Video of Protest Outside BET disHonors

You wouldn't know it by the coverage int he paper version of the Washington Post, but it wasn't all kicks and giggles at the taping of the BET Honors this weekend. WHile Cornell West, Maxine Waters, Alicia Keyes, Tyra Banks and Bill Parsons were acting as human shields for Debbie "Evil Leeville" Lee, Pastor Coates and hundreds of folks were gathered outside to make their displeasure. Y'all know I believe trying to communicate to BET is futile as you cannot appeal to the corporate conscience of an organization that doesn't have one. However, his words at the end of this video clip are powerful.


You can leave a comment about the protest and Black Exploitation Television by going to the Washington Post blog. Also do take a moment to send a note to the reporter who wrote the story that appeared in the print version of the paper to let her know you are hip to her pro BET bias. You would have though two people were protesting outside the show to hear her tell it. Her celebrity obsession is clear from the article. The reporter's name is Neely Tucker you can email her by using this form. Tell Neely Gina sent ya'!

You can also look at photos from the disHonors show. Watch as the Black Elite Establishment coo and aaah over each other. I so know what the Ze' common French people must have felt right before the revolution.

Welcome New York Times Readers- I Do Not Agree With Debra Lee

For the record, I DO NOT agree with Debra Lee.

Somewhere the Devil is ice skating in hell. HA! You can click here to read past articles I have written about Bob Johnson ( BET FOUNDER), Debra Lee ( current CEO), and THAT MAN ( current President)- He refers to me as THAT WOMAN, so I am returning the favor.
I didn't realize that the Times put a live link to this blog in their story so when I checked the traffic today i was like OH GAWD, they are going to think I agree with Debra Lee. I don't, not consciously anyway. I've been supportive of the rallies from the beginning (read all the Enough is Enough posts). I was speaking an a strategic sense about "articulating an end game."

I truly believe that this is the beginning of my generation's Montgomery.

You might also be interested in "BET Could Learn Something from the Life of George Wallace"

Enough is Enough in New York Times- WAOD Mentioned

WAOD was mentioned in a NY Times article on the Enough is Enough Campaign's protests outside of the home of BET and Viacom's CEOs. Read the entire NY Times article . I talked about a lot with the reporter, but some kind of which way I ended up sounding like I agree with Debra Lee and y'all know that the Devil is somewhere ice skating in Hell. I also mentioned the podcast that Rev. Coates was on and the criticism from that podcast got mentioned. When I read the article I grimaced and said "Oh Hell!" I was like of all the stuff I said, that is what got in:

She [that would be me]said she had heard from people who didn’t like the idea of marchers outside Ms. Lee’s home. But Enough Is Enough, she said, has tapped a hip-hop generation’s rage about negative media images. “I’m just glad people are mobilizing,” SOURCE

I answered the questions I was asked honestly, and what I said is the truth, at some point folks are going to have to sit down at a table and tell each other what they want. I wasn't misquoted and i don't think my sentiments were mischaracterized. So yes, you are going to have to "articulate" what you want in specific terms. That wasn't a criticism, just a statement of fact( or opinion depending on who you are). During the course of the interview in response to a question, I mentioned that some people didn't like the fact that people were outside of Debra Lee's home because she is a woman. I also talked abotu the Black Elite Establishment Aligning to attack this group of working class Black folks because the BEE believes that working class Black folks are here to make them rich and they are more concerned about protecting the status quo.

But YES, I did say that at some point folks are going to have to come to the table. It might be three years from now, but at some point folks are going to have to articulate what they want in more specific terms. I have previously stated this. I also mentioned that I don't know how it is going to be possible for the two sides to sit down after all of the attacks BET has launched at Pastor Coates, including the "it's a punk move" comment coming from BET's President while the CEO, Debra Lee sat beside him. But again, there is all kinds of back channel communications going on with this thing.

There is a lot I don't know, but one thing I do know is that I don't know everything. My way isn't the only way. What I think folks need to do, they might not need to do and again there is a whole lot going on behind the scenes that we don't know. I want their demands to be more specific because one of the charges they are trying to lay on Enough is Enough is that they want to program BET or censor the channel. They might not know what their end game is, I highly doubt that however. They'll reveal it in their own time. Not when I want them to, not when BET or Viacom wants them to, but when the Universe tells them that it is time. Viacom is still delusion or it thinks we are delusional because it doesn't think there is any problem at all:

A statement from Viacom said in part the company was “concerned about negative portrayals of African-Americans in the media” and takes a “positive pro-active approach” with programming that respects freedom of expression and serves an audience with diverse interests. SOURCE

I guess they aren't watching VH1's Trilogy of Tawdriness Flavor of Love, I Love New York, and Charm School.

It is always interesting to see which portion of your conversation they decide to go with. If I knew that what i said would be juxtaposed as agreeing with Debra Lee, I would have said "no comment." Hmmm let me go buy the Devil a heater because Hell surely has frozen over.

Again, I am just glad folks are engaging in the battle, who knows what will come out of this.

News Blackout of the Protest Around the Viacom CEO's House Today

Well it is a good thing that we have a WAOD correspondent on the scene today because not a single media organization that I contacted indicated that they plan to cover to protest around the Viacom CEO's house today. Media Blackout Anybody? Take some time to donate a few anytime minutes and help them change their minds.

NY News 1 212-NY1-NEWS (212-691-6397). (They know, but aren't covering it) CNN One CNN Center, Box 105366, Atlanta, GA 30303-5366 Phone: 404-827-1500 public.information@cnn.com Fox News Channel Phone: (212) 301-3000 ABC News Phone: 212-456-7777 General e-mail: netaudr@abc.com CBS News Phone: 212-975-4321 CBS Evening News: evening@cbsnews.com NBC Phone: 212-664-4444 MSNBC Phone: (201) 583-5000

The New York Times JENNIFER ( A complete moron and idiot)at the Metro Desk of the NY TIMES says they are not going to cover it. Phone: 212-556-1234 The Wall Street Journal Phone: 212-416-2000 Newsweek Phone: 212-445-4000 Time Phone: 212-522-1212 Associated Press The AP City Desk said they will not be covering it. Phone: 212-621-1500 Reuters Telephone: 646-223-4000 United Press International Telephone: 202.898.8000

Please complain vociferously at this media blackout.

Rally on the Viacom CEO's Front Lawn - Enough is Enough Campaign Heads to New York and The Week in Review

I thought this was going to be a rough week, but it ended up being quite eventful. Quite frankly i was driving around yesterday anticipating the podcast and I thought to myself "I am having the time of my life!"

The comments section has been humming all week in the aftermath of last week's WAOD podcast where Attorneymom took on Pastor Coates from the Enough is Enough campaign. That podcast was a marathon two hours. Poor Pastor Coates may NEVER return! But it was eventful.

Enough is Enough Rally Headed to NYC Saturday at NOON EST

Attorneymom got one of her wishes, Pastor Coates is taking the Enough is Enough Campaign to NYC to the home of Viacom's CEO Phillipe Dauman. Shecodes is definitely going and hopefully she will have some video or pictures for us. I believe that one of our resident critics brotherkomrad said he might drop in as well. All you folks who have been screaming the name of Viacom on this blog for months, here is your chance. They are meeting this Saturday at noon in Manhattan. You can find out more about the rally by going to the Enough is Enough Campaign website.

