Dr. Marc Lamont Hill - at Fox News no more

Well I missed some rather upsetting news the other day. If you have ever watched Bill O'Reilly on Fox News, whether you would admit it or not in public, you probably have seen Dr. Marc Lamont Hill. He was a Liberal speaker on the show. I say was, because Dr. Hill is no longer employed by Fox News. Which is what I find upsetting and surprising that I missed.

The earliest news of this change was on Oct 16th, though it was somewhat dubious at the time. It is now very confirmed. Though no information about this has yet to appear on his site - MarcLamontHill.com.

I admit that I had many differences with Dr. Hill. Politically we are on opposite sides of the spectrum. I often critiqued the views and ideas that he defended on the O'Reilly Factor, in my posts and video blogs. But that is not to say I did not respect him.

For all the faults that I found with Dr. Hill, he is an intelligent and passionate Liberal. He is willing to stand in front of millions and express views that many disagree with. He has placed his name and reputation on ideas that he believes in and that deserves respect. Especially when it comes to blogs, often run or commented on by individuals unwilling to attribute their name to what they say.

I am unaware of why Dr. Hill is no longer with Fox News. While I have found fault with his beliefs, he has always been informative and a great foil against the far more conservative views of Bill O'Reilly and others on that show. To my knowledge there has been no incident, personal or professional, that would call for his removal.



The loss of Dr. Hill upsets me not only because I believe that a Liberal counter is needed for the Fox commentators, but also because he is Black. There are very few voices that make it to the news media, no matter which network you choose to watch. The loss of a well known voice is a major blow to our visibility and ability to introduce concerns and issues that we hold.

The fact might be best seen in the fact that on Fox alone, Dr. Hill was often asked to comment on arenas far away from his own field of expertise. I do not believe that there were no other Black voices available for such discussions. I do believe that many of those that are qualified for these diverse commentaries are under severe pressure from the White House and on a local level to not appear on Fox News. Which again only amplifies the problem.

Without further justification provided I find the actions of Fox News to have been detrimental overall. It is not enough to stop my viewership, but it is enough to cause this post.

To Dr. Marc Lamont Hill I will say directly that I hope you find continued success and are not deprived of sharing your voice with the public for too long. While I do not agree on several facets of your publicly stated opinions, my respect for your voice stands far above my own personal views. I can think of no better compliment I could give any commentator.

From Right and Left, the media gets Hillsboro town hall wrong

On August 18th, Bill O’Reilly discussed the charges of racism at a Missouri town hall. This is a news item that first surfaced on CNN, and has since risen in controversy. O’Reilly, and Dr. Marc Hill went over several of the facts of this case.



The problems though are many. Foremost is the fact that it seems all the details of what happened have yet to be accurately described. Yes, the White male was arrested for assault. Yes, signs are not allowed at that town hall meeting. Yes, the woman was in violation, and it is unclear what was in the mind of either individual involved.

The fact that the poster was of Rosa Parks does not instantly mean anyone knew who she was on the poster. I bet many of my readers wouldn’t be able to pick out Rosa Parks picture without help. Still that does not give anyone else a right to assault someone for the poster either. Even if they disagree with the poster. But that doesn’t make it an outright racial event. Especially at a highly heated debate as the health care reform issue is.

Based on those facts, CNN is wrong in allowing a depiction of this being a racist act. But O’Reilly is wrong to dismiss the accusations of signs with the N-word. It is something that is being reported, though not visually backed up, and thus is questionable as to veracity. So Dr. Hill should have stood stronger on that point.

But when Dr. Hill makes the claim that the town halls, across the nation as he implies, are all racist – I think he is channeling Speaker Nancy Pelosi. There is no proof of this. There is no way to even make a credible argument for this. So in effect all he is doing is fanning racial flames. Which is wrong.

But O’Reilly goes off the deep end when he assumes that the only possible way a person can find there to be racial animus at a town hall is if a White opposes President Obama’s health care reform – and thus must be assumed a racist by anyone Black. It is illogical and fallacious and insulting. Such reasoning is as bad as the claims of Dr. Hill. If this is not what O’Reilly meant, he did a supremely poor job of making his position clear.

But there is more to this, as I found on Youtube.



Given the additional video evidence, the question of racial discord seems far more credible. To a degree.

There is the fact that the initial incident looked to be approaching an explosion point. Which would mandate the separation of both parties. But if the excuse for the removal of the Black woman is the fact that she had a sign, why were the others with signs and flags allowed to stay? Why were police so forceful with the Black woman, once she was separated from the man assaulting her, and adamant in expelling her? Why were police so uncaring in dealing with other sign holders in the crowd?

And from the evidence I was able to find, I did not once see anything that included the N-word. Nor am I aware of any credible source stating that. Still there was a remarked difference, which should be addressed.

Was this event a blatant racially biased event? I think not. Though there was plenty of insensitivity and more than enough emotion – for various reasons. And I think that CNN, Tim Wise, Fox News, O’Reilly and Dr. Hill are all equally at blame for sensationalizing what happened at Hillsboro. Which just makes it that much harder to really address obvious issues when they appear in the media.

In all honesty, the major media can kiss my buttock when it comes to covering racial bias in this nation. The major media has a blind eye to what really should be discussed, and a knack for sensationalizing the more trivial events. I mean I still have yet to watch coverage of the Oscar Grant case, or Adolph Grimes and Robbie Tolan, which took place this year. Yet there was no end to coverage of OJ, and the spin on that was anything but a witch hunt.

This event is a tough call. It is obvious that there is a disparity. Much like the systemic disparity I have often spoken about. But if we only get to see the edited versions the major media provides we are left with an equally biased and unfair view of events from either side.

Perhaps that is the most important thing to keep in mind. Today the problem is not only the systemic problems that we as a nation have carried forward over centuries, but the overreactions of media in (rarely) both directions when they do choose to hype a situation. Ultimately neither helps resolve anything. And everyone loses.

I don’t think all town halls are like this. I don’t think everyone is like this. But until we deal with the underlying issues, and the ideological propaganda of the major media, it will only get worse.

After the Sean Bell trial - now what?

So now that so many have heard about the verdict of the NY police officers involved in the Sean Bell killing (or shooting as some would prefer) the question that comes up next is what shall we do.

What did we do after the Rodney King trial and riots? What did we do after Amidou Diallo was murdered. What have we done after the media circus that was the coverage of Wesley Snipes vs the IRS (which he basically won – though you probably never heard the major news media mention that part)? What has happened after the rape torture and kidnapping of Megan Williams? What have we done about Congress (Democrat and Republican led) and the Presidency’s inaction in Darfur?

I have tried to promote information for you my readers to make comment on all these issues. I have hoped to spark intelligent debate. I ultimately hope to inspire those with more resources, time, and ability to do something. And I have donated and acted as well.

But perhaps I am too small a voice, or to little known for some people – no matter that I am read in over 100 countries every month with visitors that number better than many newspapers across the nation. So I offer the thoughts and comments of Dr. Marc Lamont Hill and Marq Claxton.