In an interview with CNN's Campbell Brown, Monday night, NBA legend, Charles Barkley, mentioned that racism was still an integral part of U.S. political life. Surprisingly, FOX News wasn't to happy about it, and talk-show host, Sean Hannity, made much hoopla about it on his show last night. "Liberal Commentator," Bob Beckel, was featured as a guest to provide some analysis on Barkley's charge. Beckel responded saying, "I would rather take the words of a drunk on the corner down here on politics than Charles Barkley's... He's a great basketball player, but he ought to stay there. That's exactly right. And not wander into our neighborhood, you know." What does Beckel mean by "our neighborhood?" Perhaps, in Beckle and FOX News's minds, Black athletes can only function one-dimensionally. This might explain why politically-conscious athletes like Etan Thomas have become increasingly marginalized in mainstream athleticism:
Charles Barkley On Racism & Scare-Tactics:
Fox News Analyst, Bob Beckel, Responds In Racist-Tirade:
The common-sense bandits - also known as FOX News - are at it again. This time, the insinuation is loud and clear. In an interview with Sen. John McCain, FOX News host, Chris Wallace, asked the Republican Presidential Nominee what life would look like if he lost to Sen. Obama -- come Nov. 4th. In the interview in which Sen. McCain descried Gov. Palin as a, "cold political calculation," who is a "direct counterpoint to the liberal feminist agenda for America," Chris Wallace hinted at an Obama presidency being synonymous to the world tuning "an unfortunate way." This was the exchange:
WALLACE: ... Have you considered — have you even dealt in your mind with the possibility that you could lose, and could you live with that?
MCCAIN: Oh, sure. I mean, I don't dwell on it. But look. I've had a wonderful life. I have to go back and live in Arizona, and be in the United States Senate representing them, and with a wonderful family, and daughters and sons that I'm so proud of, and a — and a life that's been blessed.
I'm the luckiest guy you have ever interviewed and will ever interview. I'm the most fortunate man on earth, and I thank God for it every single day.
WALLACE: So if the world turns an unfortunate way on November 4th, don't feel sorry for John McCain?
MCCAIN: Don't feel sorry for John McCain, and John McCain will be concentrating on not feeling sorry for himself.
Dr. Boyce Watkins of Syracuse University, joins forces with NaS and Color Of Change in protesting the serial-racist network of FOX News. As noted last week, Hip-Hop Emcee, NaS, alongside Color Of Change and Moveon.org, sent a direct message to FOX News, with the presentation of 600,000 box-full of petitions -- signed by disgruntled viewers and concerned citizens. To Watkins, this is just another symbolic step in the ultimate struggle against all forms of degradation, humiliation and devaluation of Black People. Dr. Watkins urges readers and viewers to harness the potency of this moment, and add unto the fight against Rupert Murdoch and his White House-controlled minions:
On his show tonight - feeling the sting of the Nas/Color Of Change/MoveOn lash - Bill O'Reilly cried foul at the campaigns' outlining of FOX New's recent racist remarks, and added that from now on, any coalition that accuses FOX News of racism or prejudice will be ambushed and dealt with severly. Unfortunately, Bill O'Reilly failed to read the memo that stated how insignificant the politics of intimidation is in 2008. To reaffirm his sponsors and viewers of his non-racist tendencies and sensibilities, he enlisted the help of White Supremacist apologist, Juan Williams and a female FOX News Republican analyst (both ironically Black and anti-Obama). It seems that Bill O'Reilly is slowly but definitively beginning to understand, that truth crushed to earth will surely rise again. Kudos to NaS for doing something rarely witnessed in the intoxicated world of Hip-Hop: Standing Up fpor Truth & Justice. Together, we can win this fight:
Nas joined a throng of protesters at the Fox News building in Manhattan this afternoon to deliver over 600,000 petitions demanding that the network stop racist smearing against African-Americans and democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama.
As SOHH previously reported, Nas partnered with grassroots organizations ColorofChange.org and MoveOn.org to put an end to what they call Fox’s “racist propaganda.”
