I'm skimming through some of this thread, and yeah, where is Discofan's outrage over the dating/mating choices of Kirk, Picard, or Janeway, compared to Sisko? The famous interracial kiss was notably forced upon Kirk and Uhura so you can't use that one, and of course a kiss is not a relationship.
I am African-American and with the dearth of positive black romantic relationships when DS9 was on and now, in the media, I remain impressed with how Sisko and Jennifer and later Sisko and Kasidy were depicted. And the idea that Sisko could not feel some connection to his ancestors ignores that we do the same things today. How far removed are Americans from 1776, but many enjoy the annual July Fourth celebration, the Founders and their ideals are constantly evoked and argued over to this day, and I can imagine we see similar behavior across the globe, for nations and cultures far older than the United States. But I do think some people are triggered by the idea that a black person can or should have a racial consciousness, dare I say racial pride, it offends them for some reason, and therefore these characters, and the actors who portray them, are held to a different standard than any white actor/character. I've seen this affronted attitude regarding Sisko before.
Is Discofan upset over Chekov or Picard's praise of their character's cultures? Same with McCoy or Tucker? And even within Trek itself, we see Vulcans, Klingons, Bajorans, etc. revere past ancestors.
What Avery Brooks did was not even outside the bounds of in-universe Trek. And I for one was so happy to see it when I was a kid because I saw so little of it elsewhere in the things I enjoyed. Not including racial consciousness/awareness isn't progress, it was a way of saying your culture, your history, your experiences don't matter. That you have nothing of value to contribute, so for Brooks to make sure Sisko had racial consciousness and pride, that he made sure to include positive depictions of a black father and son, were great.
