♪ this week on "our world with black enterprise" -- millions of people know her and love her as tasha mack from the hit show "the game." wendy raquel robinson. then, we ask a question, would president obama's first term be different if he were a white commander in chief. plus we catch up with one of america's first black male supermodels. that's what's going on in our world. up next.

♪ welcome back to "our world with black enterprise." we've seen her on our tv screens for more than a decade. now, wendy raquel robinson shares the secret to creating memorable characters. i'm here with wendy raquel robinson.

the legend. >> i'm like, really? >> we were just talking off camera about how i tweeted that she would be on the show and i got about 500 tweets right back. >> wow. >> people were so excited. >> but people -- >> tweet me, too. @wendyraquel. >> people were like tell tasha mack i said what's up. how does it feel to be so popular? >> it's interesting. i guess i don't really see it or feel it. being in los angeles everybody's an actor or something like that. it's when i go out of town, and it's like pinkie, regina, tasha. but it's wonderful. it's humbling. it's really an honor. >> that's pretty amazing. you had two really big roles in terms of how people see you. regina grier and now tasha mack. two very successful shows, both in syndication, both going really well. did you expect that? >> no. this is a business where you can have no expectations. you know. and even with tasha mack and "the game" we were canceled. so you know, we thought it was over.

it was like okay, on to the next, try to get something else. and boom, there was a whole -- i want to say it was a resurgence. we got resuscitated. and now it's even bigger than what the network thought it could be, what the actors thought it could be, what the producers thought it could be. so it's really a phenomenon. pinch me. it's great. >> i've never seen anything like it. when you debuted on bet, you had about 7 or 8 million viewers. >> 7.7. but you know what's crazy? i even think it was more than that because most of -- i know the entire east coast was like snowed in because we did a whole radio ndur and they got together, they had "game" parties. >> i had one. >> did you? >> yes. i had like 25 people in the crib. >> so 7.7 plus 25. >> don't forget my 25. because i had cousins i don't even talk to come just so they could watch it. everybody. rich forty. they all love "the game." >> thank you. >> i think one of the things people like about "the game" is a representation of blag people.

it's a diverse representation but it's dignified. how important is it for you to play roles that represent black people in a particular way? >> it's very important. i'm not going to say i'm a role model, per se, but i do want to play characters that have redeeming values, that are about something that are three-dimensional. number one, it helps me artistically, but number two, it's just -- i work on the concepts and the messages we play out there. it's okay to play a negative character but at least have something positive to show about it. what i love about tasha is that, you know, she's a single mom but at the same time she's not a statistic. >> yeah. >> she took that and she didn't become the victim with it. >> you got a kid? >> no. i got kids. i haven't told you yet because they're too young to process. >> and their mama? >> we don't talk about mama much. you know, she bounced when i was diagnosed. >> ronnie, i need five of these balloons. >> ronnie?

>> yeah. it's short for pope. hey, take this money over here, go get them balloons with your nanny. and i'll be right there. >> but she will pop the trunk every once in a while when necessary. >> yeah. she's not just a sister but a woman. she's from the west side of richmond, california. they have to do what they have to do. but she didn't use that as a negative thing. >> before you got to this point where you were doing television, you had some interesting theater. right? >> oh, yeah. i still do it. it's my first love. i'm from the theater. i was a theater major. i went to howard university. i majored in drama. it's like you're majoring in drama? yes, i am -- >> she ain't going to have no job. >> but theater's still my first love. and every highaatus i go back a play. because there's nothing like being live in front of a camera, but being live on stage and getting that immediate reaction from the audience, it's wonderful. it's the best way to really

tighten up your chops. you know, i can do comedy. i can do drama, you know, and things like that. i'm a very dramatic -- very dramatic actress. i am. i am. >> so what's the next role, then in if you could do anything next. in addition to doing with the "the game," because the game's going to go on ten more seasons. >> whoo. >> it's going to -- >> ten more years. what's next for me, you know, i'm not a planner like that. especially in terms of, you know, the roles that i want to do. >> yeah. >> i'm totally open. whafrs o whatever's out there. i've been concentrating on my non-profit, which is absolutely amazing. >> talk to me about that. because a lot of people say they've got a non-profit and they really don't. they've got like a p.o. box. you've got a real organization. >> 15 years ago my best friend and i started amazing grace conservatory. dotcom. you can visit our website. it's a performing arts school for youth and young adults, ages 5 to 18.

