Black Entertainment Television loses Procter & Gamble, but is it enough?

Viacom must be proud. I really have to believe that they are in a great mood today. If they aren’t all the better because I feel better. Why? Because Procter & Gamble and GM have pulled their ads from the network – specifically those found on Rap City and 106 & Park.

Both of these cable network programs are found on the infamous Black Entertainment Television (BET) [No relation], created by Bob Johnson based on the same theory as that of Marie Antoinette. But whereas Marie Antoinette was beheaded by the starving masses, the intellectually starving made Bob Johnson a billionaire. And Viacom was more than happy to jump on the bandwagon that Johnson started.

If television can be called the opiate of the masses, then gangsta rap and hip hop music videos are its crack. Bob Johnson figured out the formula and how to spread sales when he started his infamous late-night music video line-up. Viacom simply figured out how to sell this crack to schoolchildren during the day. Reginald Hudlin must be proud, because Sumner Redstone surely is.

But many others in the Black community, and those concerned about the welfare of children, were not pleased. Thus when the later re-named Hot Ghetto Mess was first imagined, we spoke out. While the changes were minor (program title was quickly altered, and some of the content it’s rumored) advertisers acted lest they stir the ire of the $1 trillion African American community. And again the voices were raised and that attention has caused action.

As most would agree, it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to realize that Rap City and 106&Park promoted videos to kids just out of school that focused on sex, violence and profane language. But for those, like the advertising executives at GM and Procter & Gamble, that obviously never actually watch the program an April Parent Television Council study found the following:

“…among other things, that Rap City featured on average 31.6 instances of sex, 25.3 instances of explicit language and 11.7 instances of violence per hour.”

And Bob Johnson had the balls to allege that Senator Obama was a drug dealer.

Don’t get too happy though. While these 2 companies are in the top 5 of advertisers in the nation they have not made the impact that really would have made a difference to Viacom. GM did take their ads from these BET programs, but it moved them to other programs on this troubled network. Thus the financial slap in the face has become a tap on the wrists and BET continues in silence.

And what about the advertisers that have not changed their position? That would be McDonald’s, YUM! Brands (ie. KFC, Pizza Hut, Taco Bell, and A&W root beer), and Verizon. Not one of these companies seems to be fazed by children being spoon-fed sex and violence. Yet not one of these companies would dare advertise on a program targeting White children with the same reported numbers. Obviously their opinion matches that of Sumner Redstone and Viacom. What great company to associate with.

And the Black community must be admonished for supporting these kinds of actions. With so much money being spent on keeping up with the Jones’, so much importance placed on style over substance we effectively beg for more intellectual crack and they whip it up on demand.

But until we act in the same manner as the poor French with Marie Antoinette, expect to eat more cake and have children more damaged every year. I have to wonder how well Debra Lee, Reginald Hudlin, and Bob Johnson sleep? I’d guess as well as the crack dealer on the corner.

Moment in time 40 years after Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. - 4.4.2008.1

Today, 40 years after the death of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and 2 days before my birthday I pause to reflect on what has happened and what could have.

I’ve read a lot on Dr. King in the recent days, far more than what was written during this past Black History Month. And I’m reminded of comments made by Jeff Johnson when I saw him at Ithaca College this year. I consider what Dr. King was moving forward to do at the time he was killed, and how he has been frozen in time. I look at the society of America and of African Americans.

I am a child of the Civil Rights era. I have benefited in numerous ways from the struggles and strife made by those before me. And there are numerous things today that have gone backwards in time or have wasted the efforts made. Those children beyond my generation have no idea of what has changed, and seemingly few have an appreciation that they don’t know things have changed only recently.

If Dr. King had not been killed 40 years ago, do you think there would be a BET today? Perhaps there would be, and a TV One as well – but not the only 2 and not in the manner that we see now on Black Entertainment Television I imagine. I doubt that Bob Johnson would have been the first with a national cable channel, and it would not have been built upon the back of scantily clad Black women gyrating to lyrics promoting drugs and violence.

