The power of Black bloggers - 7.6.2007.1

I am amazed at the response that has been pouring out across the blogosphere, particularly among many of the prominent and not so prominent African American blogs. There is a rally cry going on and I can’t imagine that BET, and its owner Viacom, can’t hear it. I am so glad to see this occurring and I hope other television networks, on cable and broadcast, stand up and take note. It wouldn’t hurt if the Presidential candidates take some notice too.

What has happened is that on Monday, July 2nd, C21media.net mentioned that BET (Black Entertainment Television) will be coming out with a new line of programming for the touted 84 million households it claims to have. Now the news might have been out prior, but that was when I got my first chance to read about this. In reading the description of Hot Ghetto Mess, I had no clue what was really happening. I just thought the title of the show was horrible, but so was most of the programming on BET. Thus I don’t watch the channel.

The next day I noticed that What About Our Daughters had run a campaign to force advertisers away from the above mentioned show. Their protest seemed to be a complete success. That got me wondering. I had to see why they were upset.

Obviously I understood it and had to write on the subject as well. I had a lot to say, and my anger was not just limited to the program, but extended to Black Entertainment Television and the executives that program the channel at Viacom. To me that is the true source of the problem with BET. As I’ve stated before,

“Am I angry? HELL YES. BET is apparently using the guise of comedy to insult us and profit from that insult. It’s exactly what has happened with the promotion of gangsta rap over any other form of the music genre. It’s finding a way to get someone to call me the N-word, which they can’t do without an issue, and get paid for it. And the meaning is exactly the same one that has been used in this nation for 400 years. Doesn’t that get you upset?”

Now I may not be the largest blog yet, but there is no question that both of the blogs just mentioned, and African American Opinion where we both post excerpts to, get attention in large numbers. The word was out and Race Wire was next to speak on this.

Continued in Part 2...

Fighting against gansta rap - 6.23.2007.3

Here is something that I noticed at African American Opinion.

As long-time readers of this blog know, I have no love of gansta rap. I enjoy rap music, mostly from before 1992, and most R&B but not the insistence that this genre has on drugs, committing crimes, violence and degrading of women. This opinion is shared by many, for more than a decade, and now a campaign has started to combat this in a visible and direct manner.

The campaign will put up billboards in cities throughout the nation that advertise against gansta rap. I support this movement and will provide a link for their fundraising efforts.

You can contact the African American Opinion publisher via email at: AAPublisher@gmail.com for more information, mention that you heard about it here.

Cross-posting with African American Opinion.com

For those of my readers that are familiar with the AfricanAmericanOpinion.com I have some good news. Due to the expansion of that site I will be adding some of my posts there as well as here and my other sites (www.mvass.com and www.vassconsult.com).

I know that there may be others out there that would like to further the reach of their blogs, or diversify the readers they have. To that end I include the following:

If you are an African American Blogger and you would like to gain even more exposure, you are invited to cross post on African American Opinion.com

Call it a public service announcement.