Snoop Dogg wants to know why we need another show about slavery

I say the rap icon is wrong about "Roots," but right about American TV

Many were concerned when the rapper called for a boycott of the networks

Academic scholars thought Snoop was a big hater. A gadfly and a jerk

Everyday people barked at The Dogg and joined the collective eye-roll

Few out there understood his position. Thought of him as a big troll

Snoop asked why we couldn't make shows about successful Black people

His tone had the sound of a preacher. All he was missing was the steeple

Hollywood seems to lean toward certain types of Black films with their money

Funding goes to slavery projects. Or shows that are non-threateningly funny

Many projects die on the vine as cash-strapped producers shake their heads and mourn

A talented director was badly frustrated. Can't get funding for a film on Lena Horne

Many share the Dog Father's opinion, but they don't possess his guile

Slavery is on something of a shame-blame rotation, we may never reconcile

Some Blacks are ashamed of this history. Others say "the shame is not ours"

This disgraceful chapter had a strange way of imprisoning us without any bars

We have to face what happened. The branding, whippings and rapes demoralized

Not confronting the truth of our past won't help us when we choose to close our eyes

But while we jump on Snoop, can we blame him for not wanting to go there?

Chattel slavery is a tough pill to swallow. A horrible burden for us to bear.

Some find it hard to acknowledge systemic racism. The brutal savagery and greed

Rather than do what it takes to heal, they prefer to hide their heads in the weeds

Our awful, shameful past will be with us, right up until the end of days

But there are a million stories to be told, and they should be told in repeated ways

The big problem is that Snoop is a rapper, and his work is rife with exploitation

Music videos that glorified drug abuse. Glossed over crime and misogynation   

We shouldn't exclude slave narratives, but we should offer more variety in roles

There is plenty of Black talent out there. Not hard at all to shatter the mold