If Dr. King had lived, he honestly would have diminished in some of his stature – as all great leaders do as they age. Yet his voice would hold more power than all the so called Black leaders of today combined and then some. He would long ago have questioned the infusion of drugs into our communities, the ridiculous face value actions of “Just say no”, and the promotion of money over education values that have integrated into our communities via music videos, video games, and other genres.

If Dr. King had lived, there would be a voice to speak with fanatical Muslim extremists. Perhaps there would never have been a 9/11, nor a war in Kuwait, nor a bombing in Lebanon. And even if these events did happen, there might have been a voice to provide an alternative just a step short of war.

If Dr. King had lived unions would be far different than they are now. There would have been a powerful voice questioning America’s involvement in Viet Nam, and questioning how the Government ran the war.

I imagine that television networks and movie studios would have rushed to integrate the big and small screens for fear of boycotts. Today there would not be worlds of imagination segregated to a virtually uniform racial make up of the world. There would not be just 2% of the entertainment industry representing every person of color combined. Spike Lee would not have to be heralded as a unique and groundbreaking director (based on his color), but just a great director among others.

I imagine that the African American middle class would not be a ghost, but a viable and growing community. I imagine that I would not have been able to get through high school with a college preparatory physics class textbook that was 3 years older than me. I imagine that a better alternative to Affirmative Action may have been found.

I would hope that had Dr. King lived, America would have come to terms with the need to apologize for slavery, something that I think still festers in the background causing separation and ill-will. I would hope that America could realize that reparations are part of that contrition and the fact that every American today benefits from the 246 years of work that built the foundations of everything that exists today. I would hope that we all would further realize that another 100+ years of segregation and prejudice were instead built upon the back of slavery with Jim Crow laws and that the cycle of judgment based on skin color needed to be broken.

I believe that as some of these things came to pass the history of the nation, the full history, would be revealed. Men like the Tuskegee Airmen and every other African American that has fought in every war America has ever had would not be new revelations to our children today. That the innovations and inventions that make life modern would be attributed to the Blacks that created them. That no person in America would wish to use a word like the N-word because it had no relevance and its meaning is too vile to repeat.

I believe that there would be no need to be distinguished by skin color when being described as an American. I would not need to be African American or Mexican American and so on. We could simply be Americans, one and all.

I believe that the Tuskegee Experiment would not have lasted until 1972, and that the Government would have been smitten for such actions. That there would not need to be a question of whether the government had made AIDS and brought it into communities of people of color because we could be sure they would never act in such a manner again.

I believe that Dr. King would never have become a politician, but other people of color would have been inspired, supported and welcomed as such. That there would be no place in America that could still herald the fact an African American ran for or was elected to a political office. That the first viable Black Presidential candidate would have ran, and possibly been elected long before the 21st century – 388 years after the first recorded slave was sold, 235 years after creating America, 142 years after abolishing slavery, 85 years after lynchings became a crime, 42 years after Jim Crow and segregation laws were declared illegal, 23 years after the first Black Miss America, 8 years after the first Black Secretary of State, 7 years after the first African American President of an Ivy League College and first Black billionaire, and 1 year after the first Black American (and youngest person) that flew around the world solo [which went virtually unreported].

There are many things I think that Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. could have done had he lived, and others that he would have influenced that would have benefited America. But I am left with one other thought.

Why haven’t these things happened even without him?

Eugene Oregon can't speak to African Americans - 3.27.2008.1

If anyone from Eugene Oregon is reading my blogs, I hope that you have a dictionary handy. If not I suppose you can ask a White person from at least 110 countries around the world what my blogs say. I mention this because I just learned that for some reason the city does not seem to know how to speak to Black people.

Seriously. On Fox News at approximately 6:35pm, Dan Springer made a report about the City mandating training to be able to speak with African Americans. Somehow the less than 2% of the population that is Black seems to speak some language that the Americans in Eugene Oregon cannot comprehend.

Ok, I can’t hold it back. You dumb bas****s.