“I’m here today to stand with the ColorofChange.org,” Nas said as he read from a prepared speech. “Over 600,000 people of every color across the country are demanding that Fox stop their racist attacks on the Obama family and on black America.”
“We already know that Fox is not a news network,” he continued. “They are a propaganda machine but their racist attacks have gone way too far. Calling Michele Obama ‘Barack’s baby momma?’ Tell me is that acceptable to you? Is that racist?” he asked the crowd.
Nas also referenced the network’s portrayal of the fist bump that Barack and Michelle Obama shared as a “terrorist fist jab” and Fox anchor Bill O’Reilly’s call for a “lynching party” for the woman who may become First Lady.
“Fox poisons this country every time they air racist propaganda and try to call it news,” said the Queensbridge rapper. “This should outrage every American that Fox uses hateful language to talk about the person who may be the first black president.”
According to Nas the Obamas aren’t the only victims of Fox News. He also blames the network for attacking, black leaders, black institutions, ordinary black people and of course hip-hop artists...
ABC News' Jennifer Parker reports: Presumptive Democratic nominee Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., said conservative criticism of his wife, Michelle, infuriates him.
"I don't have a thick skin when it comes to criticism of my wife," Obama told the women's magazine Glamour in an interview to run in the magazine's October issue. "And you know, the problem is that rarely do these folks have the guts to say it to your face."
Obama, who is vying for the support of women voters who flocked to Sen. Hillary Clinton's campaign during the primaries, argued his wife and Clinton have been the target of similar conservative attacks.
"Hillary Clinton was subject to this, others have been subject to this in the past," Obama told Glamour editor -in-chief Cindi Leive Wednesday, "It is part of our political environment that I'd like to change."
Asked whether he blamed Sen. John McCain's campaign for the attacks, Obama said, "I wouldn't say the McCain campaign itself, but I would say that the apparatus of conservative columnists, blogs and the like. Talk shows, talk radio....When you see in the span of two or three or four weeks essentially the same talking points being used on a whole variety of shows or a whole variety of columns, over and over again."
Michelle Obama sparked conservative outrage when she said during the primaries it was "the first time in my adult life I am proud of my country."
She later clarified her remarks, but conservative media outlets repeatedly replayed the tape and the Tennessee Republican Party launched an online video criticizing her. Conservative columnist Michelle Malkin called her Obama's "bitter half," and the conservative National Review magazine called her "Mrs. Grievance."
Obama said a barrage of conservative attacks against his wife has taken "a toll." Michelle Obama is viewed more favorably than Cindy McCain, 48 percent to 39 percent, according to a June ABC News/Washington Post poll, however her negative ratings are also higher.
"It's infuriating, but it's not surprising," Obama said, "because let's face it: what happened was that the conservative press -- Fox News and the National Review and columnists of every ilk -- went fairly deliberately at her in a pretty systematic way, and treated her as the candidate in a way that you just rarely see the Democrats try to do against Republicans."
"I've said this before: I would never have my campaign engage in a concerted effort to make Cindy McCain an issue, and I would not expect the Democratic National Committee or people who were allied with me to do it. Because essentially, spouses are civilians. They didn't sign up for this. They're supporting their spouse," Obama said, "So it took a toll. If you start being subjected to rants by Sean Hannity and the like, day in day out, that'll drive up your negatives....."