we're a year-round program where we offer acting and dance. beyond that we give them a platform where they can express themselves, a non-judgmental environment. basically it's a home away from home. ♪ >> you giving advice to those young people, which i'm sure you do, who want to enter the arts, who want to go into, whether it's music, whether it's theater, whatever it is, what would be the advice you'd give them? >> to step outside of the box. to not stay within the confines of what you think is the traditional way of getting in. because the industry has changed so much with, you know, multimedia and just the internet sensation and things like that. you see it's creative, it's possible, and not -- you don't think you have to go the traditional route. don't think you have to take risks. because without risk you'll

never know your true possibility. and listen to your heartbeat. if there's something that you're passionate about, you know, there's a lot of haters out there, things like, that but you've got do really listen to your voice because if i had listened to everyone who told me, oh, you're a drama major, it doesn't make sense, you're not going to make it, you know, i wouldn't be here with the testimony. >> right. that's a beautiful thing. and we're grateful for your journey. we're grateful for the game for you. tau for spending some time with us. we look forward to seeing everything you're going to do. it's been a pleasure. >> thank you. thanks for tweeting. >> oh, my pleasure. we'll be right back. >> up next on "our world with black enterprise" -- we already know throughout history they've been calling us monkeys. so for them to then call obama a monkey, then it becomes racial.

welcome back to "our world with black enterprise." michael vick, president obama and beyonce. these e are all names that are trending in social media. a special panel tells us why. >> joining us this week are chris spencecececececececececec. we also have actress and comedian kim coles. and msnbc contributor and political analyst jeff johnson. so there are a lot of things going on, but one thing people are talking about is the treatment of president obama. people are saying that no president has ever been called stupid, been called an idiot more, been disrespected in the news more, been disrespected by his colleagues more. some people say this is what you get when you sign up to be president. what d do you all say? >> i say i think it's ridiculous. i say despite the fact bush got beat up in the press and the media, one, we've never had a president that's had this kind of news cycle. but two, if you want to be honest, the racial undertones that exist in the comments can't be denied. and so that's the piece that's different than anything else we've seen. >> what about those times,

george bush looking like a monkey? all the comedians. you all had this h. some george bush being stupid jokes. >> we will, he was stupid. but nobody ever equates white people to being monkeys. that's not a negative stereotype that we say hey, white people are monkeys. but we already know throughout history that they've been calling us monkeys. so for them to then call obama a monkey then it becomes racial. >> here's the thing. this is a man who has achieved a great level of success, a great level of power. he deserves respect. whether or not you agree with his policies or his views. he deserves respect. >> how do you feel if somebody comes that has a whole barack obama comedy routine, those grandma pants -- >> you're supposed to. >> the dancing on "ellen." >> whether you're a political figure, an actor, an entertainer, once you're in that limelight you have given us license to talk about you. it's just the way they've gone about talking about him which is different from any other president they've ever talked about. >> do y'all have any obama -- do you do some obama bits? >> mine are positive. >> none.

i love michelle's arms. that's all i -- her guns. >> she does have some serious arms. >> she does. love it. >> another person with a great arm is michael vick. he recently signed a $100 million contract with the philadelphia eagles. they're giving him a full-fledged second chance in the sport. first of all, what do you think about that? the fact that michael vick got a second chance after doing felony time for dogs? >> listen, i don't know how to answer that. >> i think it's great. >> i don't know how to answer because -- people do deserve second chances. >> absolutely. >> absolutely. but i think that is he being rewarded because of his talent? because of his talent as a -- >> he's being paid to do the job he does. >> absolutely. and so at the end of the day here say man who did his time, who paid restitution, who lost everything he had, who came back, who's humbled himself to say i'm going to be willing to be a grunt for a year and work this thing out, improve myself, and now is not being rewarded

because he did something wrong. he's being rewarded for what he did right. >> yeah, it's about what he's doing on the field. and the butts he's putting in the seats and the revenue the actual team is getting and the city's getting that's allowing him to have that salary. if he wasn't winning he wouldn't be making this money. >> it's all about winning. >> his job is to actually win. that stuff off the field, yes, they've dealt with that. you know, he's paid his price. you know, he's done whatever he had to do, which was go to jail, and now he's back and winning and they're making a lot of money and who are they supposed to give the money to? >> i think the problem is that there is a double standard for people that have served time and that we keep trying to make people serve time over and over and over again. so i think to their point there is some truth to that. the issue is how do we speak more to giving people that have come out of jail a second chance to be able to redeem themselves, not how do we keep beating vick up because he got a second chance? >> so find ways to make everybody -- >> that's the problem that i have with it, is it seems that

it's so uneven. it seems it's swinging so far in his direction. it doesn't swing that fay for other people. and that's my concern. >> as an eagles fan i'm just happy -- >> i'm an eagles fan. i got a tweet from you last year when he ran for like -- he beat the giants, came back from 28 points-h like five touchdowns in the fourth quarter. you said, after this performance i'll send him a puppy myself. >> i did. and a whole bunch of dog lovers agreed. >> speaking of the internet, there was a rumor that will and jada had broken up. and people were going absolutely crazy. recently on the vmas also beyonce announced she was pregnant and people were celebrating like it was their kid. >> highest twitter issue ever. >> exactly. nothing has trended on twitter more than beyonce's baby. within five minutes there was a handle called beyonce's fetus. you know what i mean? there was so much stuff going on between will and jada and beyonce. why are we so invested in other people's relationships? >> we love black families.