I can believe the insult. Somehow officials there think that English is not enough to allow for communication between Americans in America? Is it because the White Americans in Eugene failed to get an education of any kind? I doubt that. To my knowledge there was no transplanting of an African nation into the town. I am unaware of a Zulu tribe doing a mass immigration into the area. So what is the problem?

I am left with the thought that some White elitist pseudo-intellectual liberal with more money than brains decided that African Americans in the town were being treated unfairly, and the cause was that the White population didn’t know how to speak to them. Were some person to come up to me, and ask ‘How should I speak to you. Do you understand English?’ I would hit them.

I have to believe that the same liberal mentioned above has watched too much BET (Black Entertainment Television) – the music videos, saw Soul Plane once to often, and recently saw Birth of a Nation. Somehow that same person came to understand that Snoop Dogg was the representative of all Black people. I would guess that the same person also probably has never lived in a bigger city nor ever actually been around Black people.

If Savannah Georgia, or Houston Texas, or New York City decided to create a program to teach non-Whites to speak to Whites there would be a riot. The concept is ludicrous it would be claimed. It would be called insulting and stupid. The fact that everyone speaks (or should at least passingly understand) English makes the thought incomprehensible. Equally the converse is true. Except in Eugene.

Somehow my writing, which is actually less evocative than my speaking, is an alien language in Eugene Oregon. Or so their program indicates.

I have to wonder what happened when Senator Obama was speaking in the town. When he spoke about

“The Oregon election is a chance to make change a reality, Obama says. A police officer with a shaved head nearby me nods his head in approval. Come to mention it, there are a lot of cops standing around.”

Did the rest of those at McAuthur court understand? Was the officer nodding his head to stay awake, did he think he was watching some kind of new rap group?

When Senator Obama said

“Obama says he wants a head of the Environmental Agency to actually protect the environment, including Oregon rivers, oceans, forests and skies.”

Did the reportedly massive crowd know he wasn’t speaking about EPMD or did his White heritage somehow provide a encryption key for their ears?

Well let me tell those that find this program neccesary a little secret that only the entire nation should know, and the rest of the world (at least those from the 110 countries that view this blog each month) seems to understand, and every English speaking human being I have ever met understands – even those that I spoke Russian with. You speak to African Americans like a person with respect and you will get respect and a conversation. Speak to us like some dimwitted creature that can’t understand it’s native language and I assure you that you won’t like the results. Especially if you are in arms reach of me.

College students of color talk with Michael Vass - 2.28.2008.1

Do you know who Jeff Johnson is? Some may think of BET (Black Entertainment Television – no relation to this site) upon hearing the name. Others will have completely no idea whatsoever. To both I would say, you need to hear him in person.

On February 27th 2008 Jeff Johnson spoke at Ithaca College at Phillips Hall. This announced speech drew a mixed crowd of students that ranged from freshmen to seniors, male and female, and of all races. One commonality I noticed was the fact that they all were interested in becoming more involved in politics and active in issues important to them.

I had the chance, before Mr. Johnson spoke to talk with a few of these students. Initially I was speaking with 3 students, 2 guys and 1 woman with ages between 19 to almost 21. One of the most outspoken was Chinedum Nnodum, a 20 year old 1st generation son of Nigerian parents who grew up in the Bronx (not too far from where I grew up I later learned) and then in Connecticut.

Some of the questions I wanted to hear their opinions on are the same ones that are often spoken about at each Primary and Caucus that has occurred this year. When I asked how long they have all followed politics, and what interested them about this Presidential race I was told that they followed politics infrequently. That the big interest and draw was the fact that there was new blood in the candidates in the forms of Senator Clinton and Senator Obama.

When I asked if their preference was limited solely to Democrats and if so why I was told yes, partially because of the focus of the media and news feeds focused on them and the historic nature of their potential candidacy. Not to be left out was the fact that there is an ”emphasis on change.” Added to that was the fact that they felt the Democrats sounded more authentic in what they had to say.