Afrosphere Action Coalition Worldwide Web – July 16, 2008
Press Advisory After contacting the A&E Network and some of its advertisers about the return of Duane “Dog” Chapman’s show “Dog The Bounty Hunter” to the air waves, the Afrosphere Action Coalition released a statement onJune 17th “expressing our dissatisfaction with the network’s decision”. In anticipation of the planned return of the show, we also hosted the Day of Blogging for Respect in Media: www.blackperspective.net/index.php/afrosphere-action-coalition/day-of-blogging-for-respect-in-media/ A&E’s regrettable reply was predictable and dismissive. Nonetheless, the AAC and our constituents remain undeterred in our opposition to the shows return as “Dog” has never owned up to what he actually said, nor demonstrated any change or shown action to make amends; but instead simply put on a PR show with the desire of maintaining commercial viability. As the new season of “Dog The Bounty Hunter” airs this evening, Wednesday July 16th the AAC will be monitoring the program for those advertisers who have chosen to put their brands at unnecessarily risk by propping up the position of a public figure who engages in racial denigration; after which we will continue to alert the broader public about those who choose to stand for respect of all peoples in media, verses those corporations standing simply for what they perceive will advantage the bottom line, above all us. The AAC has and continues to “urge A&E in the strongest terms to reverse course and withdraw their support for Duane Chapan and the Dog the Bounty Hunter show. Until A&E does so, we have no alternative but to inform the viewing public and urge them to withdraw support from A&E and its advertisers. If Duane Chapman had come clean about his racial demeaning behavior and attitudes, thereby demonstrating real sincerity towards actual change, perhaps there may have been a place for him again in the public square. But on the record A&E has set before us, he has simply gotten a vacation and we cannot accept that he is again receiving a platform and further financial reward.”
With the recent announcement by the network company, A&E, of the scheduled return of the TV show, “Dog the Bounty Hunter,” some black bloggers and activists are relentlessly pursuing the agenda to prevent this action. For those who are unfamiliar with the incident that led to the initial termination of the show, here’s the rundown: Once gang member and street-criminal, Duane Lee “Dog” Chapman - turned bounty-hunter and Bail Bondsman - used the n-word profusely in a taped phone-call made to his son. Mr. Chapman, who is white, seemed to be irate by the idea of his son dating a black girlfriend. Following the release of the phone-call, Chapman made few TV appearances to purge his name of the new reputation he had garnered. One of those was an exclusive hour-long interview with white-supremacy apologist, Sean Hannity. Following the decision by A&E to renew the show, certain activists have risen to the occasion, and are actively campaigning against the motion. One of such activists is D. Yobachi Boswell of BlackPerspective.net. He is a writer, spoken word poet, hip hop artist, social activist and political-watcher based in Nashville, Tennessee. I had the pleasure of interviewing him earlier today. This was the exchange:
Thanks for joining us, Bro. Yobachi. We really appreciate it. For how long has this campaign been going on?
It’s been in the planning stages for about three weeks. I initially said on my blog back in ‘07 when they first pulled the show, that they were just waiting for the dust to clear and they were going to bring ‘Dog’ back; and that we need to act then to make sure that didn’t happen (http://www.blackperspective.net/index.php/dog-chapmans-a-racist-liar-and-hes-not-fooling-me/). Well, I got distracted by other campaigns and didn’t come back to this until I saw news reports that they were starting to film the new season. We started organizing a few weeks ago internally within the “Afrosphere Action Coalition;” debating how to frame the action, where to go with it, etc.; and once we got things together internally, we just announced it publicly on, Monday, the 9th.
What is the short-term and long-term objective in your fight against Duane "Dog" Chapman's return to TV?
The short-term goal is to see that the “Dog the Bounty Hunter” program is pulled, if and until Duane Chapman makes meaningful amends for his words and attitude; and demonstrates that he’s done anything to change who he is in regards to his attitudes towards Black people.
When the tapes first came out, Dog initially just blamed the Black woman, Monique Shinnery, who his son was dating for what he said; and tried to disparage her character to justify himself, even though on the tapes he clearly says the only reason he doesn’t want her around is because he didn’t want to chance “some f-cking nigger” hearing “us say nigger” and turning them into “the enquirer.” All ‘Dog’ has done since then is claim that he meant “nigger” in a friendly way. He’s - not only - not owned up to his racist animosity; he’s surely done nothing to change from it if he won’t even admit to it.
Long-term, we want to forge a bar of integrity against defamation of all races. This is not a one-shot campaign. It actually continues work that’s already been done with getting BET’s “Hot Ghetto Mess” off airs, Brave New Films “Stop Spreading the Virus Campaign,” and what, “YouBlackWorld” is doing vis-à-vis Fox Advertisers.
