IFILL to permeate the hearts of at least a great percentage of Americans or People Worldwide?

I have meet a few great people on both sides of the Isle that impressed me, but not too many can fall in the CATEGORY of GWEN IFILL.

I LOVE AND MISS HER dearly… in an ERA when it wasn’t COOL to be Black yet in America, even as a confident and PROUD BLACK KID, I needed people like her who had enough of a voice of reason to remind me to NOT FOLLOW THE HERD, and be MYSELF… And YES I love my RACE, but it doesn’t mean that I should be BLINDED by the STUPIDITY that some people that are in my race choose to adopt. The focus should be on our traditions, and fostering harmony and partnerships even with those that may not like US. People have been doing it forever. There is no reason to insult others and alienate them and self-disenfranchise each other. It’s not only DUMB but it’s CRAZY at best!

We need wiser Blacks and Whites to step forward. We need people like Gwen Ifill who happen to be either Black or White to step up to the plate and OVERSHADOW the darker and more ignorant ones of us. So many of us that are WISE are afraid of being criticized or vilified by others. PLEASE, do it for a better America or World... Please step up to the plate! I DID! I used to be shy and afraid of what people would think of me whether I was 100% right or not. Nowadays, if I am right, I couldn't care less if the Whole World disagreed with me. I HAVE A VOICE. And as long as Almighty God allows me to use it and prevent others from hurting me, I'll be around to USE IT! TRUST ME! (smile).

Dr. Pete Lorins is the Chief Editor of LorinsPOST.com. This article was sponsored by LORINS.biz, a multi-industry consulting firm that provides the following types of services… Management of Law Firms, Medical Clinics, Businesses...Project Management, Sales, Marketing, & Leads Generation...Research & Engineering... It can be reached via www.LORINS.biz