Some of their concerns about this current Presidential race covered both political parties though. They all felt that there needs to be more of an emphasis on education. That this subject was being ignored due to the Iraq war and oil prices. For them it is a key issue, not only because it will affect the interest rates they will pay for their college loans but also – as one pointed out – what kind of opportunity will be provided to the younger brother of one of the students who is in middle school and will be coming to college as well soon.

They also felt that things were already changing, just by virtue of the fact that a woman and African American were potential nominees. Because of their involvement, and the fact that either way a minority potentially could be President, issues are being raised and addressed in a manner not seen before.

Considering the question about raising issues I then wanted to see how students in the Northeast, in college, felt about the emerging trend of school shootings like Virginia Tech and others. Their response was sober and immediate. The major media was not helping the situation.

“Tragedies do happen, but the timeframe seems to be promoted by media attention, making copycats.”

Because of the media attention, other disturbed individuals were gaining an impetus and validation for committing these heinous acts. It’s a view that I think has solid ground, and the major media should pay attention to. Suffice to say, it’s an issue that is prevalent in their minds, yet not preventing them from gaining the educations they have striven for.

Changing gears I wanted to ask about rap and hip hop, one of the issues Jeff Johnson was known for speaking about. In particular I wanted to know how they defined the difference between hip hop and rap. The answer was that the initial rap music, which I grew up listening to, was really hip hop. While there was a lot of entertainment in the initial songs, the overall theme of the industry also included culture and the people of the time.

Hip Hop today continues in that theme with artists like Gym Class Heroes (currently defined as an indie hip hop group). Their description of the band seemed like R.E.M. to me, back when they were just on college radio. They agreed in that groups like this have thought provoking songs like Cupids Chokehold which are not in the mainstream.

Modern day rap (which is what those in my age group would consider by the sub-genre title of gangsta rap) was simply about money. That artists like 50 cent was only in this for the money and had sold-out to get it. And that they felt this was reflected in the songs artists like this made.

While I spoke to just a small group of these students at the event, I can say that I was really pleased to learn of their interest in the future of America, their own educations, and the culture around them. They renewed my hope that, much to the chagrin of record company executives, many in the African American and minority communities are not buying into the images that are purported to represent them. And I have to believe that if even a small portion of students of color hold similar motivation and energy as the outspoken and determined Mr. Nnodum and the others I spoke with, the polispeak and much heralded change Presidential candidates are bandying about will be positive and real in the near term.

I would have asked further questions of these students in Ithaca College, but at that point, Jeff Johnson was about to be introduced. My thoughts on his speech will follow shortly.

Bob Johnson of BET and Clinton supporter apologizes to Senator Obama - 1.17.2008.1

So Bob Johnson has apologized to Senator Barack Obama for attacking the Democratic Presidential candidates past, for the express benefit of Senator Hillary Clinton. Isn’t that nice.

I have no doubt that virtually everyone has heard the comments made on Sunday, but if for some reason you missed it here it is:

[NOTE - This video contains material that young readers should not see. It is the very same material that Bob Johnson promoted on BET daily.]



That’s what Bob Johnson said. The implication was clear and his denials were disingenuous. And as has been done repeatedly by the Clinton campaign, it was an attack on Senator Obama with several desired results.

It was meant to insist the thought and stereotype that Black men are drug users. That we are untrustworthy and dangerous. These themes are not new to Bob Johnson as he was critical in placing that portrayal front and center on national cable via Black Entertainment Television.

The second thought was to split Whites from Blacks in their voting. It was a direct play on the race card, issued by the Clinton campaign. He was speaking on her behalf, and given the Clinton’s penchant for micromanagement of every aspect of the campaign I would have to believe it was cleared before Johnson spoke. It was meant as a means to imply that White America should avoid an African American.

Third it was meant as a means to divert attention from any positive message Senator Obama might have and any new support he might have gained from Iowa. It was meant to distract from the fact that 40% of Michigan voters came out to vote with only one goal, to deny Hillary Clinton a sweeping unchallenged win. The implication being that she is weak and disliked.

