Armor-- Sara Bareilles

I was thinking that this had to be the worst Black History Month in a decade and the armor that People of Color have to wear all the time in this country. The Ralph Northam blackface/Klan pics came out at the beginning of the month, Trump's State of the Union was a week later, Justin Fairfax's sexual assault accusations, then more blackface, this time in Mississippi and from Gucci, Liam Neeson actually admitted to a hate crime fantasy, and then there was Candace Owens and her Hitler apologia. Jumpin' Jehoshaphat, that is an ignominious beginning to this month.

That is not to say that there aren't good moments to embrace. Stacey Abrams proved to the whole world why there were some of us thrilled by her and want her on the national scene (And she's been this way for years---look at this video of her as a college student and tell me you don't see it). We have two Democratic candidates of color in Kamala Harris and Cory Booker running for president. We could even see a movie about dealing with racist attitudes win Best Picture at the Oscars at the end of the month (but not without some major and valid detractors).

But all that said, take a look at this line up. Where are the People of Color? Where are the women? Where are the less advantaged? My quick census shows almost three times as many whites than People of Color and twice as many men as there are women. AM Joy has unquestionably the most diverse panels (don't ask me why they're not in the line-up; their PR person left and was either not replaced or took my name off their rolls, so I no longer get guest lists or transcripts from them), but really, could it be worse than what we're seeing here?

Maybe we'll stop seeing such problems when the media wakes up to the need for decent representation. Until that time, don't be surprised by our armor.

ABC's "This Week" — To be announced.

NBC's "Meet the Press" — Acting White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney; Sen. Michael Bennet, D-Colo.; Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif. Panel: Kimberly Atkins of WBUR, Boston public radio station; David Brody of CBN News and co-author of “The Faith of Donald J. Trump: A Spiritual Biography”; Markos Moulitsas, founder of Daily Kos; and Katy Tur of NBC News.

CBS' "Face the Nation" — Reps. Mark Meadows, R-N.C., Don Beyer, D-Va., and Jennifer Wexton, D-Va.; Saudi Arabia's minister of state for foreign affairs, Adel Al-Jubeir. Panel: Jamelle Bouie of The New York Times, Jonah Goldberg of National Review, Ed O’Keefe of CBS News and Margaret Talev of Bloomberg News.

CNN's "State of the Union" — Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo.; South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg, a Democratic candidate for president. Panel: Congresswoman Nanette Barragán, D-Calif.; former Congresswoman Mia Love, R-Utah; Nina Turner, president of Our Revolution; and Ken Cuccinelli, former Virginia attorney general.

CNN's "Fareed Zakaria GPS" — Moisés Naím, syndicated columnist; Shannon O’Neil, author of “Two Nations Indivisible: Mexico, the United States and the Road Ahead”; Bernard-Henri Lévy, philosopher, playwright, producer and author; Rebecca Traister of New York magazine and author of “Good and Mad: The Revolutionary Power of Women’s Anger.”

CNN's "Reliable Sources" — Panel on Bezos vs. National Enquirer: Marc Fisher of The Washington Post, Suzanne Nossel of PEN America, Lachlan Markay of The Daily Beast and Sam Vinograd of CNN. Michael Moynihan of “Vice News Tonight” on HBO; Kelly McBride, media ethicist and vice president of academic programs at Poynter in St. Petersburg; Cliff Sims, author of “Team on Vipers”; and Laurie Segall of CNN.

"Fox News Sunday" — Mulvaney; Sens. Richard Shelby, R-Ala., and Jon Tester, D-Mont. Tara Westover, author of “Educated.” Panel: Juan Williams of Fox News; Rich Lowry of National Review; former Congresswoman Donna Edwards, D-Md.; and Michael Anton, former spokesman for the Trump National Security Council.

Fox's "Sunday Morning Futures" — Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C.; Rep. Tim Ryan, D-Ohio; Rep. Chuck Fleischmann, R-Tenn.; John Solomon, investigative journalist at The Hill..

So what's catching your eye this morning?