Black TV Watch: Race-Based Education Goals

(The Root) -- Though many were focused on the whooping Barack Obama was dispensing for free during last night's debate, there were other things on during prime time Tuesday night, too. Those things include a grown man painted to look like a cheetah and race-based education benchmarks. You're welcome.

Tia & Tamera (Tuesday, 9 p.m. ET; Style)

"With Cree ... he's won my heart over, so I just want to do something like that for him." --Tia

Highlight: On the second-season premiere episode, the biggest news is that Tia is leaving The Game. It's the show that everyone's come to know and love; the show BET picked up and screwed up -- or saved, depending on your opinion; and the show that put these twins back on the map. Because, be honest, you haven't tuned in to any of their projects since Sister, Sister.

Well, since she was offered only a recurring role in The Game's next season, Tia decided to throw in the towel. On to more permanent things, like a tattoo of Cree's name on her ribs.

Watch here.

Chicagolicious (Tuesday, 10 p.m. ET; Style)

Highlight: This new second-season episode of Chcagolicious was wild -- not just because it's Chicago and not just because it's licious, but because the stylists make people over to look like animals for a photo shoot at the zoo and because AJ's cousin is returning to the salon. Cheetahs, peacocks, stylists, oh my.

Watch here.

Don't Sleep! Hosted by T.J. Holmes (Monday-Thursday, 11 p.m. ET; BET)

"It makes sense if you're talking about the equitable distribution of resources. What you have here is a faulty solution to a bigger problem." --Erica Williams

"Sleep in. No one's expecting much of you, students down there." --T.J. Holmes

"Politicians only care about losing their jobs. And if they know you're not going to show up anyway, they're not that inclined to feel or listen to you." --D.L. Hughley

Highlight: On Tuesday night's episode, Holmes discusses how Florida is the newest state to pass race-based education standards. By 2018 the state hopes to have 90 percent of Asian students, 88 percent of white students and 74 percent of black students reading at grade level. The plan has been passed with the disclaimer that since these children are starting from different places, they should have different goals.

Boy, did this spark a discussion among the night's guests: singer Eric Benet, political analyst Erica Williams and Florida state Sen. Oscar Braynon II. The panel agreed that holding students to standards that they won't experience in the real world isn't doing them any favors.

D.L. Hughley closed out the night with a discussion about why young black men need to vote -- basically because their collective needs won't get any attention if they don't. OK, T.J., we're not going to sleep -- there's too much work to do.

Celeste Little is an editorial intern at The Root.

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