It has succeeded in each point.

But I must ask, how important is it that a man responsible for damaging the image of Black men, and the value of Black women wants to attack an African American that has spent decades serving the public and has voluntarily admitted his own failures long before he ever had an aspiration for the Presidency.

Obviously very little since Bob Johnson has now apologized, though far less publicly, and in a vague manner.



At least he admits the attack was uncalled for and underhanded. Similar to the music videos that degraded Black women, especially popular at BET when Bob Johnson was at the helm. Similar to the Clinton staffer that was promoting a false and derogatory email about Obama being Islamic and an undercover terrorist. A dirty political attack that the Clinton campaign loves to use. Or so it would seem as the do this constantly.

Johnson goes on to mention that the comments were ‘inappropriate’. I disagree, they were perfect to weaken the chances of the first viable Black Presidential candidate. They were timed and planned, and he knew it. His apology, after the effect has taken hold, is hollow and pitiful.

But I expect no more from a man that has proliferated the worst images and commentary on African Americans in decades. He sought out music videos and programming, that no other cable network would dare play. And the reason he got away with it was because he is Black.

And his legacy continues to insult and inflame millions of African Americans. Hot Ghetto Mess (or whatever name has been given to it now), College Hill, Read-A-Book, and so much more are still spewing forth. This has even lead to equally offensive material like the various Flava of Love television shows and spin-offs. All justified by what Bob Johnson created and promoted.

I don’t know which is worse. The fact that the Clinton campaign must resort to personal attacks and lies, or that Bob Johnson would dare to try to take a moral stance above anyone.

So I say to Bob Johnson, your apology is as without merit as Read-A-Book was without class, good taste, or a message.

And I have to question Senator Clinton. If your campaign has taken for granted the support of Blacks, and neither you nor your husband can point to any actual law (that I can recall or an aware of) that directly and specifically benefited African Americans, what would make you think that gaining the support of the man responsible for more negative imagery and content against Blacks would improve your support? Perhaps this person, and his obvious venom-spitting proves one thing, that you may not have the best interest of African Americans in mind.

At least that is what I conclude, how about you?

Congress discusses gangsta rap music - 9.26.2007.3

So what else have you not heard about? What might the major news media, particularly the cable news networks, have considered less than newsworthy? We know that the news about Ms. Megan Williams of West Virginia barely deserved 3 minutes, that OJ Simpson demanded 4 days of virtual non-stop coverage, and the 13 year old in Virginia has garnered 2 days of college so far. But what is too mundane to be covered?

How about the Congressional hearings on the language and images used in gangsta rap music. Did you know that on the 25th the House was holding hearings? I bet most didn’t.

The discussion included present and former rappers, music industry executives, and of course our friend Philippe Dauman of Viacom (which owns MTV, VH1, and Black Entertainment Television). The various personalities discussed their views and in some cases justification for gangsta rap.

Rapper Levell Crump, known as David Banner – who ever that is, defended his use of foul language

“I'm like Stephen King: horror music is what I do…Change the situation in my neighborhood and maybe I'll get better.”

Well isn’t that special. Gansta rap is horror music. I couldn’t agree more. But at least there are choices and varying degrees of horror in movies and books. More importantly rap music should not be defined in such a narrow and limited manner.

Rap started as an expression of fun and having a party. It evolved to include personal views on life, and political statements. It wasn’t until 1992 that music companies started to promote, virtually exclusively, the current concept of what rap is. It just happens to also be the most profitable form of rap music for corporations, luckily for the single-mindedness of their choice for promotion.

And then there is the desire for someone, other than Crump, to fix his neighborhood. What a cop out. If he wants a better neighborhood, he can stand up and fix it. Asking someone else to change the situation is no different than asking the government (whom I presume he was inferring) to provide individuals with welfare so they can languish both socially and economically, I feel. It’s a poor justification for taking advantage of other African Americans. I find it no different than the excuse that someone will sell drugs because if they don’t someone else will.

