EBONY Magazine...Is it superficial?

[AKA2D '91]

This is an email I received regarding comments made by Bryant Gumbel to students at Howard University.

In today's (6/12/01) Chicago Sun-Times

"Much of the Negro community is buried under a blanket of history and
circumstance," but nothing will change if "all you're going to seek is a
superficial Ebony magazine view of life -- one that accentuates only
your cars and your clothes." -- Bryant Gumbel, co-host of CBS' "The
Early Show," to graduates of Howard University.

"We're glad that you found time to visit Black America, but we regret
that you were not better informed. . . . We don't visit Black America,
we live here." -- Linda Johnson Rice, president and COO of the company
that publishes Ebony, in an angry letter to Gumbel that she later made
public.

"Ms. Rice's foolish letter has about as much merit as her stated desire
to 'not bicker publicly.' Instead of complaining about the truth,
maybe Ms. Rice should be more worried about the fact that everyone totally
understood the reference I made and applauded it loudly." -- Gumbel,
in a statement, according to the New York Times.

Is Ebony superficial?