Be sure to read the Protest Do's and Don'ts over at Enough is Enough before heading out.

Week in Review

Reginald Hudlin Calls Pastor Coates a "Punk"- BET Hip Hop Awards a "Controlled Disaster"

Having clearly lost the use of his mental functions, Reginald Hudlin who is supposed to be some kind of television executive said the peaceful gathering of African American churchgoers outside the home of BET CEO, Debra Lee, was "a punk move." Well I can't WAIT to hear what Hudlin has to say about folks ringing the home of the Viacom CEO. Some of you might have missed that the AJC also quoted moi in their special called "The Rap on BET." In fact, thanks to Attorneymom, I just got a look at the actual newspaper and they used my quote "Vile Disgusting Depictions" as the title of one of the articles in the series. yes, Tyler Perry isn't the only person to have mastered subtlety (sic).

Universally, the BET Hip Hop Awards and their festivities , including appearances by two members of the Jena 6, have been panned. Blogger Sandra Rose actually called them a "controlled disaster":

Now that Monday is here, I think most will agree that this weekend's BET Hip Hop Awards was a controlled disaster. Everything that could go wrong did go wrong leading up to the big show. A few events were marred by violence including a shooting at an R&B event. And of course, T.I.'s arrest on weapons violations sent shock waves through the Awards show and the industry that are still being felt this morning. Sandra Rose

Here! Here! BET is just wishing that December 31st would get here already because 2007 has been a train wreck. Good news Reggie and Debster, Walgreens already has the holiday candy out so January is right around the corner

Tyler Perry's, "Why Did I Get Married" Wasn't Awful.

I did a mini review. It was way more entertaining than his previous efforts. I still had issues with his caricatures of Black women, but at least he appears to be trying. I guess the solution is for me to write my own screenplay and produce and direct it. I think my first movie will be "Get Those Church Folks Off My Lawn: The Debra Lee Story" starring Lamman Rucker.

Bill Cosby has a Book Out

Bill Cosby has been on a publicity tear promoting his new book, Come on People! Folks on this blog can't stop talking about it. The comments section is on fire. Read in the comments on how you can get a free copy of the book in the mail.

Dunbar Village Update - Defendants Trade Letters in Jail

We also had a post on the latest in the Dunbar Village case and the release of 1,200 pages of documents in the case. WAOD Contributor, Symphony of Essential Presence has her ear to the ground. We are not letting go of this.

Have a great weekend. Shecodes, please don't get locked up at the protest on Saturday. I am too far away to bail you out. Be safe and take good pictures.

BREAKING NEWS!: Enough is Enough to Protest Outside the Home of Viacom's CEO This SATURDAY!

Snap! Crackle! Pop! Attorneymom, your wish has been answered. As I figured, Enough is Enough is headed to New York to rally outside of the home of Viacom CEO, Phillipe Dauman.

We talked about this on the Black Womens' Roundtable on last Thursday. And we talked and we talked and we talked. ( For TWO hours). I knew Viacom was the target. This is some Holy Boldness!

If you are in the New York area, you have GOT TO GO and report back to WAOD. The revolution will not be televised, it will be text messaged camera phoned and blogged.

BET is just having a bad year. First THAT SHOW overshadows their big roll out. Then "Read a Book" catches heat. Then Debbie Lee's house get protested. Then the Hip Hop awards get overshadowed by TI's arrest and it increasingly looks like the appearance of the Jena 1/3 (that's 2/6 right?) is going to be a story with legs. Now they are taking the protest to the steps of the Big House. Oh yeah, and Rev. Al is going too. Pastor Coates had better bring a bullhorn because you know our favorite pompadoured precha' is going to have one. What would I do without Rev. Al?

So all you folks that have been hopping up and down foaming at the mouth about Viacom, here is your chance! Here it is! Are you going to talk about it or walk about it?

Here is the press release from Enough is Enough

CAMPAIGN BRINGS WEEKLY PROTEST TO HOME OF VIACOM CEO

New York, NY – The “Enough is Enough” Campaign against corporate sponsorship of visual images and lyrical messages that degrade women glorify violence and negatively portray blacks and Latino men as pimps, gangsters and thugs comes to New York. The campaign regards Viacom as one of the leading media outlets for production and distribution of offensive lyrical and visual content that sexually objectifies women and stereotypes men of color. Beginning this Saturday, October 20th, at 12:00 noon EDT we will protest outside the Manhattan residence of Philippe P. Dauman, President and CEO of Viacom, Inc. located on East 65th Street between Lexington and Park Avenues.

A press conference will be held at the site of the rally @ 1:00 p.m. EDT.

Supporters of this campaign include Rev. Al Sharpton of the National Action Network; Dr. E. Faye Williams the Chair of the National Congress of Black Women; noted human rights activist Dick Gregory; Rose S. Afriyie of the National Organization for Women; Keith Silver, President of the DC Chapter of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference and several New York City Pastors and their congregations.

The campaign is inviting the hip-hop community, women’s groups, Latino organizations, the faith community, and all those concerned to join the weekly rally. Supporters can take the F Train to the 63rd Street Station or the 4 Train to the 68th Street Hunter College Station.

The organization will continue its Saturday rally outside the Washington DC residence of Debra L. Lee, President and CEO of Black Entertainment Television Networks from 1:00 to 3:00 p.m. with a Press Conference onsite at 2:00 p.m.

No seriously, does anybody think Reggie Hudlin might be having some second thoughts about calling Pastor Coates a "Punk?"

Reginald Hudlin Calls Pastor Coates of Enough is Enough a "Punk"in AJC Special "The Rap on BET"

I know I know. That network is like fly paper, if you touch them once they just will stick to you forever. Anty way. On our last podcast, I was discussing the fact that BET executives aren't "normal." Meaning, they say and do things you would NEVER see an exec at MTV or CBS or Proctor & Gamble do. Therefore, letter writing campaigns and meetings don't work with them.

Part of this is because, as I have stated before, they don't really care for working class Black folks all that much and they really can't stand poor black people that is why they thought it was funny to label people "Ghetto" and "Mess" and tell people to "Read A M*(&$#ng Book" Yet when criticized for it they boo hoo and say people are picking on them.

Now y'all know I don't believe in having conversations with these people because they aren't normal executives that you can have a conversation with. Remember when Debra Lee told the students from Spelman that BET was doing better than ever because BET was making more money than ever. Sure, they'll listen to you and then ignore you. If you speak out, Debbie has Reggie call you names in the media. In Ebony Hudlin called critics "Young Fogies". Y'all know about the name calling he hosted over at his message board, in the lead up to the release of THAT SHOW all he had was derision and scorn to heap on the heads of critics who I think any reasonable person MIGHT have said "I can see your point on this. I disagree, but I see your point"

Anty way, now he is calling this Pastor who is leading the protests outside of Debra Lee's house a "PUNK". NAh I didn't stutter.