On the other end was rapper Master P, Percy Miller. He provided an apology to women for his songs and lyrics. He noted that he wouldn’t let his own kids listen to the work he had done previously. I’m not surprised. I’ve heard that many rappers and executives in the music industry would never allow the use of words and references they use in their songs to be used or applied in their homes or to their families. Kind of like the old saying among drug dealers, ‘Don’t get high on your own supply.’

Continued in Part 2...

Why hasn't Al Sharpton gone to West Virginia

Post written by guest blogger CMiller

I am going to have to say that it is a shame upon the Black community when the Reverend Al Sharpton and Reverend Jessie Jackson have not even shown up to champion the Black woman who was brutalized by 6 white people that consisted of 2 white females and 4 white males. My gosh even the Federal government has abandoned this poor woman by not calling this a hate crime. If it was not a crime that consisted of major amounts of hate then what would you call it. Why in the world would 2 women be involved in such a crime being committed against another woman? Could it be because she is a black woman? I believe the possibility is more than present in this case.

But again I must ask, where is the Black community’s voice on this matter. Its as if everyone thinks its ok for such a heinous crime to be committed against a Black woman and that the reaction should be next to invisible to the American public. Why in the world would the major news media not be interested in such a story. One would think that the way they latch on to bad news within the Black community that for once they could come to the aid of one of us.

It would seem that no one is interested in helping this poor woman not even spiritually it would seem, do to the lack of even the ambulance chasers being at her side.

I say this would be such a blight on the Black community if this one slips between the cracks. Are we not sick to death of what happens to Blacks, for the love of pete its 2007 and we are still being made victims by the major news media. I expected BET to have something to say about this but I was wrong. I hope for the sake of this woman that the Black bloggers out there in the world come together and help this woman so that she will not be forgotten. That for once justice will be done and served to the fullest extent of the law.

Should this woman be forgotten, everyone of us should stop and think how they would feel if that woman was their mother, sister, daughter, aunt or cousin. Would it be so easy to forget then or would a cry of outrage erupt from your soul for what horror she had to endure at the hands of 6 hateful white people.

Regardless of the color of this woman’s skin, no person should go through what she had to endure. All women are sisters and should stand together and support one of our own. I am saddened that in America people can turn a blind eye and a deaf ear to the plight of one of its own.

Our community needs to pull together and support this poor woman in her time of need. Respect her privacy but don’t’ forget her. She after all is one of us.

Do your kids understand Bid Em In? - 9.6.2007.1

I just heard something rather troubling. This is in regards to the Bid Em In video. A friend just mentioned that two of her children recently saw a video and captured nothing from it. Let me be clear, one child is 22 the other is 16. They have no concept of slavery. One referred to the video as "selling hoes" and the other thought it was an auction of people. There was no mention of that the people were Black or that this was during colonial times. There was no anger over the video, or any emotional connection. This is opposed to the very emotional and angry response to the Read-a-book BET public service announcement.

In speaking with a friend the conclusion seems to be that kids today have no connection to slavery. The concept just does not come to mind. It's almost as if to them it never happened, which is somewhat understandable since it’s never spoken about. I have no kids so this is a matter I wouldn't readily expect, nor conceive of. But a great point was made and it deals with Black history month. For all of the Leave No Child Behind rhetoric and all of the increased curriculums, there is nothing mentioned about slavery itself. When was the last time you recall seeing Roots on TV or heard that it is available on DVD? [Hey BET; think you could run this sometime?]

There been many studies about the Holocaust to remind children in the world of the atrocities that happened some 60 years ago. Yet there are no equivalent programs at high schools and in many colleges to address slavery in America, to my knowledge. As a nation we discuss taking the land from the Indians, the Japanese internment, the Holocaust in Germany, the killing fields in Southeast Asia. Even most recently the problems in Bosnia, but it is verboten should we speak about slavery in America. And the result is that young adults, African-American young adults, can watch a powerful statement about their ancestors, and neither raise an emotional response nor contextual one. That seems wrong to me.

