A Secret from the Secret Life of Bees

I went to go see The Secret Life of Bees this weekend with about one gazillion other people. I liked the movie and loved the book. I love the story and the actresses all gave really outstanding performances. I give it two thumbs up just for the fact that the film/book shows an alternative Black American story. There's a line in fact, where the little White girl says something like, "I never met such cultured negro women before." Too true little White girl. I wish more people, Black, White, Red, Brown and Yellow, would realize that there always have been and still are many a "cultured negros" roaming around.

But that's not why I'm writing. During the film, Dakota Fanning's character (she's the young White girl) shares an innocent kiss and some tender moments with a young Black teenager. I was sitting in a packed movie theater with mostly Black people and wouldn't you know, when the kiss happened, you could hear a collective harumph! A sigh of disbelief crossed with anger and a "no he didn't."

Why people? Are we always going to hate on the White woman with the Black man? Will we continue to condemn the Black man who falls for the White woman? Is this post-traumatic slave syndrome rearing it's ugly head or a side effect of the perceived shortage of eligible Black men? I'm asking because I certainly don't have the answers. Here we are in 2008 and we still can't get over this. What are we going to do?

Thoughts? Ideas? Answers? Let's talk amongst ourselves.

Peace!