At Sharpton Event, Girls Grill Hip-Hop Radio CEO: You ‘Play Music That Degrades Us’…

Two young ladies who are leaders in youth groups for Rev. Al Sharpton’s National Action Network (NAN) grilled a radio executive about his lucrative hip hop music programming, asking whether it was any different than drug dealers making money and why would the executive promote material that “degrades us and dumbs our African American people down just to make money?”

At the NAN convention in Washington, D.C., a panel discussion was held entitled “Media Race” that was led by MSNBC’s Rev. Al Sharpton, who founded NAN, and included Alfred C. Liggins III, the CEO of Radio One, the seventh largest radio network in the United States. …

After all the panelists spoke, the floor was opened for questions and the two young ladies approached the microphone: Victoria Pannell, 12, of New York City, who is the Northeast regional director of NAN’s Youth Movement, and Nialah Edari, 17, of Milwaukee, Wisc., who is the Midwest youth director for NAN.

Edari said, “Our question is directed toward Mr. Alfred [Liggins]. You said that your radio station plays rap music because it makes money, but drug dealers sell drugs. Does that necessarily make it right?”

Applause and hollering broke out in the audience, and then Pannell said, “And rap music creates negative stereotypes in our communities, so we just want to know would you rather play music that degrades us and dumbs our African American people down just to make money?”

Liggins said if his company did not broadcast the baser hip hop music, “If we don’t highlight that artistry, somebody else will do it, and the audience wants it. People want to listen to it.” …

“Don’t try to put words in my mouth. You take that issue up with the young girls who said exactly that. By such a railing, you make yourself look misogynistic—and racist to boot. Nobody made any assumptions in this thread, least of all me.”

Wow, you must be looking to pick a fight. Have you started many threads? Let me fill you in on a little something: people tend to post a lot to the original poster. I do so whenever responding directly to the article. I was taking it up with the whoever I quoted. Not directly, of course, but for the edification of the FR community.

As for misogyny, no. Not even close. That’s a wild swing on you part, but it can’t compete with racist. Ha! I was specifically admonishing against racial stereotypes. Where do you fit me being racist into that? Or is it that I’m not allowed to address myself to black females ever without being misogynistic and racist. I guess so.

I really would love for youto demonstrate to me how I was being racist and misogynistic, though I doubt you could even if you tried.

Let me fill you in on a little something: people tend to post a lot to the original poster. I do so whenever responding directly to the article

It's possible to post while removing all handles from the "To" field. That way, I don't get the idea that you are addressing me by using personal pronouns.

Or is it that I’m not allowed to address myself to black females ever without being misogynistic and racist

Given the manner of your addressing, that characterization might be accurate in the first respect. The comments of the two young ladies had nothing to do with the buyers, but the sellers. Also, nowhere was all rap or hip-hop music so characterized by these young ladies; it'd certainly be folly to accuse "Rapper's Delight" or even "The Message" of "dumbing down" a whole community of people or promoting misogyny.

“It’s possible to post while removing all handles from the ‘To’ field.”

Possible, yes, but I post to the OP. That’s just how I do it.

“That way, I don’t get the idea that you are addressing me by using personal pronouns.”

Maybe you could not get that idea by noticing you didn’t write the quote which I took the time to cut and paste and to which I was addressing myself.

“Given the manner of your addressing”

Huh? What “manner”? Earlier you used “railing,” but I assure you it was typed in a calm and rational manner. I would accept droll or flippant, but nothing that young female black ears can’t hear.

Isn’t it funny, the many shades of interpretation of the tone of written words. But not that many. If you think the manner in which I wrote is inherently misogynistic/racist/other bad words, you know as much about interpreting manner as I know about quantum mechanics (I don’t know very much about quantum mechanics).

“The comments of the two young ladies had nothing to do with the buyers, but the sellers.”

In order to sell you have to have buyers, and I don’t think who’s buying is irrelevant. She was talking about it creating negative stereotypes in “our communities,” meaning black communities. But since white people do most of the buying—as is only natural for the dominant popular music genre in a majority white country—I’d worry more about the stereotypes it creates there.

Oh, and that has nothing to do with misogyny nor racism.

“Also, nowhere was all rap or hip-hop music so characterized by these young ladies”

Ugh, did I say it was? I wouldn’t even care if it was, by the way. That’s not something I’d bother to correct, exaggeration though it may be.

“it’d certainly be folly to accuse ‘Rapper’s Delight’ or even ‘The Message’ of ‘dumbing down’ a whole community of people or promoting misogyny.”

I’d have to check the lyrics, but let’s assume you’re right. Okay, but what does this do with what we were talking about? What phantom are you arguing with?

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