My friend’s children are intelligent, the 22-year-old having gone to college. These are not gang-bangers, drug addicts, criminals, or wanna-be-felons (in other words, rappers). I am amazed. So I ask you to help me out in understanding something. Let's call it an informal survey, a fact-finding mission, or just bloody curiosity. Those of you who have children or grandchildren, who have not yet seen the video, take an opportunity and show them this. After they've seen it, asked them what they've seen. Don't tell them beforehand anything about the video, and then asked them their response. And then please come back, and send me an e-mail or make a comment and let's see what the general sentiment is out there.

If the generations coming up now have no concept of their past then they will be doomed to repeat the hardships that occurred then. They will have the American Dream in reverse. As it has been constantly said ‘history repeats itself, if we do not learn from the lessons of history.’ I for one will not sit idly by and allow my nephew (or other young adults) to have to experience the same things my grandmother and great-grandmother and fathers experienced.

This is what I would do you think?

** I first posted this video in A bit on my Labor Day - 9.3.2007.1 but I will repost it here for ease.**

Viacom just doesn't stop Part 3 - 8.21.2007.4

Concluded from Viacom just doesn't stop Part 2...

Many wish to target the parts of the Viacom machine. It is a good concept and effective to a degree. Change of one portion of their multiple arms does have an effect. Yet serious change to all the parts might only be possible in addressing the most important part of the corporation, its shareholders.

If you are tired of your mother, sister, girlfriend, wife and/or daughter being equated to a drug-addled, stupid, lump of flesh place on the earth for the mere pleasuring of any guy with money in his pocket, you might want to check your 401k and stock investments. If you are more than the potential subject of a police line-up, are only connected to Grand Theft Auto by the video game, can spell the word investment and know what it means, have meaningful relationships, all without the aid of a government handout you also might want to check with your stockbroker. Pull all of your shares and any mutual fund that owns Viacom except one share.

The reason to keep one share of Viacom, or a reason to buy one, is so you can go to the annual shareholder meeting and bring up a referendum on why the management has such disrespect for African Americans. Done with a letter signed by each shareholder that agrees with this question and a copy of this question and the signed letter of those asking going to each advertiser of VH-1, MTV, and BET. That can get Viacom to change regardless of the direction Redstone and Dauman seem to continue to take.

In the meantime, I see less and less of a reason to watch the programming of the Viacom company. It’s beyond insensitivity, as the post from Miss J states. This is active stereotyping and exploitation in my view. I cannot support such actions by lending my viewership. Can you?

This is what I think, what do you think?

Viacom just doesn't stop Part 2 - 8.21.2007.3

Continued from Viacom just doesn't stop Part 1...

In looking at, and not watching, a rap video we see the violence, drugs and abuse of women that is being promoted. Many have mentioned that. And each of the channels that are abovementioned dedicate time to promote the most sexual and derogative videos, even if they claim that the programming places the worst of it after 10pm or it is focused on the one channel targeted solely to Black people. What is also being promoted is criminal activity (can you name all the rappers and hip hop artists that have not been arrested on drug, gun, or violence related charges? Are there any?) lack of education (name any current rapper that has graduated college? Gone to college? Graduated high school?) and base materialism (unless you can explain a need for spinning rims and platinum teeth beyond wasting money).

What about the ever so educational Flava of Love programs, and its spin-off. Can anyone name the benefit of that program? Is there any reason that this has to be the only presentation of Black people to millions internationally?

How about the movies on these channels? When was the last time you saw a movie that starred an A-list Black actor? When was the last time that a film, made for more than 15 million, that did well in the movie theaters was on? Have you ever seen a single film starring Mr. Denzel Washington, or Mr. Lawrence Fishburne, or Mr. Wesley Snipes? Have you seen a single film that did not feature primarily Black-on-Black violence?

