The CNN two-part documentary, "Black in America," produced strong ratings last week and provoked considerable conversation and reflection.

According to Nielsen Media Research, Thursday night's two-hour finale averaged 2.6 million viewers between 8 p.m. and 10 p.m. It averaged 1.2 million viewers ages 25-54 and 1.2 million viewers ages 18-49.

CNN's Soledad O'Brien reported the four-hour documentary -- "The Black Woman and Family" and "The Black Man." The executive producer was Mark Nelson.

Wednesday's segment averaged 2.1 million viewers. Almost half (900,000) were in the adults 18-49 demographic and 966,000 were among adults 25-54.

The Tri-State Defender joined Johnnie Blue and his wife, Shasta, as they watched the "The Black Man" segment with their 19-year-old son Patrick Brown.

Johnnie Blue: I remember that. 

Johnnie Blue was seven-years-old and his wife, Shasta, was two when Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated in Memphis.

"Forty years ago, we wouldn’t be sitting here watching black America in a documentary," said Blue from the comfort of his living room sofa.

In North Memphis where Blue grew up, many African-American men today find themselves grappling with abject poverty, joblessness, the lure of crime, and, in some cases, a sense of hopelessness.

The hopeless condition of African-American men is real, said Johnnie Blue, who asks, "Why not show why the condition exists."

Blue is a history buff and an avid reader of African-American literature. Growing up on Seventh Street in North Memphis, he said, was no different than any other ghetto across America.

"There were pimps, prostitutes, crime and drugs were sold in the community. Oh, yeah...we had it all," said Blue, who left that North Memphis neighborhood for Scenic Hills, a more upwardly mobile neighborhood in Raleigh.

The move came with some emotional upheaval; most of his white neighbors fled. That’s why the segment on "The Black Man" was important enough that Blue wanted his stepson, who he has raised since he was 4 years old, to watch. He’d watched "The Black Woman & Family" the day before with his wife, Shasta.

When the stark images of the Lorraine Motel and Dr. King’s assassination flashed across the screen, Blue blurted out: "I remember that." Shasta Blue and Patrick just kept watching.

The turbulent ‘60s are etched in Blue’s mind mostly via television. "I was very familiar with my surroundings," he said. "The people were talking about the struggle then."

A network administrator for Kemmons Wilson Companies, Blue believes the plight of African-American men back then and the hardships that many of them face today are being highlighted by the white media. It’s a white man’s perception of African-American people, he said.

When CNN reporter Soledad O’Brien examined the lives of two Little Rock Central High School classmates – one, a recovering crack addict, and the other, an assistant school principal who moved to a white suburb – Blue recalled the first year of court-ordered busing in Memphis in 1973.

"I was the first to be bused to Frayser High School," said Blue, 48, a 1978 graduate of Manassas. "There were two gyms at the school – one for whites and the other for blacks."

The faculty didn’t want African Americans at their school, he said, nor did the white students who taunted them. "There were riots, too, and the police had to escort the bus back to our neighborhood."

Though crime is rampant in the African-American community and African-American male incarceration is increasing, Blue said African-American men have choices.

"The message sent is that education is not a black thing," he said.

Noting that African-Americans comprise 13 percent of the population in America, Blue said, "It’s mathematically impossible for blacks to commit more crime than white people. . .It’s just that blacks are prosecuted more than whites."

The solution to crime is literacy, said Blue.

Still, when he has conversations with kids in school, Blue said their eyes reveal little hope for the future.

"When you’re born into poverty, society expects you to die there."

Shasta Blue: "I feel sad and angry."

For Shasta Blue, 43, watching "The Black Man" segment with her husband and son reinforced her belief that African-American men should be role models to their children. She and Johnnie raised two children: Patrick and Patrice Brown, who is 22 and in training at Quantico, Va., to become an FBI counter terrorism analyst.

"Having a male in the home keeps the family strong," she said. "Johnnie is a great example."

The Blues put a premium on communication with each other – especially on Sundays – and keep up with what’s going on, including watching documentaries and reading books that are uplifting, soul-stirring and positive.

Education is very important, said Shasta Blue, who grimaced as the CNN documentary unfolded the storyline of one Little Rock Central High School classmate who pursued higher education and the other who succumbed to drugs.

"I feel sad and angry," she said, recalling the events that gave birth to The Little Rock Nine. "I look at what they went through to get an education, and the kids today aren’t taking advantage of an education."

A college education is now equivalent to a high school diploma, she said. "I tell Patrick all the time that without it you won’t make it – especially being a black man."

And with Patrick in mind, Shasta Blue offered this direction: "As a young man, if you have a family, you provide for them. But there’s a process: education, job and marriage."

Shasta Blue has worked in corporate America for more than 20 years and said she knows there are inequities when it comes to the representation of African-American men.

"I’ve never worked for African-American males," she said. "It’s rare to find them, whether they are degreed (educated) or not. It’s just hard for me to say opportunities are there."

Shasta Blue started out in the North Memphis neighborhood of New Chicago, which, too, was challenged by crime and drugs. She learned to stay focus, set her sights on getting an education and joined the workforce.

An accounting clerk for The Le Bonheur Foundation, Shasta Blue said the African-American community continues to erode because those who make it out of the "ghetto" seldom return to help.

"On the news, they show where whites come into the neighborhood to help us, but are we involved ourselves?" she asked.

"When programs like this (CNN documentary) are presented, the people we really want to reach aren’t around. I hope some of our inner-city kids – gang-bangers, basketball players, criminals – could see this and see some of the things blacks went through."

Patrick Brown: "Everybody needs a little guidance."

The life that Patrick Brown lives is replete with amenities made possible by his parents. Much of what he knows about hardships has been told to him by them.

But Brown has lived long enough to experience inequities for himself.

"In high school, there was separation in the honors program," said Brown, a 2007 graduate of Craigmont High School.

White students got more attention "because many of them were in advanced classes," said Brown, now a student at Tennessee State University in Nashville, where he is studying commercial music with a minor in music education.

While watching the documentary, he locked in on the struggle of African-American men. As O’Brien reported the personal stories of African-American men, Patrick zeroed-in on the TV screen. Some of the images – African-American men hanging on the street corner and fathers who’ve abandoned their children – he’d seen before.

The examples of African-American men that O’Brien used for the documentary are real, Brown said, "but I feel she could’ve given a better example of the black man."

Brown said too many young people are devoid of guidance and healthy role models. "Everybody needs a little guidance and black people should have role models," he said.

The documentary made the point that rap stars with unsavory reputations, lyrics and lifestyles are the role models for many young people. Brown is aware of the point. Some rap music is inappropriate, he said.

"But you have to listen to it to understand it. It can be uplifting sometimes. And it can be degrading. Some people look at rap like whites look at blacks (i.e. dirty, vulgar.)"

Brown said the CNN documentary was enlightening overall.

"It challenges me to stay on track – especially since I’m a black male college student."

CNN reporter Soledad OʼBrien went behind bars to talk with prison nmates about their predicaments for the documentary “Black in America.” (Courtesy Photo)