Q. Would you like to say anything about the protests at your home?

Lee: Protests at my home are totally inappropriate. We have a large office in D.C., and it's a great place to come and protest. Unfortunately, this individual found out that he could get more press by coming to my house. It's just wrong. Given the fact that I sat down with him and tried to hear his concerns, and tried to explain the new programming we're doing, tried to engage in a dialogue. But when you start with a zero-tolerance policy —- I don't like that video and you should take it off.

Hudlin: I just think quite frankly it's a punk move. SOURCE

This VIACOM executive used the "P" word. So is GLAAD going to demand his resignation? *commence holding my breath*

Most equated gayness with effeminacy-and, to a lesser extent, whiteness. From their perspective, to be an effeminate black man (a "punk," a "faggot") is to not really be a black man at all. SOURCE

Hmm. Mr. Hudlin, what eva' did you mean by "punk move"? Elaborate please. Somebody might regret trying to get all GANGSTA' up in the AJC. I'm just asking. Philippe, is this the way you allow your Viacom executives to represent your billion dollar baby?

Um how do you expect to come to the table at some point in the future with Enough is Enough if these protests spread beyond Debra Lee's house as it appears they will because next week protesters are headed to New York? Please, please,please can I be in the room when Viacom wants to come to the table to meet with the Pastor. Please Please Please. I want to live blog it! You just called this man a "punk" and any sane person would conclude that if these protests get bigger or take aim at new targets SOMEBODY is going to want to have a conversation.

Hudlin in his usual pomposity couldn't act like a grown up and Debra Lee ain't slick either. Hudlin is her hatchet man, he takes all the hits while she attempts to sit pretty, but she was sitting side by side with him when he made these comments, as his direct supervisor, why didn't she reprimand him?

So really folks, the next time BET says they are being treated differently your response ought to be"You get treated differently because you engage in behavior that would be unacceptable at any other mainstream media outlet"

Pastor Coates has an editorial in the Atlanta Journal Constitution. He is responded to this piece of fluff from Hip Hop's Prognostitute-in-Chief, Michael Eric Dyson. I am assuming the Pastor turned in this editorial before he found out Reginald Hudlin called him a "punk".

Oh yeah, and I am not alone in my views about BET. Read comments from folks all over the place in the AJC's Weekend Special Edition: The Rap on BET.

The AJC compiled a list of the lyrics from the songs nominated for the Hip Hop Awards. SMH "Ignorance Personified"

How arrogant do you have to be to engage in this type of behavior in front of the editorial board of a major US newspaper? Mr. Hudlin. They did the same type of name calling with C. Delores Tucker. Well Mr. Hudlin, prepare to learn the difference between the activists of my parent's generation and those you face now. For someone who is supposed to be smart, that little comment was just plain D-U-M-B.

*goes to sit down on the WAOD stoop and pulls out a bucket of popcorn to watch the fallout. *

Oh yeah, and Rapper T.I. got arrested on weapons charges and it was federal agents so its the big boys. Remember this post "Poor Little Rich Boys" .

TI was talking about setting an example in his own household. Apparently he had machine guns in his house and a small arsenal according to the ATF Affidavit.

Oh and speaking of Reginald Hudlin, he had the following to say about T.I's arrest

When they finished "Hurt," the two artists raised their fists to the crowd and shouted, "Free T.I.P," in reference to the embattled rapper's hit.

BET officials stood firmly behind T.I. "[T.I.] not only has a great career in music but a great career in television, film and anything he sets his mind to," said Reginald Hudland, president for entertainment for BET.

"What strikes me about T.I. is the goodness of his spirit. I think T.I. is a great person and a gigantic artist and he has our utmost support." SOURCE

Nice to know where Reggie stands. Those saying "Free T.I." this is the feds not Fulton County- good luck with that!

Viacom to Pastor Coates...Get of Debra Lee's Front Lawn...OR ELSE! Debra Lee Sends Goons to Pastor's Church

Taking a page from J. Edgar Hoover, Viacom beginning an assault on Pastor Delman Coates in an effort to force Enough is Enough from Debra Lees front lawn. Suddenly member s from Debra Lee's security team are showing up at Pastor Coates Church. Pastor Coates also says that BET is transcribing his Sunday sermons and passing them around BET headquarters. Coates says that they've hired a public relations firm to come after him.

They've begun an organized campaign and have partnered with members of the African American media Elite Establishment including Courtland Milloy, Michele Martin, and Russ Parr to launch attacks against church going folks which from the video has been peaceful and consists of children, the elderly, and mothers and fathers.

Now Viacom and Debra Lee have even enlisted help from a "congregant" at Rev. Coates' church to launch an anonymous attack on Coates. But wait, if you had a problem with your pastor, wouldn't a "GOOD CHRISTIAN" confront him to his face or at least send a cc of the letter to the subject in question? Why send it anonymously to a blog? If God is on your side, step out into the light! Why all the subterfuge. What is done in the dark will come to the light.

I warned Pastor Coates that Viacom was coming after him. I mean Viacom employees crafted libelous statements about me and published them on the internet and Reginald Hudlin's message board. They even plotted out in the open on Hudlin's message board.

So it appears that Debra Lees's front lawn will be the site of one of the first skirmishes in the War Between Black Folks with Commons Sense and those without. We are clearly seeing which side folks are on.

So I have some questions...

Why is Debra Lee sending her security guards to visit the pastor? Why is BET transcribing the Pastor's Sunday sermons and passing them arond the office? Why has the Black Elite Establishment rallied to protect the woman who green lighted Hot Ghetto Mess, Hell Date, Read a M$^&*#ng Book, and Socially Offensive Behavior, and WHERE WAS ALL THIS OUTRAGE WHEN BET RAN 'Uncut' for SIX YEARS?

Debra Lee Want's Ze Common Black Folk off Her Front Lawn PRONTO!

Dear Common Black Folk,

Debra Lee wants y'all off her front lawn. Apparently having all those Black church folks around is making her nervous and she's enlisted the members of the Black Elite Establishment to remove the huddled masses parading in front of her lawn. It seems that while Ms Lee likes to pipe in violence, misogyny, and general foolishness into your homes every day, she'd prefer to keep her home free of any working class Black folks who are concerned about their children because the neighbors are beginning to to ask questions. It is hard keeping up appearances when 500 indignant Black folk are circling your compound as if it is Jericho. I mean the first week you could pass it off as a family reunion. Week two, you could tell the neighbors you were having a garage sale, but my week three, the neighborhood association is beginning to ask questions.

Her sole rebuttal to the protesters appears to be "Meet the Faith" and the Sunday line up. One small problem, BET already tried this strategy and folks are not falling for it again. Didn't BET run Bobby Jones Gospel during the SIX YEARS they ran BET Uncut? The whole, we'll run multimedia crack Monday through Saturday and then redeem ourselves on Sunday strategy just ain't working this time.

Now Courtland Malloy, no less, stuck his head out from his ivory tower to call these African Americans exercising their First Amendment right to peaceably assemble and express themselves as the Taliban. and y'all accuse me of engaging in hyperbole.