It seems quite obvious that Viacom believes that African Americans are mindless, poverty-stricken, fools that will accept drinking sand because that is what they are offering. Why else would a public service announcement be featured that is as vulgar, crass, and crude as the subjects it is supposed to be combating. (It even creates questions of issues I have never heard used against Blacks)

Given this, can anyone be surprised that a program that might feature Black women, or men, that have intelligence and successful careers would be cancelled? I’m surprised the concept was allowed to progress far enough that news about it could be written.

If Nike were to have an ad, with a bunch of Black guys playing basketball, with rap music in the background, and a hoochie with a baby in her hands and a stroller walks up to a drug dealer asking for crack offering a pair of new Nike sneakers as payment; there would be outrage. Yet Viacom does this same thing, just in separate parts and sometimes using separate channels.

I have mentioned my contempt for Viacom head Philippe Dauman, and real power Sumner Redstone. These 2 men control the publicly traded company. It is their vision that shapes the programming on their cable network, and motion picture empire. They ultimately determine what images of African Americans are broadcast to the world via their media.

Concluded in Part 3...

Further thoughts on the Black Entertainment Television PSA Part 3 - 8.13.2007.4

Submitted from Further thoughts on the Black Entertainment Television PSA Part 2...

I want to mention something for Mr. Williams, it’s an old saying. A mind that must use a vulgarity to express something where words are common and available is a small mind. Words are merely the vocalization of thought, and those small words reflect a small closed mind.

I would also like to remind Mr. Williams something else. Being a bit older than I think he is I actually remember what rap music was when it first started, when it first got placed on albums (vinyl not a CD or cassette tape), and when MTV created the concept of a music video. I can say based on growing up and watching the phases rap music has gone through, that Mr. Williams seems to have no idea what rap music intended or was capable of.

If you want to know what rap music was about, listen to Grand Master Flash and the Furious 5. If you want to know what rap music is capable of being, listen to Public Enemy or KRS-One. To say that the mindless, money-grubbing, record company driven, commoditized, lateral sales targeted, repetitive, lyrical vomit that is gansta rap (originally a mere sub-genre of rap pre-1992) today is all that rap can attain is both narrow-minded and insulting.

But staying focused on my original point, this Public Service Announcement that Black Entertainment Television has on its cable network airwaves sickens me.

Now I know some may read this and say, ‘well you just don’t get it. You aren’t Black enough. You are too busy trying to be White.’

Time to wake up and stop hiding from the truth. I was born in the Bronx with a tan that never fades, summer or winter, in the sun or not. My color of skin is dark enough to have gotten me lynched in the 1600’s, the 1800’s, and in 1965. I have been called N-word too many times to count, and as recently as 2 weeks ago. That wasn’t the rose colored glasses view of a salutation some hope it is, but meant as the word is defined.

I’m Black enough to have been denied jobs, and have women held their purses tight in an elevator. I’m Black enough to have police draw guns on me for a simple traffic stop. I’m Black enough to watch some people smirk and deny that I own a business, just because they don’t.

If the fact that I earned my education instead of buying the latest overpriced sneaker offends, be offended. If the fact that I have never been to jail and prefer to wear suits as opposed to platinum teeth intimidates weaker minds, be intimidated. If I use a vocabulary that doesn’t include words found on a rap album, don’t feel bad because they are the same words that the executives that own the record company you are funding use everyday.

So perhaps someone who has been around long enough to know what things were like before the internet, and gangsta rap, can be Black. And that same person can see when a television network is using the people it claims to serve. It’s not a unique vision. But as long as some cow-tow and praise actions that degrade the people it supposedly represents, things won’t get better.

Here is perhaps the most obvious point on how “classic” or “ironically positive” this PSA may be. Every other network, especially the national broadcast television networks, will not play this PSA. Viacom, which owns BET, won’t play this PSA on any of its other channels. This isn’t quiet because it won’t be played; it isn’t being played because of the embarrassment and insult it is.

If that isn’t an example of exploitation and insult, I can’t wait to hear what is.

This is what I think; I want to hear what you think.