For the most part entertainment serves as the most popular and financially rewarding platform for black families in this country, where family businesses are most often the purvey of other races.

It is therefore distressing to see the fallout between Pinchers and Junior Pinchers, as reported in THE STAR on Wednesday, where the son is complaining that his father is not speaking to him.

Apparently one possible cause of the rift is the fact that Junior Pinchers has a new manager, a woman. However, whatever the root of the distance between father and son, the end result is a bad name for black families.

We have seen father and son differences before, notably between deejay Jah Thomas (who did 'Shoulder Move') and singer Da'Ville. And we have seen the parting of ways among the Grace Thrillers. However, we must note that the stories of families who have kept it together are numerous, including the Marleys, Morgan Heritage, the Big Ship outfit led by singer Freddie McGregor and the Merritone sound system.

We should not be deceived by the negative incidents into believing that black families cannot run business together. The professions are public and hence so will be the rifts, but we should remember that there are many family units working together for the benefit of all.

At the same time, we remind those families of entertainers in the public eye that their quarrels are best kept private as much as possible, despite the public nature of how they make their living.