IN DISRESPECTING DR. HEIGHT, BET REACHES A NEW LOW
by Lisa Nicolle Young ~ Thursday, April 29, 2010
I’m saddened but not surprised. BET…You never fail to disappoint.
Dr. Dorothy Irene Height
Dr. Dorothy Irene Height, “godmother” of the Civil Rights Movement, soldier on the battlefield for equality, groundbreaking, trailblazing legend whose life was dedicated to the cause…was laid to rest on Thursday, April 29, 2010.
As the black “Who’s Who” of the political, entertainment and business worlds paid tribute; as the President of the United States delivered the eulogy; as choirs sang; as clergy prayed; as many of us watched the live streaming coverage via the internet or on TV-ONE…BET chose instead to laugh.
President Barack Obama deemed this woman’s life so significant that he ordered the flags at half-staff. Dr. Maya Angelou, came forward in a wheelchair to read from Psalms in honor of her dear friend. And Black Entertainment Television did not so much as pause from its marathon of sitcom buffoonery to render due respect.
How ironically sad is it that the funeral of the woman whose struggles created the opportunity for BET to even BE – not be deemed worthy of pre-empting sitcom repeats?
The opportunistic way in which you used Michael Jackson’s death to promote the 2009 BET Awards, was bad enough. In the days following his death you released a statement saying that the show would be ‘dedicated to Jackson’ and ‘pay tribute to his legacy’. Your show was widely vilified as being neither adequately ‘dedicated’ nor appropriately ‘paying tribute’ to our beloved MJ.
But with this you have reached a new low. With this you are partnered with no less than FOX News which was the ONLY so-called cable “news” network to not air President Obama’s eulogy. We’ve come to expect this type of utter disrespect from FOX News. But even for a network known to routinely disrespect African American women, there ought to be a line drawn for a civil rights icon. Right BET? But no.
Seriously…have you no shame? After all Debra Lee, you are a woman and you are BLACK. To borrow a phrase from the great playwright August Wilson, ‘the ground on which you stand’ was paved by Dr. Height.
Did you not feel compelled to honor her life and legacy by tapping into the live feed? By public funeral standards, it was remarkably short at less than two hours. Surely you could have recovered any lost ad revenue. Two hours of second run syndicated sitcoms in the midmorning time slot on BET can’t be that precious. TV One figured it out, perhaps you should take notes. Wait, I forgot…you don’t do “learnin”.
BET, we are not friends. Long gone are the days when I turned to you for a true reflection of my perspective of the world as an African American woman. Since I am neither a buffoon, nor a video bimbo, I never really saw myself in your disrespectful portrayals. But in this ONE hour (maybe two) when Dr. Height is being honored, is it too much to expect that you would learn from the debacles of your past, and for once live up to your calling and join in the illumination of her shining life?
Have you no sense of history and decency? Wait, I forgot, I’m asking that of BET…the network built on the dissemination of negative black images. From video bimbo, to gangster, to crack addicts, to illiterate after illiterate, the perpetual portrayal of black ignorance is your hustle…how dare we expect anything different.
Carry on…and I’ll go back to changing the channel.
Lisa Nicolle Young is a writer and independent filmmaker.
©LNY Communications
May 4, 2010
An Open Letter to BET for Dr. Height
Posted by nikkiyo under Social CommentaryLeave a Comment
IN DISRESPECTING DR. HEIGHT, BET REACHES A NEW LOW
by Lisa Nicolle Young ~ Thursday, April 29, 2010
I’m saddened but not surprised. BET…You never fail to disappoint.
Dr. Dorothy Irene Height
Dr. Dorothy Irene Height, “godmother” of the Civil Rights Movement, soldier on the battlefield for equality, groundbreaking, trailblazing legend whose life was dedicated to the cause…was laid to rest on Thursday, April 29, 2010.
As the black “Who’s Who” of the political, entertainment and business worlds paid tribute; as the President of the United States delivered the eulogy; as choirs sang; as clergy prayed; as many of us watched the live streaming coverage via the internet or on TV-ONE…BET chose instead to laugh.
President Barack Obama deemed this woman’s life so significant that he ordered the flags at half-staff. Dr. Maya Angelou, came forward in a wheelchair to read from Psalms in honor of her dear friend. And Black Entertainment Television did not so much as pause from its marathon of sitcom buffoonery to render due respect.
How ironically sad is it that the funeral of the woman whose struggles created the opportunity for BET to even BE – not be deemed worthy of pre-empting sitcom repeats?
The opportunistic way in which you used Michael Jackson’s death to promote the 2009 BET Awards, was bad enough. In the days following his death you released a statement saying that the show would be ‘dedicated to Jackson’ and ‘pay tribute to his legacy’. Your show was widely vilified as being neither adequately ‘dedicated’ nor appropriately ‘paying tribute’ to our beloved MJ.
But with this you have reached a new low. With this you are partnered with no less than FOX News which was the ONLY so-called cable “news” network to not air President Obama’s eulogy. We’ve come to expect this type of utter disrespect from FOX News. But even for a network known to routinely disrespect African American women, there ought to be a line drawn for a civil rights icon. Right BET? But no.
Seriously…have you no shame? After all Debra Lee, you are a woman and you are BLACK. To borrow a phrase from the great playwright August Wilson, ‘the ground on which you stand’ was paved by Dr. Height.
Did you not feel compelled to honor her life and legacy by tapping into the live feed? By public funeral standards, it was remarkably short at less than two hours. Surely you could have recovered any lost ad revenue. Two hours of second run syndicated sitcoms in the midmorning time slot on BET can’t be that precious. TV One figured it out, perhaps you should take notes. Wait, I forgot…you don’t do “learnin”.
BET, we are not friends. Long gone are the days when I turned to you for a true reflection of my perspective of the world as an African American woman. Since I am neither a buffoon, nor a video bimbo, I never really saw myself in your disrespectful portrayals. But in this ONE hour (maybe two) when Dr. Height is being honored, is it too much to expect that you would learn from the debacles of your past, and for once live up to your calling and join in the illumination of her shining life?
Have you no sense of history and decency? Wait, I forgot, I’m asking that of BET…the network built on the dissemination of negative black images. From video bimbo, to gangster, to crack addicts, to illiterate after illiterate, the perpetual portrayal of black ignorance is your hustle…how dare we expect anything different.
Carry on…and I’ll go back to changing the channel.
Lisa Nicolle Young is a writer and independent filmmaker.
©LNY Communications