Steve Harvey:  Act Like A Black Man, Think Like A Black Man

I’m a Steve Harvey fan.  I’ve been once since I first seen him make his national debut on Russell Simmons’s Def Comedy Jam.  I’ve enjoyed his style of comedy for all of his career thus far.  I enjoy listening to his morning radio show & I enjoy occasionally watching him on the Family Feud, if & when I get the opportunity to tune in.  I’ve watched both Think Like A Man movies (have yet to read the book) but I have yet to watch his daytime television show, Steve Harvey Show, because I work a daytime job.  So all in all, it’s a fair assessment to say that I am a Steve Harvey fan.

Two of the things I admire about Steve Harvey are the inspirational/motivational messages he gives at the very start of his radio show each morning and the other thing is his dedication to encouraging men to become actively involved in the lives of young Black males who do not have a father figure in their lives.  Those two items alone are enough for me to maintain my status of being a fan of Steve Harvey.  But here is where things are about to get a little tricky for me as far as maintaining my 100% Steve Harvey fan status…

Paula Deen

Out of all the people in the entire world that Steve Harvey could have reached out to in order for them to come down to his mentoring program to help inspire & motivate 100 young black men, Steve Harvey decided to reach out to Paula Deen.  Remember this is the same Paul Deen who once wanted you to meet her Black friend who was just as black as the board behind her on this tv set…

Remember, this is also the same Paul Deen that reportedly wanted Black people to dress up like slaves at a wedding.  And lastly, this is the same Paula Deen who has admittedly called Black people niggers once upon a time (in 1986 to be exact)…

So, once again, out of ALL THE PEOPLE IN THE ENTIRE WORLD, this is who Steve Harvey has invited to come to one of his Black youth mentoring programs to possibly serve as some type of example 100 young Black boys could look up to.  Really?  How does that work?  It seems to me that a young Black male growing up without a father figure in his life could possibly receive a more rewarding experience from…I don’t know…a male father figure/role model type (preferably Black).  I mean Mr. Harvey, if introducing young Black boys to highly successful chefs (regardless of gender) is one of the themes for your mentorship camp this year, then why not consider enlisting the help of some highly successful Black chefs such as:  Marcus Samuelson, Jeff Henderson, Barbara Smith, Bryant Terry, Ron Duprat, Marvin Woods, Gerry Garvin, Joe Randall, Tiffany Derry, & Govind Armstrong to name a few?  Truthfully, out of the list I just put together, my top choice would be Chef Jeff Henderson.  Chef Henderson could quite possibly have the most relatable story to that of these young fatherless Black boys considering that Chef Henderson was:

• raised by his mother & grandmother
• involved in gang activities around the age of 16
• got involved in selling drugs to the point where he was earning upwards of $30K per week
• got busted & spent 10 years locked in a state prison where he learned how to cook (food that is)
• got out, changed his life
• moved to Las Vegas & started working in a kitchen doing menial work to eventually becoming the first Black executive chef at the Bellagio in Las Vegas.

Seriously, if Chef Henderson’s life story isn’t something these young Black males could possibly relate to & receive a deep sense of inspiration from, then I don’t know what is.  What I do know is, I’m having an extremely difficult time trying to figure out how a southern woman who grew up in the South when it was socially acceptable to call Black people niggers & once wanted Black people to dress up like slaves at a wedding could even remotely be able to instill some type of inspiration within a group full of young Black males.  Just because Paula Deen went on an apology tour AFTER she was exposed & her brand starting to take a hit; now all of a sudden she is qualified to teach young Black males culinary skills at a mentorship camp specifically dedicated to young Black males.  The last thing a group of fatherless Black young boys need is to be taught a lesson from a so-called reformed racist.  I get that Steve Harvey proclaims to be a highly religious man & highly believes in forgiving people, but I also believe that Steve Harvey is all about those ratings too which translate into dollars.  Plus, we Americans ALL love a good story that has some racism thrown in the mix.

Who is Steve Harvey going to invite to his next mentorship camp to help mentor a group of young Black males?  Donald Sterling or George Zimmerman?  Who knows…