Nice try, Reverend. But we call that kind of censorship "Taliban-ing." And it doesn't sit well with the spirit of the First Amendment, either.SOURCE

Apparently Mr. Malloy believes that the First Amendment only applies to him or Rappers calling us names and promoting violence, drugs and general foolishness . I mean aren't people constantly whining about a lack of civic participation? His opposition to a peaceful demonstration, DOESN'T SIT WELL WITH THE SPIRIT OF THE FIRST AMENDMENT EITHER!

Dr. Cornell West whispered his support to the protesters outside BET's CBC reception where Viacom got to ply African American politicians with drank and vittles, but again, he is worried about all those common Black folk outside her house.

Radio host Michael Baisden said he would be there front and center this past Saturday and then he backed out.... AFTER Debra Lee agreed to do his show. What a man of his word. Principled to the bitter end ( NOT!) Well at least Enough is Enough got a valuable lesson in whose word not to trust.

Even the CEO of Viacom decided to weigh in saying that these working class Black folks were "harassing one of [his] executives at her home."

The truth is that Courtland Malloy, Cornell West, Philipe Dauman and maybe even Michael Baisden are terrified that when these common Black folk get through circling Debbie Lee's house, they are going to break camp and roll on over to someone else's house.

Well everyday all over this country Black men, women, and children get harassed by Viacom's programming. If they aren't watching it, they have to deal with the foolishness created by those who do. The reason Debra Lee is frightened of all of these common Black folks outside her gated compound is because she is out of touch and thinks that working class Black folks are like the common criminals and thugs her network chooses to present to the world as representing Black America. Relax Debbie, these are church folk, not the violent sociopaths you like to feature on BET. They all prayed up before they get to your lawn. Maybe next week you ought to have drinks and refreshments waiting for them. Serve some hot cocoa when it starts to get cold. Hand out blankets. Maybe if you came out of your tower and talked to these people you would find that most Black people are hard working folks who love their families and want to do right.

Debra Lee is worried, but what she doesn't seem to grasp is SO ARE WE! WE'RE WORRIED TOO! Folks are worried about THEIR CHILDREN TOO! I mean you would have to be motivated to show up for a month to march around some rich lady's gated palace. They need to keep marching too because she still doesn't get it as evidenced by her public statements.

That's not to say I am not sympathetic to Debra Lee. It must suck to have your your neighbors' Saturday mornings interrupted by the huddled masses therefore I have some alternative protest locations:

Phillipe Dauman's country club ( Y'all know he belongs to one)
The Homes of each of the members of the Viacom Board of Directors.
The Homes of the CEO's of BET's Largest Advertisers ( Oh THAT Ought to be Awesome!)
BET's Television Upfronts

If those are the alternatives, I think Debbie is more than happy to have her people over to the house.

"I think this is unfortunate. . . . I'm used to getting input from our audience but I've never seen anything like this. I'm disappointed that this is the tactic they've chosen. It sets a very bad precedent." Debra Lee on the gathering of large numbers of Ze' Common Black Folk Outside of her mansion

Yes, you get information, but what do you do with it? Debra Lee is right, what is happening right now is unprecedented. That is the point. Other tactics were ignored by BET for years, but these new ones at least have caught BET's attention.

Here is a report from the most recent march yesterday from the Enough is Enough Campaign. I call SHADINESS on Michael Baisden. That was just foul and wish washy on his part:

Everything for our third rally went extremely well. Another 500 people were out with us. Many more neighbors in the neighborhood seemed to come out to find out what all the fuss was about. We gave them brochures to let them know why we were in their neighborhood. Rev. Coates was on the Michael Baisden Show twice this week (Monday and Friday) to talk about the campaign and our weekly rallies. On Tuesday, Baisden announced on air that he would be at yesterday's rally. By Thursday, however, he had changed his mind. He shared with Rev. Coates on air that he made an agreement with Debra Lee that if she came on his show, he would not rally outside her house. She was on the show on Thursday.

We were also joined by a bus from New York City. On October 13, we will start Enough Is Enough rallies in New York City at a SURPRISE location to be announced. Everyone in the NYC area should stay tuned. We realize that we haven't done a good job of getting video up of the last two rallies. We are going to work on this. Everyone in the DC area should come out and join us each Saturday at 1PM.

On Tuesday evening, we also had a great rally outside the BET reception for the Congressional Black Caucus at the OYA Restaurant & Lounge in DC. It was great!!! Many who attended expressed approval for the campaign (even if they won't or can't say so publicly). The artist Talib Kweli and Professor Cornel West came over to encourage the group to continue its efforts (although, Dr. West did express some concern about rallying outside Debra Lee's residence). BET has been using the location of the rallies to distract people from the real issue. They continue to ignore and avoid the issue of the content of their programming. In her Thursday interview with Michael Baisden, Ms. Lee avoided Baisden's challenge about the content on the network by commenting on the "new programming" they are unveiling on their Sunday schedule. In his Friday interview, Rev. Coates informed Baisden that no one has been complaining about BET's Sunday line up, and that she completely ignored the issue of the content and messages of many of the videos and programs they air during the week.

Again, we'll try to get more video up on the site of our weekly rallies. We do apologize. Spread The Word,

Enough Is Enough

Enough is Enough, shake the haters off and keep stepping. You at least have them talking about it.

Party on the Lawn of BET'S Debra Lee, Part Deaux - New York City Joins in Next Week, September 29th- Debra Lee meets with Pastor Coates ( Why Bother?)

For those of you keeping up with Debra Lee's House Party, we have a report from the folks at enough is enough. I can't wait for the video. Next Saturday, the 29th of September, they are busing folks in from New York. Poor Pastor Coates wasted his good time meeting with Debra Lee this week. As I predicted, she blew him off and was unapologetic. THAT is why I don't even bother talking with entertainment companies. Take it straight to the folks subsidizing it. Pastor Coates, try SC Johnson or Yum Brands. I betcha she'll maybe listen to them.

What About Our Daughters,

Today's rally was another success! Once again, 500 people gathered outside the home of Debra Lee to protest the offensive programming on BET. We will try to get video footage up as soon as possible. We were joined this week by Activist Dick Gregory who spoke to the crowd. At the rally, Rev. Coates announced that the Enough Is Enough Campaign is having a rally outside of the House sub-committee hearing on Hip Hop on Tuesday, September 25 beginning at 9AM outside of the Rayburn building on Capitol Hill. Rev. Coates also mentioned that he was invited to speak at the FCC hearing on Media Ownership in Chicago on Thursday, September 20. At the FCC hearing, Rev. Coates shared his view that there are millions of African-Americans who are deeply disturbed by the language, lyrics, and images of African-Americans that are aired on networks like Black Entertainment Television, MTV, and on many urban hip-hop radio stations around the country. He urged the commissioners of the Federal Communications Commission to do more to regulate offensive content on urban radio by fining urban radio stations that air offensive lyrical content. Additionally, Rev. Coates stated that consumers should not be forced to pay for cable channels they do not want and that they find offensive. He urged the FCC commissioners to give consumers the ability to choose they networks they desire. This is the only way broadcasters like BET will be more accountable to their consumers.

