The silence is deafening

by guest contributor Tami from What Tami Said

On Friday, Jan. 25, WAOD posted the article "What would Jesus do...about BET," breaking news about a letter (press release) praising Black Entertainment Television for evolving and "standing up for freedom of expression." The communique was signed by high-profile preachers and leaders of prominent religious groups, and disseminated by Rev. Ronal Tune, a consultant affiliated with The Carroway Group, a PR firm employed by BET. In that post, and the others that followed, we asked how holy men and women devoted to the uplift of the black community--leaders like Father Michael Pfleger, who little more than six months ago purchased billboards around Chicago decrying misogyny in rap music, and Bishop Vashti Mackenzie, an advocate for black women--could in good conscience align themselves with BET.

The letter seemed like a bold slap in the face to black people and women in particular. Here were our leaders praising BET for tossing crumbs to the black community, while continuing to kill our people every day through a celebration of violence, materialism and misogyny. It couldn't be true that our community's religious leaders have such disdain for us. Could it? Rev. Tune says:

I'm shocked at the assumptions made in this post so I have e-mailed all of
clergy on the letter to make them aware of it. Perhaps they will respond to your
statements individually. I spoke to Rev. Haynes after I received a call from
Enough is Enough and it appears that he was under the impression that there was
a different letter being referred to in his conversation with whoever called
him. When I told him it was the same letter that he received from me, he said
there wasn't a problem. I assure you, that every person on this letter regarding
the BET Honor Show read it prior to release and knew their name was on it.

Meanwhile, the offending letter was stricken from Rev. Tune's Clergy Strategic Alliances Web site. (Now folks ought to know that you can't erase stuff from the Internet so quickly.Here it is.) Gina and Shecodes called and e-mailed the signatories of the BET letter.


Dr. Cynthia Hale quickly responded, assuring that we were all on the same side, that the leaders who signed the offending letter meant to congratulate BET Honors Award honorees only and that they were unaware of BET's duplicity. Dr. Hale promised to speak to all pastors involved and get back to us.


On Tuesday of this week, Dr. Iva Carruthers responded to WAOD's inquiries through the site's comments sections, saying in part:

Yes, we share the concerns about misogyny and the degrading and disempowering media images and messaging—both blatant and subtle—not just by BET, but in all American media. So yes, I signed the letter and I was not at all deceived.

It is unclear how Carruthers' "concerns about misogyny and degrading and disempowering media images" squares with lauding BET for standing up for "freedom of expression," or how praising the channel's "willingness to listen to viewers" with community activists' experience that BET is anything but willing to listen and respond.


No other leader has bothered to respond to WAOD's inquiries. Not one. And we are waiting.

It has been little more than 48 hours, excluding weekends, since WAOD broke this story. Now we know these religious bigwigs are busy, but if you were a community leader, would you let your name stand associated with BET on a site devoted to ending the war against black women--a site that receives thousands of hits a day and is listed as one of the Web's most influential sites on Technorati. I wouldn't. Unless, of course, I supported the channel and its content.

The way I see it, silence = endorsement. If by Friday--one week after WAOD's initial post--this Web site's readers have not heard from the religious leaders that signed the BET letter, then we all know where we stand. Don't we?

What would Jesus do...about BET?

written by guest contributor Tami of What Tami Said

It must be unprecedented—clergy kneeling at the altar of Viacom, shouting praise to a purveyor of bouncing booties, big pimpin’ and a bounty of bling.

In an announcement allegedly signed by representatives of major religious bodies, such as the Progressive National Baptist Convention, the New York Theological Seminary and the National Baptist Convention of America, Inc., Clergy Strategic Alliances (CSA) gushed:

We would like to congratulate BET and Debra Lee on presenting the inaugural
BET Honors Awards, dedicated to recognizing the achievements and contributions
of distinguished African-American leaders in their fields. As the leading
network for programming in the African-American community, viewers are able to
see the diversity of the Black experience expressed in various art forms ranging
from music and movies to gospel and current events. Over the years, we have seen
BET evolve and change, and while we might not always agree with every step they
make, they have always shown a willingness to listen to their viewers, and
adjust accordingly.

As religious leaders, we are encouraged by BET’s enthusiasm to engage in
dialogue with those of us who have expressed concerns over some of their
programming. BET has responded to these concerns by bringing its viewers new
shows such as Exalted and Sunday Best, but we all know that real change takes
time. We are excited about what the future holds for BET, and will continue to
nurture our relationship with the network and its leadership in their efforts to
provide new and innovative quality programming to our community. SOURCE

One new awards show and a sprinkling of gospel make BET a source of “new and innovative quality programming” that shows the diversity of the black experience?

You might argue that BET is no worse than its paler Viacom brethren—MTV and VH-1. And you might be right. But I have yet to see a group of community-minded holy men and women endorse either of those channels based on their one or two offerings of social value. But BET gets a hug and a cookie for airing Exalted and Sunday Best. I guess a little shoutin’ on Sunday morning erases a multitude of weekday sin—sin like materialistic excess, degradation of women, the sexual hijinks of the College Hill interns, the bumping and grinding of Hell Date, the g-strings and arched backs of the bet.com "B-girls," the crassness of “Read a *&%%* Book,” the celebrated violence of American Gangster 2.

The CSA Web site says:

At CSA our goal is to equip pastors and congregations with the skills necessary
to build power and improve their communities.

If that is the Clergy Strategic Alliance’s mission, then an alliance with BET ain’t so strategic.

Black women—the backbone of the church, the most faithful in the flock—are demeaned every day through BET programming, their children fed a steady diet of shucking, jiving and filth. Why aren’t these religious leaders standing with the women who pack the pews on Sunday, the church mothers who cook the repast, the ladies on the fellowship committee? Why aren’t they standing with ordinary black folks who are trying to raise their children in a world dominated by BET's values or lack thereof?

Gina asked me to remind you all that this isn't the first time a group of clergy members got together to try to stifle a movement led by ordinary people. In fact, Martin Luther King, Jr.’s famous letter from the Birmingham jail was written in response to a similar alliance of clergy willing to accept crumbs instead of justice.

http://www.africa.upenn.edu/Articles_Gen/Letter_Birmingham.html