The Winter of our Discontent

BY: Shecodes, WAOD Contributor

YEAH, THEY’RE STILL IN FRONT ON DEBRA LEE’S LAWN…

And are showing up in front of Philippe “The Puppetmaster” Dauman’s brownstone, too

It’s going to be a battle of wills this winter, y’all. It looks like our favorite pastor and his crew are in it for the long haul.

So in case you were wondering, the ‘Enough is Enough’ protests are still going on in front of Debra Lee (president of BET)’s house in Washington, DC, and also in front of the swanky residence of Phillipe Dauman (CEO of Viacom) in Manhattan.

I went to the Big Apple two weeks ago to join in on the festivities in front of Philippe’s house. It’s a pretty modest crowd – comprised of about 60% teenagers. (Where are their parents? And why aren’t they protesting right alongside them?)

The first thing I noticed was a heartbreaking contrast between these working-class, sign-wielding African American youths, who were shivering out in the cold -- and the profound privilege and comfort of the white neighborhood children, who were peering out of the windows. It was an object lesson in Economic Disparity, 101.

Anyway, Philippe ‘The Puppetmaster’ Dauman’s neighbors didn’t seem to mind the ruckus at all. Most went about their business, but several people stopped by to take leaflets and ask about the protest. All of the residents that I spoke to expressed sympathy and support for the cause. (Or, maybe they didn’t have the guts express disapproval to an afro-wearing blogger who would take their picture and tell their business in a hot minute).

Since Viacom has been belligerently unresponsive to the pleas of the African American community to quell their lust to depict Blacks as hoes, thugs, and pimps, some strategists believe that it’s time to start hitting them where it counts – by exposing the decision makers and financers of these stereotypical and degrading images to the world.

At this point, my main concern whether the blast of winter cold will crumble the resolve of these protesters. We shall see.

For new readers, the Enough is Enough campaign is part of a comprehensive strategy designed to demand accountability and correct unequal standards concerning the stereotypical and demeaning images of African Americans and women in the media.

I might roll up there again tomorrow to see how they are doing… if it ain’t too cold.

posted by contributor SheCodes

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?"

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"

September 25, 2007 - Congress to Hold Hearings on Negative Portrayals Of Black Women in Media ( LUNCH UPDATE)

Congress finally got around to noticing the systematic dehumanization of Black women in popular culture and they are going to hold hearings about it. The hearing is currently titled, "From Imus to Industry: The Business of Stereotypes and Degradation." Once again, we have to send don Imus a fruit basket and a bottle of Champelle, he is like the gift that keeps on giving. Too bad Congress required a crusty old coot to get hearings like this.....but I digress.

Hearing, not yet officially announced and tentatively skedded for Sept. 25, will focus primarily on hip-hop lyrics and videos, which critics have frequently derided for explicit misogyny aimed largely at black women. Variety

This was what they were talking about when I used to participate in a weekly conference call with womens' and civil rights groups ( the ones mentioned in the article)..... BACK in July. This is a serious case of better late than never. It is going down on September 25, 2007. Folks contact the members of the committee, BOTH REPUBLICAN AND DEMOCRAT with "examples" . It is the House Subcommittee on Commerce, Trade and Consumer Protection. Ironically., it may be the Democrats with their noted ties to the entertainment industry that may be most reluctant to call these people on their crap(according to my sources).

Witnesses include toppers Philippe Dauman of Viacom, Doug Morris of Universal Music Group and Edgar Bronfman Jr. of Warner Music Group.

These are not lackeys like Debra Lee and Reginald Hudlin. These are the big boys and girls that are going to be on the hot seat. Seriously, those who have been waiting and watching to nail their azzes to the wall, this is your moment, you might not get another one.

For those of you not familiar with the corporatocracy, Viacom owns BET, MTV and VH1 home of the terrible trilogy, Flavor of Love, I love NY and Charm School. In other words this one man is responsible for putting Black folks back about 500 years, by HIMSELF! Like I said, you might not get another opportunity like this to have the Viacom CEO make an accounting for his actions. They probably won't make them testify under oath, but this should be very interesting.