Rev. Coates concluded today's rally by stating that he met with Debra Lee and two members of her staff on Friday, September 21 at the office of BET. During the one hour meeting, Ms. Lee referred to the network's "new original programming" as an sign of the network's growth and evolution, and her view that the network is working with artists, record companies, and its audience to address concerns about the images in some of the videos. Rev. Coates shared with Ms. Lee that "new programming is not the same as new content," and that the Enough Is Enough Campaign is opposed to content that degrades black women, promotes violence against women, and negatively caricatures black men as gangsters, pimps, and thugs. While the meeting was cordial, there was no agreement or commitment to eliminate the content that degrades women and stereotypes black men. Ms. Lee also defended the airing of the word "s@#t" on Black Entertainment Television during broadcasts of The Wire. According to Ms. Lee, offensive content is a subjective matter, and that what one person finds offensive, another person may regard as entertainment. Ms. Lee and her staff stated that they conduct research and focus groups to determine the interests of their audience (which she reiterated is 18-34 year olds), and that BET merely plays the videos for music that sells. Despite Rev. Coates' assertion to the contrary, Ms. Lee stood by the statement in her September 12th letter to Rev. Coates that BET "does not air programming that endorses or condones illegal drugs or gratuitous violence," and that BET does "not air music videos that contain graphic or excessive sexual activity or violence." The meeting concluded with Rev. Coates telling Ms. Lee that he would be meeting with the FCC chairman to express his concerns about the content on television networks like BET and radio stations that air content offensive to African-Americans. Rev. Coates stated that he would be continuing his campaign and his weekly rallies outside Ms. Lee's residence until there is change.

The failure of media outlets like BET to be responsive to their audience makes a stronger case for the need for cable choice. As long as BET gets paids whether African-Americans watch or not, they have no incentive for being accountable to their audience. It is not until millions of African-Americans can opt out of including BET in their cable packages that things will change.

We want people to join us next Saturday, September 29 at 1PM, outside the home of Debra. We have at least one bus coming down from New York City to join in next Saturday's rally. Go to our website: www.enoughisenoughcampaign.com to stay informed.

Enough Is Enough

see NPR interview of Rev. Coates from Friday, September 21, 2007.

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=14587595

Oh this OUGHT to be interesting next week. Don't forget moi will be live blogging from The Hill on Tuesday.

Latest Video from Outside Debra Lee's House

Scroll down to see complete footage of Enough is Enough press conference at the rally. This may very well be our "Montgomery" the similarities are striking.

We're up on EurWeb today. Thanks EurWeb!

PREVIOUS POSTS
I know folks are coming here to read about BET, but please take a small portion of your time to read about Dunbar Village and view our short film called "Immoral Indifference" This was a truly HORRIFIC crime committed against a Black woman and her child and not nearly enough people know about it. Now here are some recent posts about BET and the Enough is Enough rally at Debra Lee's house....

• Full Video from Enough is Enough Rally- You Saw it Here First - Viacom CEO Speaks!
• BET Could Learn A Lot From the Life of George Wallace
• The "Montgomery" of Our Generation Begins. The Revolution Will Not Be Televised, It Will Be Blogged. What Went Down at Debra Lee's House.
• 381 Days - How Long Could You Go Without Cable?

More Video From Enough is Enough Ralley on Debra Lee's Front Porch - You Saw it Here First!- Viacom CEO Speaks

Be sure to read our earlier posts on the rally.

• BET Could Learn A Lot From the Life of George Wallace
• The "Montgomery" of Our Generation Begins. The Revolution Will Not Be Televised, It Will Be Blogged. What Went Down at Debra Lee's House.

Also in case you missed the "articles" on BET in Ebony and Essence, you might not know that BET is on a PR offensive right now to convince people that they aren't Viacom's Hot Ghetto Mess. The latest is in Broadcasting and Cable called "A Decent BET"(SMH) featuring the Viacom CEO's role in all the "improvements" were seeing, but also outlining the fact that BET is experiencing some "difficulties" as well. It also highlights what TV ONE is doing right. Y'all BET is Wal-mart, TV One is Target basically in this story.

It points out that the once dominant BET has competition and TV One is surging. If I was Debra Lee, I would add a page to her strategic plan, stop doing stupid things to enrage large segments of the African American community like follow up the blazing success of the roll out of Hot Ghetto Mess with "Read a M(*&^$$@ Book!" All this talk about "Balance" is a bunch of nonsense. It's like being kinda pregnant or having a tumor that is kind of malignant.

Enjoy video from the rally.
Part One

Part Two



Part Three

BET Could Learn Something from The Life of George Wallace

Debra Lee and Reginald Hudlin could learn a lot from George Wallace. Right about now, they ought to be considering whether they could possibly be on the wrong side of history.

George Wallace was very successful. He was elected Governor of Alabama four times. He ran for president four times. However, like George Wallace, BET is about to end up on the wrong side of history.

Some folks would like to trace the ruckus back to one person on one blog, but you know good and well there has been a widespread quiet rage at what BET had become. Most folks who didn't like the channel just ignored it and turned away and that is what BET counted on, folks sleeping while they aired shows like BET Uncut for six years. Yes, Mr. Hudlin, I keep mentioning Uncut even though it is no longer on the air because airing that show for as long as you did was an for some people an unpardonable sin. One for which your network refuses to atone. BET never apologized, never said they were wrong for intentionally going around broadcasting standards to air Uncut, even when Debra Lee pulled Uncut, she praised it as taking videos to a new level as if it was groundbreaking. I realize Mr. Hudlin was not on board at the time of Uncut, but there has never been any recognition of the wounds it inflicted on so many people. The young women at Spelman tried to tell Debra Lee this, but she wouldn't listen to them. She told them BET was doing better than ever because BET was making more money than ever.

Now you can continue to dismiss your critics as crazy or detached from reality, but whose reality? In your mind BET has done nothing wrong, but in the eyes of hundreds of thousands, possibly millions, you have. This is not about a few people on the Internet or 500 hundred upset folks marching around Debra Lee's house and it ought to become clearer with each passing day that whatever this is that is happening is something BET and Viacom have probably never seen before. This may very well be the “Montgomery” of my generation. So the old “BET is doing better than ever because BET is making more money than ever” delusion you have been operating under sounds increasingly like George Wallace's “segregation now, segregation tomorrow, segregation forever ”

So keep saying “BET's making money now, BET's making money tomorrow, BET's making money forever!” If this stubborn refusal to even consider people's legitimate and strong feelings about your network's programming decisions continues, you an I both know that BET may very well not be making money forever. You call yourself BLACK Entertainment Television so we have a stake in what you do whether we fall into your “target audience” or not. If you don't want that burden, consider changing your name and stop associating yourself with an entire race of people. You've managed to skate by while building up a storehouse of ill will within the African American community and that is not going to go away by trotting out new programming and trying to “teach” the African American community to “Read a m@#*&#^ing Book!”

