Opinion MSNBC's cancellation of Tiffany Cross sends a chilling signal [View all]

[Judi Lynn]

By Karen Attiah
Columnist

December 2, 2022 at 3:10 p.m. EST

About a month ago, I was having a chat with a Black editor. We got around to talking about our experiences. As the conversation went on, we agreed that we definitely shared one thing as Black people doing public discourse work: precariousness.

To be a Black public figure who chooses to be honest about white supremacy in this country is dangerous business. And there is no starker example of that than Tiffany Cross — whose show, “The Cross Connection,” was canceled last month by MSNBC, and whose contract with the network wasn’t renewed.

Cross, a former D.C. bureau chief for BET Networks and an associate producer for CNN, was named host of “The Cross Connection” in late 2020. The show aired Saturday mornings and was one of the higher-rated weekend political shows for the network. It was also one of the few shows left on a major news network that centered the voices of Black people and others of color. Cross focused on matters domestic and international, doing shows, for instance, on global diaspora movements.

She was unapologetic about discussing white supremacy and did not hold back on matters of race. This, of course, drew the ire of the right-wing chattering class, who increasingly singled her out. In October, after Cross (rightly) noted how White men dominate the NFL’s coaching and ownership ranks, Megyn Kelly called her a “dumbass” and “the most racist person on television.” Later that month, Fox News’s Tucker Carlson went on a 10-minute tirade against Cross and MSNBC, accusing Cross of stoking hatred against White people, and comparing her show to the radio broadcasts that led to the Rwandan genocide.

More:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/12/02/msnbc-tiffany-cross-connection-cancellation/