that's why cosby show was rated so high. we love seeing black people together. and the fact that they are a couple, like they have the most talented kids in the world, they're like super kirksds lids to mi like second to mine, it's great to see that. and beyonce and jay-z. two other super stars creating a family. >> i don't know that people are having that much success in their own daily lives. so it's so easy to look out there and say oh, look, they're doing it right. >> i think it's ridiculous. and i think it's ridiculous not because i hate on will and jada. they've got a great marriage. i think that's fantastic. if jay and b got a great relationship, i think that's great. but i think at the end of the day we don't know what happens with them behind closed doors and marriage is tough and relationships are tough and people need to be grounded in what it takes to really make relationships work, not have this ridiculous fantasy that i can be will and jada because i

love will and jada. we don't know what will and jada do to make their relationship. but we definitely don't know what jay and b do to make their relationship work. we need people going into counseling. we need people understanding what healthy relationships are. we need people taking marriage seriously and taking the steps necessary to make theirs work, not living vicarious through people you don't know. >> i think it's interesting you said the highest twitter ever was beyonce's twittfetus. i think we're bored. i've paid attention to this beef between nicki minaj and keesha this and -- i've watched young people get caught up in this beef between two people they'll never meet and don't know and i'm thinking you're wasting their time. young people and old people. and who else is wasting their time? me talking about it right now. >> i spent 17 hours -- >> i'm intrigued because i'm studying the people. it's a social study. >> research. thank you all so much for being here. chris spencer, kim coles, jeff johnson. stay right there.

we'll be right back. >> up next -- from the runway to the classroom, this teacher's making a difference. >> i don't know that they'll remember everything that i've taught them. but i am absolutely confident that they'll remember the way they felt while they were learning.

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welcome back to "our world with black enterprise." back in the day rasheed savera broke barriers as a black model. now he's making a difference but in a different way. he's our "slice of life." >> despite a shortage of black male teachers in the classroom, one man is standing tall and making a difference. >> there's nothing like being successful by doing what it is you do. >> rasheed silvera has been a successful teacher for three decades, challenging generations of high school students to take on the world with passion, purpose, and style. >> i wanted to become the

teacher that i didn't have. and i'm talking about earlier on in life when as a chocolatino, as a young brother, i was often times in environments where i was one of few. >> this scarsdale, new york educator is not only considered a model teacher but was one of the first african-american supermodels to grace covers and commercials in the early '70s and '80s. a fashion flair he credits to his jamaican roots and boston upbringing. >> i grew up with folks who had the most incredible sense of style. if you would drop certain people in a room and cover them with rags, they would have emerged ready for any formal attire based on their personal creativity. >> silvera channeled that creativity in college at colgate, bennington, and harvard. he was further benefited by

meeting fierce black female models also breaking barriers. >> these were strong women who would not suffer weak beauty. so they literally made i think the industry look for these men who could be believable, credible matches and mates. >> today silvera still models occasionally, but now he's more concerned with making breakthroughs in his social studies classes. >> i mean this from the center of my heart. i don't know that they'll remember everything that i taught them. but i am absolutely confident that they'll remember the way they felt while they were learning. >> he really does care about every single one of his students, and he tries to give all of us an equal chance. >> he's really more like a friend than a teacher. >> the energy he brings, it makes -- i know it makes me want to learn more than in some of my other classes because you can tell that he really cares about the topics and also the

students. >> i have young teachers sometimes come and watch rasheed, and i will say to them afterwards, now, understand, this is all rasheed, you can't really replicate this, right? it's really built on what i characterize as a kind of jazz sensibility. he has the ability to understand a kid's comment and then take it and sort of move it in a different direction. >> and silvera has a simple secret to do just that. most of all, silvera says he hopes to positively impact the lives of the next generation. >> i know enough to encourage their curiosity. and then they can go and outlive me, outlearn me, you know, and outshare me. and maybe do some of the very same things. be better parents. be better brothers and sisters. you know, just be better people.

>> we'll be right back.

that wraps it up for us here at "our world with black enterprise." be sure to visit us on the web at blackenterprise.com/ourworld. you can also fan us on facebook and follow us on twitter. thanks for watching. and follow us on twitter. thanks for watching. we'll see you next week. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com