The first step MIGHT be to say “We're Sorry” even if you don't really mean it. Here is some proposed draft language:

“We're sorry we aired Uncut, it was inappropriate and degrading to all Black people. We're sorry we gutted all of our public affairs programming to feature booty shaking. We're sorry we thought so little of our audience that we didn't invest in original programming FOR YEARS and are now having to play catch up. We're sorry we paid performers slave wages. We sorry we called ourselves BLACK entertainment television and didn't consider the conclusions some folks might reach about ALL Black Americans based on the narrow set of images we elected to transmit to the world. We're sorry that despite the fact that we are well aware that BET is one of the top networks viewed by children of all races, we elected to air soft porn in the afternoon in the form of music videos while we knew their parents were hard at work to pay the cable bill so that BET could enter their homes. Most of all, we're sorry that when you tried to come to us and express your genuinely heart-felt concerns, we didn't always listen, and sometimes we were too cavalier in our dismissals of your complaints. We've been defensive when perhaps we could have been initiating a dialogue ”

I don't think most Black folks want BET to become PBS. What I think they want is BALANCE. Even if you are making huge changes in the future, you still haven't atoned for what your network did in the past. Until you do, you can roll out 160 new programs a year, BET will still be known as Black Exploitation Television because you can pour as much clean water as you want into a dirty jug. All you are doing is contaminating more water.

You don't need to consider offering an apology for our sake. We don't need one. You need to considering offering an apology for your sake. Just because BET is making a ton of money now, does not mean it will be doing so forever, especially if African Americans begin to either A) cancel their cable subscriptions in large numbers just to avoid giving Viacom their money or B) start jumping on the bandwagon to support cable choice.

For too long BET treated goodwill within the African American community as if it was a luxury item that BET didn't need to be successful. After all, BET was doing just fine without it because you were making money without it. You are about to be shown that you were wrong. Instead of rolling out 16 new shows, consider rolling out a new attitude from your executive suite and you can consider starting with an apology.

The "MONTGOMERY" of Our Generation begins - The Revolution Will Not be Televised...It Will be Blogged! - What went down at Debra Lee's Castle

I heard a first hand account from a WAOD reader who went to the rally yesterday that nearly brought me to tears. If you want to see pictures of the rally., go here. Folks, this battle with Viacom is my generation's Montgomery. Did you know BET is Viacom's most profitable property? The reader who attended said Debra Lee lives in a compound surrounded by high steel walls and that they had so many marchers that they ended up wrapping all the way around the block that her home consumes. They said it was like walking around Jericho.

This Video is AMAZING! "What Do We Want? CHANGE! When Do We Want it? NOW!" Have we EVER seen something like this aimed at Viacom before? And this was the FIRST WEEK!

More video of the Enough is Enough protest.

"I believe in freedom of speech, but if you really want to have an impact, the best way is to have a conversation - not to protest in front of someone's house," Lee said. "I'm always willing to talk to our viewers."

OH REALLY? Yes she really does like to talk to viewers to tell them that she is going to do absolutely nothing because "BET is better than ever because BET is making more money than ever" the way that she talked to the Spelman students? No, the best way to have an impact is to impose economic sanctions on foolishness. If making money is all that matters to Debra Lee, according to her statements to Spelman students, then conversations are not what are needed. Folks tried talking to Debra Lee and BET, they wouldn't listen.

The AP has picked up the story.

The WAOD reader also said that Pastor Coates is the real deal and unlike some "preachers," this man is passionate about this and he and other church leaders are serious about this. There will be no back room brokered deal to hush them up. In fact, BET tried to halt the march by "agreeing" to meet with Pastor Coates on the condition that he cancel the march! NEWS FLASH DEBRA LEE AND BET- When all this is over, you are going to be begging to meet with the pastor. You aren't doing the pastor a favor by agreeing to meet with him. You better hope he's willing to meet with YOU without any crazy preconditions. I'm loving it. Keep dismissing your critics as CRAZY and detached from reality. That is why I didn't even talk to BET during the whole brou ha ha over that show. They would have brushed me off the way they brushed off the students at Spelman and their letter writing campaign. In the end, BET was the one sending back channel communications to ME, not the other way around. I'm the one that told them how to get out of the MESS over that SHOW. They didn't come up with the name change on their own.

There will be no "corporate" donation that is going to make these Pastors shut up or go away and that has to scare the HELL out of Viacom.

The reader said (I'm cloudy on this so somebody correct me if I am wrong) that a group came down form New York and in a few weeks, the group in DC is going to go to New York to march there so all of you whining about focusing on Viacom instead of BET, A) BET is just the beginning B) if BET is Viacom's most profitable network, when you focus on BET, you ARE focusing on Viacom! They said that pastors and churches that we have never heard about are beginning to organize and they are preaching about this from the pulpit. JUST LIKE THEY DID IN MONTGOMERY!

This thing is growing not shrinking. So you can expect the attacks on this blog to increase. Our little Bull Connors have been very busy, but what they don't understand is that all WAOD did was show that Goliath was not invincible. This thing is so much bigger than me. So they can take me out, but it is already too late. People have been awakened and no amount of donations or meetings with the League of the Immorally Indifferent are going to put folks back to sleep again.

Here is an early scoop from the Washington Post, one of BET's favorite papers.

I got this message from Pastor Coates yesterday from Enough is Enough. As soon as we get footage, I'll get it for y'all. To all my readers who went to the rally, GIVE US THE 411!!!

Today's rally was a tremendous success!!! We had about 500 people participate in the rally. We were joined by representatives from the National Congress of Black Women, the National Organization of Women, the Feminist Majority, local activists, and readers of the What About Our Daughters Blog. There is supposed to be an article in the Washington Post tomorrow (Sunday) about the campaign and the rally. CNN was there, and I believe they are going to air some footage as well (Paul would know more about this.)

We will have video footage of the rally on our website (hopefully) by close of business on Thursday (that's the best we can do). We will be back there next Saturday, same time. We need people to spread the word, let our voices be heard, so that we can be taken seriously. It's time for change. Enough Is Enough.

Thanks Pastor Coates! To my fellow congregants at Bedside Baptist, if you are in his area, you should take a Sunday field trip to see what he is about.

Y'all enjoy this hysterical post from over at Average Bro called Enough is Enough Better Stay Off Debra Lee's Petunias.

Read a Letter from Debra Lee to Pastor Coates prior to the Enough is Enough rally.

UPDATE: Stanley Crouch has noted a change in the "Mood" in his editorial "IT's Getting Hard Out Here For a Chump"

Protest in front of BET CEO Debra Lee's House Saturday, September 15th at NOON with 600 other folks

Folks if you live in DC, Philly, Baltimore, seriously consider taking out a few hours of you day to go chill out in front of BET CEO Debra Lee's house with about 600 other people. For more information, you can go to the Enough is Enough website.

The story has been picked up by EURWEB.

At some point, the folks at Viacom might figure out that people who criticize BET might have some legitimate concerns instead of brushing us aside as "CRAZY" or detached from reality.

