A BBC documentary slating black men as promiscuous, aggressive and lazy has been attacked for promoting negative stereotypes. Black writer David Matthews has made a BBC programme, called ‘The Trouble with Black Men’, which blames black men for "testosterone-fuelled promiscuity", and a fixation with gangster rap and fast cars.
Matthews caused controversy two years ago with an article in the London Evening Standard called ‘Why I Prefer to date White Women’. In it he claimed black women were ‘"scary", "old fashioned", and obsessed with a black man’s money.

‘The Trouble with Black Men’ is due to be screened in July and a BBC publicity synopsis promises that Matthews would question "why so many of them are hooked on a lazy way of life, why they get through so many relationships and why they’re obsessed with masculinity." The programme would also accuse black men of ruining the black family.Matthews, who used to write for the black media told Blink he would take criticism "on the chin", adding: "I believe in that old maxim – publish and be damned."

Stereotypes

He was damned by black community leaders, who said Matthews was misguided and his programme risked perpetrating racist stereotypes.

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The row comes just days after BBC football commentator Ron Atkinson resigned after he called Chelsea defender Marcel Desailly a "f**king lazy thick n*****." Now some black commentators are accusing Matthews of committing the same offence as Atkinson.

Broadcaster Henry Bonsu said the issue of promiscuity or masculinity was not a race issue. He said: "Lots of men, including white working class men, live exactly the same lifestyle and haven’t been microscoped in the same way.

"Some black men do let themselves down, but this hasn’t happened by accident. It has taken a long time to get to this stage. It’s all about how we live in this country.

"Black men are behaving in the way they do not because they’re black, but because they’re British."

Internalised racism

Lee Jasper, senior advisor to London Mayor Ken Livingstone, said: "The trouble with David Matthews is that he has internalised racism, and that makes him an excellent gift to the British National Party and leader-writers for the Sun and Mail. 

"There has always been a tradition of the mainstream media offering opportunities for black people who appear to validate racist thinking. David Matthews firmly belongs in that tradition.

"Yes, there are minorities in every race who give cause for concern, which is equally the case for the Scottish, English, Welsh or whatever. Seeking to portray it as a cultural lifestyle for an entire people is tantamount to racism."

And Paul Macey from the Creative Collective added: "Black men continue to make a contribution to society despite the fact that it demonises and criminalises black men."

However Elaine Sihera, editor of Impact magazine, said Matthews was raising important issues which needed to be addressed.

Self-love

She said: "We have to have a debate on it. Some things black men are accused of are true – lack of responsibility towards the family and, in his words, the lazy way of life.

"It starts from childhood. If the parents don’t encourage them to do more around the home when they come out they expect it to be provided for them."

Sihera said too many black men lacked "self-belief, self-confidence and self-love", but felt the use of stereotypes was sometimes justified if it helped kickstart a debate which led people to look into, and understand, an issue.

For his part Matthews insisted the BBC’s publicity blurb was "over-zealous" in plugging his documentary. He said: "The idea is to some extent explore these stereotypes. Why do they exist? What is it within the black experience to perpetrate black stereotypes?

"There is not enough opportunity given to discuss ourselves and give perspectives and our own point of view."

Sensitive

Asked whether such sensitive matters are best discussed ‘behind closed doors’ rather than in the mainstream media, Matthews responded: "Why do you think we have to shut the doors? We are part of society, we’re not living in an island."

He added: "We should run the entire gambit of opinion otherwise we are just preaching to the converted. I stand by the old maxim publish and be damned."

‘The Trouble with Black Men’, made by West London TV company Diverse and produced by Narinda Minhas, is due to be screened on BBC3 and possibly BBC2. 

Writing in 2002, 37-year-old Matthews sparked fury amongst black women by claiming white women "just don’t have as many hang-ups." In an article entitled ‘Why I Prefer to date White Woman’, Matthews wrote: "I cite approachability as a factor when it comes to why I date white women."

Black women were "conservative and surprisingly old fashioned. Black women, specifically Afro-Caribbean ones, good Christian girls that they are, are pretty strait-laced when it comes to sex."

He continued: "They expect you to pick them up, pay for dinner, and drop them off and the front door with no more than a peck on the cheek. Whereas white women are often more daring, adventurous and self-assured in the bedroom."

Matthews claimed black women were "obsessed with how much money you earn", adding: "If you ain’t got the car, the career, the bling-bling, then don’t even think about asking them out."

However Matthews blamed the Evening Standard’s editing. He told Blink: "It was meant to be thought-provoking and a bit tongue-in-cheek. It came across a lot more clunkier."

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BBC blurb for ‘The Trouble with Black Men’

"Author and journalist David Matthews is a black man who thinks his brothers need to get their act together. He can’t understand why so many of them are hooked on a lazy way of life, why they get through so many relationships and why they’re obsessed with masculinity and the tough-guy image.

David thinks it's time to tear up the PC rulebook and pull black men up on their shoddy behaviour. Some people think that black men are ruining the black family with their testosterone-fuelled promiscuity, and their fixation with gangster rap, fast cars and aggressive driving. David however unpicks these stereotypes to discover the real problems facing black men in Britain today"