'GIRLS....LETS HAVE A MEETING'

I had every intention of writing about hair and beauty products, and my fabulous experiences as a celebrity DJ over the last month … but then Don Imus decided to call the Rutgers basketball team "nappy headed ho's" and "Jigaboos"- soooo…
My first thoughts, besides the obvious of sympathizing with the young ladies on the Rutgers team were, "Did this RACIST man just become the catalyst for the Black Women's Empowerment Movement?" It seemed as if the entire country was suddenly weighing in on the treatment of women and more specifically the plight of the African-American female.
This certainly wasn't the first time that Black women have been insulted and degraded over FCC regulated airwaves. Last summer an MTV cartoon titled "Where My Dogs At?" depicted Black women as "bitches"…literally. In it, a look-alike of rap star Snoop Dogg strolls into a pet shop with two scantily-clad Black women with dark skin and afro puffs, tethered to leashes, walking on all fours, and scratching themselves as he orders one of them to, "Hand me my latte!" The scene ends with the women/"bitches" pissing and defecating on the floor. On the popular HBO series 'Entourage', a group of Black women dressed in summer attire attend a daytime party for resident rap artist, Saigon, in a hotel suite. In the scene the girls get on an elevator, get off an elevator, and simply walk into the party. At the end of the episode the credits for these girls read 'Video Ho 1 thru Video Ho 4'. (There was no video nor did these women participate in 'ho-ish behavior'). In the same episode a White woman meets the lead character, Vince, at lunch and ends up having sex with him within a few hours in a store dressing room then later finishing up at a hotel. However, at the end of the episode the credits for her role read 'Woman'. On a different episode of the same show one of the lead characters used the terminology 'video hoes' when referring to two black women. The mother of that character then referred to those same black women as 'ANIMALS'.
On a recent episode of 'The Apprentice' Donald Trump was so offended by one of the contestants' use of the deplorable term "white trash" that he fired him on the spot. He then turned around and gave the winning team a chance to hang out with his "good friend" Snoop "bitches ain't shit but hoes-n-tricks" Dogg; a mixed message to send especially after just firing someone for offensive and disrespectful language towards Whites.
In 2006 when the Academy Awards gave out an Oscar for the song "It's Hard Out Here For A Pimp" (written by Three 6 Mafia) many Black women felt like it was a message to the Black community to "Keep pimpin' them hoes! "

This "Imus situation" is the tipping point for a problem that has been invisible while in plain sight. There is an existing climate that devalues and dehumanizes Black women and allows all types of stereotypes, insults, and disrespect to go unchecked and without any repercussions. Eminem certainly didn't fear any backlash when he wrote a song early in his career disrespecting Black women.
But by far the worst insults that Black women endure daily are actually from our own community -mostly in the form of entertainment and even more specifically hip-hop. Young Black girls and Black women are and have been insulted and assaulted for years by offensive and abusive images and word that have been hacking away at the self esteem of our women in the most subliminal of ways. The first step to fixing a problem is first admitting that there is one. That is exactly what happened on a recent episode of the 'Oprah Winfrey' show when she held a forum on Hip-Hop & Don Imus' comments. Music exec Kevin Lyles, rapper Common, Dr. Benjamin Chavis, and music mogul Russell Simmons all admitted (after some coaxing from O) that they recognize there is a problem with misogyny in hip-hop. Perhaps moguls like Russell should put the same kind of effort and support behind this issue like those he and Jay Z put forth for the Jewish community.