Yep, anyone who disagrees with BET in any way is anti-Black and CRAZY! Reginald Hudlin said as much on his message board in response to my argument last week that BET's executives "HATE BLACK PEOPLE." In case y'all haven't figured out, for as many BET haters that read this site, I can assure you that BET employees, fans and executives monitor the tiny little site as well. paranoid much? For those wondering how I would know that Hudlin has resumed his "She's A Crazy Anti-Black Cat Lady!" routine, I noticed that ONCE again, I am getting hits from his message board. So being nosy, I had to read the latest. Now to refresh y'allz memory, Mr. Hudlin was the chief public defender of THAT SHOW and was the one who said "THAT SHOW" was "so doggone goood". The AP disagreed. I believe they called THAT SHOW, "tepid" and "tired." That is ancient history, however. Let's talk about BET's latest attempt to "teach" Black America a lesson, "Read a m)$(^#@ Book!"

Per his usual M.O., Hudlin dismisses any criticism of BET as being completely without merit or a RANT. He then trashes the CNN piece ( which I kinda have to agree with him on. Tony Harris was awful, let the guests speak. Where is Soledad when you need her?) But anyway, I want to thank BET's minions for reading this site with devotion.... Your page clicks count too. I really do want a break from y'all till January, unless you do something else stupid, which is highly likely! I waited weeks before I delved into the whole "Read a Book" foolishness just to avoid the headache. Here's what Reggie has to say about us this week:

That woman [THAT WOULD BE ME!]is disconnected from reality. One of the first things Debra Lee did when she took the reins of BET is to cancel BET UNCUT. And she won't acknowledge it because it undermines her rant.

Yes, the director of the animated short and creator of the song were intelligent and well spoken...too bad the "moderator" was anything but. That was the most biased piece of reporting I've seen in a while. The low point had to be when the director was saying how he, like a lot of kids grew up reading MAD and CRACKED, so don't presume kids don't understand satire...and "host" jumps in and threatens to cut his mike off......

Malcolm X, Richard Pryor and Jonathan Swift could have appeared in support of READ A BOOK and it would not have made a difference.

Reginald Hudlin, From the Hudlin Entertainment Message Board

Oh poor downtrodden and picked on BET? It must be so hard to be you. Boo. Hoo. Let's review the record shall we?

“It was a great show for a segment of our audience, it was always controversial because it took videos to a different level,” said BET CEO Debra Lee yesterday at the Television Critics Association press tour in Pasadena, CA. “Because of all the new programming we’re doing, my view was it was time for that show to end.”
Debra Lee Speaking About the end of Uncut.

Took videos to a different level? Hmm is that what you call BET Uncut. So Debra Lee, Black Jesus' "What Dat Smell Like?" is your idea of taking videos to another level? Or perhaps it was " I got that Drank" that you thought was taking videos to a higher plane. Or Debbie, was it "Fresh Pair of Panties?" Folks, that is who Viacom has in charge of their 3 Billion Dollar Burro.

Note a pattern here. Even when they screw up, they won't admit to it. THEy are the ones who won't "acknowledge" legitimate concerns from Black people. When students at Spelman were in an uproar about Uncut and some of BET's other programming selections, Debra Lee was the one that arrogantly flicked the students' legitimate concerns aside and said BET was doing better than ever because BET was making more money than ever. She was still touting the virtues of Uncut even as she pulled the cord. Doesn't sound convincing to me? Notice she didn't say "BET Uncut was insulting and degrading to a large number of the members of our target audience and I find it inappropriate and it will not continue under my leadership."

Hudlin's posters, seem to think that I have said that BET Uncut is still on the air. I never said that and I link to the encyclopedia article indicating that it was taken off air. What I did say was that the decision-makers that aired Uncut for SIX YEARS are still there, INCLUDING DEBRA LEE. So no, I ain't gone trust the folks that brought us Cita's World and BET Uncut to be trying to encourage Black folks to read a book. You need to do a PSA called " Throw a Brick Through Your TV! So You Can't See our Tawdry Programming!"

Anytime Mr. Hudlin wants to take on the CRAZY CAT LADY from WAOD, he is welcome. We'll have a whole Special Edition of the Black Womens' Round Table where he can take apart each and every one of my arguments. Not. Going. To. Happen. Why? Because our arguments aren't CRAZY! They're valid. You might not agree with them, but they aren't completely without any basis and he knows that. That is why he keeps dismissing public dissatisfaction. That's why his supporters and employees stoop to libel. The bigger they are.....

Maybe BET would benefit from recognizing that those who disagree with their programming decisions aren't a bunch of crazy Black folks out to"bully BET," as one of their employees has stated. Maybe folks have a legitimate belief that your channel has done and continues to do considerable harm to the Black community. Maybe at some point you'll get that every complaint isn't a "rant". Probably not because up to this point, you haven't been acting very bright( Just for clarification, I just called him stupid y'all). But that just makes things easy for the CRAZY folk. BET keeps pitching 5 mph balls over the plate. Don't be surprised if someone takes a swing.

So when can we expect the next BET PSA Reggie? What is the topic going to be? "Don't Do Drugs?" " Look Both Ways Before Crossing?" "Stop Drop and Roll" " Don't talk to Strangers?"

Keep 'em coming BET Geniuses! But could you mind holding off until January 2008? I am sooo tired of talking about your lunacy, I really need more time to "Read a m&*$^*&@ Book!"

BTW. If We're all CRAZY, apparently your sponsors are CRAZY too, because they seem to realize, unlike you, that some of your programming decisions are well past poor. As far as being anti-Black, Who was it that thought it would be a wonderful idea to parade a bunch of poor Black folks on international cable television and brand them all with a derogatory label so that in their shame and humiliation they could learn to "DO Better?" Who was it that thought a blackface cartoon would make a good punchline? That would be YOU!

Until next time....I can assure y'all there WILL be a NEXT TIME.


P.S. I keep trying to tell y'all that this is the beginning of a movement. This is not going away, it is only getting bigger and the internet is helping to connect folk for change.

If You're Not Angry Too, You Just Haven't Been Paying Attention: Friday Week in Review

Whew this week is over, but not without controversy as we are prone to wade into on occasion. We ain't "Blog of the Year for Nothing" around here. I also want to take this opportunity to announce that the WAOD Disgruntled Readers Support Group will begin meeting at 5:00PM on Sundays in the fellowship hall of the Bedside Baptist Church, where the Rev. Dr. A. Larm Clock, Sr. is Pastor.

We started off what we thought was going to be a mellow week with a post about Oprah throwing a 3 Million Dollar fund raiser for Barack Obama. I used that opportunity to point out a problem that I have with Senator Obama's Characterization of the facts of the case involving Genarlow Wilson. I then brought up that post on NPR News and Notes during my appearance on the Bloggers' Roundtable. Some folks are very unhappy that I brought up the Wilson case and what I think are Senator Obama's mis characterization of the facts of the case before a group of folks who know very little about it. Of course they threw in a few "angry black women" labels as they always do. Well we wear it as a badge of honor because if you are not angry too, you just haven't been paying attention.

I don't have a problem with the 8th amendment arguments that there was an excessive sentence in the Wilson case. What I have always said is that in making the 8th amendment argument, you don't have to sanitize the facts of what happened in that hotel room or try to make Genarlow Wilson into a saint. Well what's it to you? I'll tell you why I broke the party line and committed heresy by pointing out this problem... because somewhere there is a 17 year old girl ( I guess she is about 19 or 20 now) that says that she was raped and I believe the videotape of the events in the room corroborate that. Not prove, but corroborate. Somewhere there is a 15 year old girl who was drawn into this case and she's getting death threats. But nobody bothers to mention that. No, we have to try to make what happened in that room seem as if it is a scene out of Romeo and Juliet. Well the last time I checked Romeo didn't pass Juliet around to his five buddies.