So far, in this specific battle, what have been your notable accomplishments?
Well the campaign in essence just started, so we are not at the point of assessing any benchmarks yet. Nonetheless there’s been great response to our announcement of the campaign from the public; and many people have signed up to join in.
Have you been contacted yet, by Network Executives from A&E?
Not yet, but our letter to them just went out this week.
What kind of media exposure has this campaign been favored by to-date?
Are you working or networking with any other Grassroot Organizations to solidify your attempt in preventing Mr. Chapman's return to TV?
As the Afrosphere Actions Coalition is an open-coalition where anyone of like-mind is invited to join the actions we conduct; we tend to get a wide range of individuals who just jump in and join the actions.
What was your perspective on the "n-word" before the 'caught-on-tape' rant by Mr. Chapman, and did it in any way influence your philosophy afterwards?
Hearing another person such as Dog Chapman say it, didn’t change anything for me. It’s nothing new and hardly surprising. My opinion on the N-word - in all its forms before the tape and now - is that it needs to die a permanent death at this point.
I was once an active practitioner of flinging “nigga” around between fellow Black folk; the real problem to me is that far too many Black people felt that somehow it was even appropriate to do this in mixed company; thereby giving permission to white people to do the same as long as they change the “nigger” to “nigga” (a ridiculous notion). Some Black folks even think it’s cute, or a sign of racial progress to allow white people to call them “nigga.” This is ridiculous; it’s demeaning to those who were lynched and brutalized under that word, and fought so Black folks could walk the streets of America without being denigrated as “niggers;” and it is unacceptable.
‘Dog’ used this usage of the word by Black folk as an excuse for how he thought he was cool enough with Black people to use it. We know it is just a B.S. excuse as the way in which he said “nigger” and referred to Monique as a “f-cking nigger;” that he didn’t mean it in any sort of friendly or benign way, and him making this claim was just another one of his justifications; which is why he must still be held accountable. Yet, our ‘open- public-mixed-company,’ blatant use of the word and perpetuation in keeping it alive; gives cover for people such as ‘Dog’ to denigrate us and then claim he was ‘just using it in the street way like Black people do.’
Do you suspect that A&E will hearken to your call, and are you prepared to take further action - if need be?
A&E, having been given cover by racism apologist and accommodationist, Nigel Innus, surely believes they can point to the ‘house boy’ and say, “well he says Dog’s okay” and he’s Black; therefore all is settled.
‘Dog’ is A&E’s number 1 show, so I’m sure they’ll put up resistance. As I stated, I pointed out that this was their plan all along. The primary concern seems to be their bottom line, and that’s what they’ll default to; but I want to give them the benefit of the doubt - that being show of disregard of people of color by bringing this program back - that they can ultimately be persuaded to do the right thing.
But in the meantime we’re going to lean on their advertisers and their bottom lines to help push A&E in the right direction. Economic power is the tool. Black people must learn to exercise their power, and not just accept degradation in the public square. If Dog had said something even a tenth as benign about Jewish people, he would never work in the entertainment industry again; because they don’t put up with this sh--; but we do. They get respect because they stand up for themselves. Black folks far too often excuse and accommodate everything, so we’re not too respected. There’s a new guard of Black activism out here, though, that is determined to see this changed.
In your assessment, what is the biggest challenge facing Grassroots today, and what is the most progressive way of meeting those challenges?
Apathy amongst the masses is certainly the biggest challenge. It can often be like banging your head against the wall for a grassroots activist to get the people you’re trying to help or represent to believe that they’ve got power and can stand up and make things change.
Determined activism is the best way to meet this challenge. Those who do have the inclination just have to keep plowing away, and can’t stop just because it’s hard and frustrating. A few of us have to stand up, and when others see us, over the long-haul they will join us; and as Barack Obama is fond of saying, a few more will stand up, and then a few hundred, and then a few thousand.