Some folks have asked how they can get involved in the comments section. I have a couple of e-mails out asking how to go about doing that.

UPDATE: I spoke to TWO different committee staffers. The staffer working on the hearings for Congressman Rush's office, didn't respond to my e-mail and isn't taking my calls, but y'all know iI can hunt down the 411. So I went another direction folks over on the minority side of the committee and a staffer for the full committee ( The House Committee on Energy and Commerce, Chaired by Rep. Dingle out of IL) were extremely helpful and gave a ton of important info to those wanting to attend.

If you want to be a witness, according to the full committee staffer it looks like a long shot as the Chair probably already has a list of invitees, but you can always try by contacting Bobby Rush's office. Christian Fjeld is the staffer that was working on this when last I heard about this, his email is Christian.Fjeld@mail.house.gov. I sent him an email for alternative contact info, but he "stepped away from his desk" which is office speak for "I don't want to take your call." So email him to your heart's content. Right now, the only known witness is Master P ( WTF???)I sat in on some of the early discussions about the hearings back in July and am aware of the source of some of the potential witnesses, but it never hurts to try. You have until September 25th. God Luck with that!

Although Representative Rush's office was unhelpful in getting you guys any additional information on the hearings, undaunted, I called the full committee and also accidentally got transferred to the minority members' office ie THE REPUBLICANS at some point and they were MORE THAN HAPPY to tell ALL. Surprisingly so. So here is the 411.

The date is not firm YET but pretty much so. Both my sources said that the date was not definitely set in stone. The September 25th date could change. In fact the staffer for the full committee was surprised that it had been reported in Variety, he said to keep checking the full committee's website. He also said I could call him anytime and he would give us an update on where we are in the process. They have to give at least 72 hours notice, but there should be more than that so those of you considering traveling to DC might want to hold off about a week before booking a ticket.

Seating During the Hearings
The seating is on a first come first serve basis. Depending on which room they select, the room will either hold 75 or 150 people. Based on their past experience, they are saying get there atleast 2 hours early to guarantee a seat. This would be in the Rayburn Building. now one of them told me that you can't bring a camera,b ut you CAN bring a laptop. That makes no sense, but I will do additional research on that.

I suggest folks go up there two hours early as a group an chill out. I'll maybe even produce a special bright pink T-shirt for the occasion. They said folks could line up at the door. ROAD TRIP! So get on the horn and let ere' body know! This is like Hailey's Comet. An opportunity like this comes around once every 75 years or so. Those of you who have been ticked off with Viacom, this is your moment.

While there is only on Chair of the subcommittee, there are tons of other members who get to ask questions as well. You might get frozen out by Rush's office, but there is nothing to stop you from contacting other members of the Committe e and you might actually get more assistance from the Republicans ( weird, but apparently true). They don't have a dog in this fight.

I'll keep you updated, y'all do the same.

Jesus Be a Fence! - Flavor of Love is Casting

WARNING: This post contains a link to a video with fast moving flickering images. While you may be compelled to stare intently at the images in the video due to shock or horror, DO NOT! You will get dizzy as I did (not kidding).

Flavor of Love is casting y'all. (Thanks Kim!) You can vote for which contestants will be on the show apparently. This is the foolishness that VH1 is is promoting on the Flavor of Love Casting Blog. (WARNING: IF you are prone to seizures, DO NOT WATCH THIS VIDEO ALONE! I wish I was joking.)

I'm writing you today to let you know that Flavor of Love is coming back to the air and they just opened up casting via this website: http://flavoroflovecasting.com/. Of particular interest is this black man in drag AND black face: http://flavoroflovecasting.com/people/SARGENTBEVERLY/videos/121.

Look, I can't take on the whole dayum world of foolishness. I have to deal with DL at the Throw Down in A-Town this month. I KNOW there is a blogger out there that can take the lead on this foolishness!

( Gina must leave her computer now in order to recover from the Sargent Beverly Video. Gina is all for being yourself and self expression, but Dear LORD! "I was so NOT prepared for that level of foolishness. I am seriously dizzy. Must. Rest. Now." )