The argument that the sentence was excessive is in no way diminished by acknowledging that two teen age girls have also had their lives turned upside down as well. What About Our Daughters? So if asking "what must those girls be feeling right now?" makes me "angry" then so be it. Y'all can read some of the responses to my appearance on NPR's News and Notes. Some of the posters didn't like the fact that I brought up Obama's sanitizing of the facts in the Wilson case. yeah, I used that forum to bring this up. I knew I was committing heresy by not sticking to the party line, but when history records this case 20 years from now, maybe a sliver of a footnote will be that somebody said "what happened to the girls in this case?" But I'm not supposed to ask that question am I because what happens to young Black girls aren't really all that important to some folks. Yeah, I said it.

Monday we talked about the Concubine Conspiracy to convince Black women that the best they can do is rent out their wombs and become a "baby mama." We pointed out Essence's role in trying to mainstream "I be concubining!" Sandra Rose has an update on the tawdriness that is Puffy Diddy dee da de' and his veritable cornucopia of babies mamas.

I thought Tuesday was going to be my 9-11 tribute day and I put up a post early asking Where Were You the Day Hell Rained Down From the Sky? If you didn't get a chance, drop a comment in the basket.

I didn't want to post about anything else on 9-11, in fact I vowed not to ( my regulars know how my vows go. I should really stop making them right?) Well as I did my early morning e-mail check an I mean like 4:00AM, three folks had already e-mailed me because they couldn't sleep after reading about this horrific case in West Virginia of a woman being tortured. Some kind of way CNN.com ended up pointing to us( probably because we were one of the earliest blogs to post about it). So of course the comments section went crazy. This blog almost went private. One button is all it takes folks. I couldn't believe folks were cutting up on 9-11. Maybe 9-11 just affects me more than other folks. It always reminds me that life is so short and that there evil folks out there that are a threat to us all.

Then we wrapped up the week posting Robert Byrd's YouTube menagerie from his infamous "barbaric" speech about Michael Vick and dog fighting. I used it as an opportunity to point out that crimes against dogs have gotten more news print than crimes such as Dunbar Village which are committed against Black women.

Don't forget that on Saturday September 15, 2007, 600 people have signed up to go demonstrate outside the home of BET CEO, Debra Lee. You can join them by going to Enough is Enough.

Stop Funding Foolishness!

What Other Black Bloggers Are Saying About the West Virginia Torture Case.... Dunbar Village Update...and Go Chill Out In Front of Debra Lee's House

Dunbar Village Updates

I have some Dunbar Village updates (because if we don't do it, nobody else will.). The last major thing to come out of THAT CITY was a dog and pony show-like tour of the projects by guv'ment officials. From which absolutely nothing has resulted other than a bunch of sniping and no "action."The City of West Palm Beach, Florida is still stuck on stupid almost 4 months after a 35 year-old woman was brutally gang raped by ten African American teens and forced to perform a sex act on her own child at gunpoint. At the time, we all were asking..How on earth did something like this happen? How could her neighbors listen to this woman and her child scream for three hours and not call 911. How could one of this woman's neighbors say "So what a lady got raped...crime happens here all the time." Well folks we are seeing irrefutable proof that there is something in the water in Florida. The Mayor, Lois Frankel isn't the only one whose performance in this matter is way past poor.

Following the international spotlight landing on their city for this heinous crime, the city commissioners moved into "action" and set up a private security patrol in a place the residents called "hell on earth." Now the money is running out and folks are fighting over funding more security. Now mind you these folks can't even install light bulbs in the street lamps of Dunbar Village, the residents live in Florida without air conditioning despite air conditioners being donated and the Police Chief, Delsa Bush has said that a $1,000 reward is sufficient to induce people into providing information on the remaining six gang rapists that are running around West Palm Beach, four months later.

So where are we now. The city commissioner will be meeting with the Housing Authority on September 19th, WAOD will have boots on the ground as our Guest Contributor Symphony from the blog, Essential Presence has been invited to attend. So we'll give y'all the latest when it goes down. Currently, the WPB Town Council was balking at paying $40,000 for continuing security patrols in Dunbar Village. remember these are the people who recently approved 40 MILLION dollars for a tourist boardwalk. Call Florida's Governor, Charlie Crist and ask him why he isn't weighing in on the zoo-like atmosphere in WPB? These folks are citizens of the State of Florida as well. You can reach him at:850-488-4441

WHAT BLACK BLOGGERS ARE SAYING ABOUT WEST VIRGINIA

The Black Blogoshpere was all over the attack in West Virginia yesterday. As usual, even our entertainment and gossip bloggers used their highly visible platforms to alert folks about the horror. Concrete Loop, Bossip, Sandra Rose, and Roland Martin all did posts on it. So did Native Son, Mirror on America, and of course Essential Presence is all over it.

PROTEST AT BET's CEO's HOUSE THIS SATURDAY IN DC AT NOON

Some folks seem to think that WAOD is the only one to have a problem with THAT NETWORK, but we are not alone and new fronts in the effort to stop funding the foolishness are opening up every day.

This Saturday, the Enough is Enough coalition is planning a demonstration at the home of BET CEO Debra Lee. Pastor Coates, the leader has said that already 500 folks have RSVP'd for the demonstration. Please join them on Saturday and send me some text messages updating me.


To RSVP and learn more, go to the Enough is Enough website.

UPDATE: 9/13 More churches are joining in the demonstrations. They now have 600 folks headed to Debra Lee's house to hang out this Saturday. One of my readers in DC has GOT to go and give us a firsthand report.

Seriously... We have got to STOP FUNDING FOOLISHNESS! The cost of foolishness to too high.

I invite you all to revisit our posts, The Five Stages of Grief and the Eight Stages of Genocide. I'll be on National Public Radio on the Show News & Notes. I don't control the topics they select! Search you local NPR listings to hear then the show airs in your area.

Taking it to BET- Protesters to Rally Outside BET CEO's House September 15th!

Snap. crackle. pop. Folks are y'all paying attention? I keep telling yall the okie doke aint working these days. Grassroots activists are doing it for themselves. Protesters are going to picket outside of Debra Lee's house.

Determined to stop the entertainment industry from portraying negative images of black men and women, the “Enough is Enough!” Campaign will hold its first rally and demonstration at the Washington DC residence of Debra L. Lee, Chairman and CEO, Black Entertainment Television Networks.

If you are in the Washington, DC area on September 15th, get on the bus and head on over to Debra Lee's house with the folks from Enough is Enough. Y'all know Debbie is gon' be out of town that weekend. I wonder how BET will spin this?

I am telling y'all this is a multi front war and the internet is evening the playing field. We could not have done this stuff ten years ago. We don't need Rev. Al and Jesse, they've have been bought off anyway. One of yall in DC has just got to go to give the WAOD readers the 411.

now let me go back to finish writing this book.

Stop Funding Foolishness!