FORWARDEVER MEDIA CENTER
Writer Alex
Haley writing The Autobiography of Malcolm X with Brother Malcolm.
"The
media's the most powerful entity on earth. They have the power to make
the innocent guilty and to make the guilty innocent, and that's power.
Because they control the minds of the masses."
- Malcolm X
Mission
The Forwardever Media Center is 100% committed to providing unconventional writing workshops and media literacy training to "at-risk" Black youth, particularly males, ages 14 through 24. Working in partnership with The Mentoring Center in Oakland, CA., the Center's writing workshops, website internship, and film forums, help students develop critical thinking skills and discover their creative talents. We recruit youth for our programs from the California Youth Authority (the state's largest prison for youth) as well as from universities and high schools. This cross-pollination of young minds creates dynamic shared experiences.
Programs
Whatchusay Cinema–A monthly film forum hosted at schools or community centers in Northern California that explores issues such as race, class, gender, and society. Students are joined by a panel of activists, educators, athletes, entrepreneurs, etc. to rate the films and convene roundtable discussions about corresponding relevant issues in society. For info about film screenings and schedules contact: cheo@whatchusay.com
Writing Workshops–We offer intensive seminars in journalism, creative writing, cultural criticism, new media, film production, etc. These seminars are taught at the center, located at 1224 Preservation Park, Oakland, CA, 94612. They are also available on location, at schools, community and detention centers, churches, etc. For info about class schedules contact: cheo@whatchusay.com
Internships–Whatchusay.com offers competitive internships to young writers who have clearly demonstrated a passion for the craft of writing or media production. The 3-month internship covers news writing and reporting, feature writing, creative writing, media literacy and new media. Working in partnership with community based organizations, universities and international and national media outlets, we produce a pipeline of informed journalists of color who will go on to create their own independent media organizations or work for major media organizations.
More...« Super Tuesday Showdown: Where will Black People Stand? | Main | Fear-based Mentality? »
What's the Matter, Boss? We Sick?
Bob Johnson, founder of B.E.T., made news recently when, showing his undying loyalty to Hilary Clinton during an introductory speech, he played to the type of white fears and negative stereotypes of black males by making a thinly-veiled remark that implied that Senator Barack Obama was a drug dealer. This, not from Bill O'Rielly, but from our first black billionaire, the biggest sell out since Stepin Fetchit.
Here's his a clip where he introduced Hilary Clinton at Columbia College in South Carolina last week:
"To me, as an African American, I am frankly insulted the Obama campaign would imply that we are so stupid that we would think Hillary and Bill Clinton, who have been deeply and emotionally involved in black issues ... when Barack Obama was doing something in the neighborhood; I won't say what he was doing, but he said it in his book ... when they have been involved," Johnson said.
Obama wrote about his teenage drug use: marijuana, alcohol and sometimes cocaine in his memoir, Dreams from My Father.
So here's my take: The fact that both candidates have called a "truce" and not to let race become an issue in the campaign, means nothing if their key supporters continue to ply innuendo dripping with racial stereotypes. Who is Bob Johnson to cast moral stones? His network set African American folk back at least fifty years, with its degrading, misogynistic videos that denigrate Black women, stereotype Black males as ultra violent, and promote mindless bling consumerism. After laying the foundation for this formula, Johnson sold his company to Viacom so they could take the wheel of his pimped out ride and continue to drive it into the land of are 21st-Century Minstrel Town.
No one could ever accuse Johnson of being a black moral or political leader.. the only mantle he's got to his credit that blackfolks might be proud of is "billionaire." But at what costs? It's not a leap to say that Johnson's network not only perpetuated many negative black stereotypes but also negatively gave a whole new generation more psychologically damaging ideas about Black culture. In my mind, Obama's drug use pales by comparison to the thug and drug lifestyles Johnson promoted for more than 20 years on B.E.T. If this were 1838 instead of 2008, it's an easy bet what side of the fence Johnson would be on.
Malcolm X said it so much better than I can.
Posted on January 17, 2008 7:25 PM