A few months back Russell Simmons and Jay Z decided to use their combined power to STAND UP for Jewish rights and do a Public Service Announcement speaking out against anti-Semitism. They stated in a series of commercials (which played frequently on BET and other stations) that they believed it wrong to make racial slurs against Jews ….Now yes -we all know anti-Semitism is WRONG, and while I applaud their "we are the world" attitude, Are racial slurs against Jews any more inexcusable, hideous, repulsive, and appalling to these Black hip-hop music moguls than the many degrading and misogynistic slurs against Black women or the Black-on-Black violence that exists in Hip Hop?
And what about "Little Timmy"!? On the same episode of 'Oprah' Kevin Lyles heavily deflected the issue regarding the disrespect of young Black women in hip-hop and seemed to be more concerned with his rise "from intern to president" and the well being of 'Little Timmy'-his son's white playmate and Timmy's assimilation into oneness (seeing no color) via hip-hop.
The "Little Timmy Syndrome" may be a problem with why many hip-hop execs have trouble weighing in on this issue. Perhaps their economic status has them too far removed from the pressing social issues that concern the Black community. Instead of praising Lil' Timmy for his assimilation into our culture shouldn't we be thinking of ways to nurture little Lil' Shaniqua and Lil' Jamal so that they can uphold our culture? Corporate record executives and radio programmers are (as Rhymefest says) "POVERTY PIMPS" who do not care about the advancement of Black people....not even the Black ones. If they did someone would have taken the lead on this issue before it blew up in their faces. They have the power to determine who is signed, what is heard, and what children are exposed to, yet they don't even acknowledge the conscience side of hip-hop and they make no effort to create balance.
BLACK YOUTH ARE IN CRISIS. There is a looming state of emergency in effect that exists in the inner cities of the US concerning young people of color. African-American females between the ages of 12 and 25 are now leading the nation in all new cases of HIV infections. The many negative images portraying women of color as objects with little worth beyond their physical attributes has actively affected the way many of our young girls view themselves today. Unfortunately many people still do not want to admit that there is any correlation between the images/words on TV and radio and the decline of our youth. Some see speaking out in the defense of Black women and girls as an attack on hip-hop. Those Black people that don't want to admit that there is a problem are a part of the problem; much like the slaves who questioned, "Why we need to leave Massa's house?" once slavery was abolished.
The issue is about QUALITY not CENSORSHIP. When Dead Prez said, 'Turn Off The Radio!" those of us looking for better quality hip-hop understood. When Nas said
"Hip Hop Is Dead!" those of us longing for better quality hip-hop understood. Certainly misogyny didn't start with hip-hop but hip-hop wasn't always this misogynistic either. There are BITCHES! There are BITCH-ASS DUDES too! There are HOES -MALE AND FEMALE. Sometimes rappers/artist MUST write about the ugly truths that exist in their realities and they should have the artistic freedom to do so. Sometimes certain songs, as inappropriate as they may appear to some, are humorous to others, -but the over-saturation of this one-sided view of women in general is an unfair misrepresentation of all women and a dangerous message to send to our youth. 'Bubble-Gum' nursery rhyming rappers (who seem to be dominating the airwaves right now) look for easy targets like… PICKING ON GIRLS.
I'm surprised at how many MEN –intellects and idiots alike, are speaking out against Oprah saying that she had no right to speak out on this issue because she is not "hip-hop". Let's make this clear. YOU DON'T HAVE TO HAVE A DEGREE IN "HIP-HOP" TO SPEAK OUT ON THE DISRESPECT OF BLACK WOMEN- AS A BLACK WOMAN. PERIOD!!.... Especially someone like Oprah (THE RICHEST WOMAN IN AMERICA) who is using her platform, power, and far-reaching Long-Arm-Of-Publicity to HELP! If Oprah can't speak out on this topic, her male critics themselves have also forfeited their rights to speak out on the same topic because they are not WOMEN. The disrespect of Oprah is yet another example of how Black women are disrespected within the Black community. Oprah reaches out to help and gets backlash. R. Kelly (the self proclaimed Pied Piper) pisses on underage girls and then comes back on the remix of 'Make It Rain' singing, "Don't ask me what my name is/ Stupid Bitch I'm famous" and gets praised.

Louis Farrakhan said at the Million Man March to his many opponents "I don't need you to validate me. My people validate me!" Ladies! This is an issue that we are going have to take the lead on ourselves. Russell Simmons advised, "Those who know better should do better". As a woman whose career is built in Hip-Hop I can't turn a blind eye to what I see. Last year I founded 'BLACK GIRLS ROCK!' www.blackgirlsrockinc.com a non-profit female youth empowerment organization as a reaction to the negative images of Black women in media. Empowerment begins with self-love and self-respect, not just individual respect but respect of your people, YOUR CULTURAL CONTRIBUTIONS TO SOCIETY, YOUR HISTOY, and YOUR community as a whole. Just because we have been given a rope it doesn't mean we have to hang ourselves with it!
Black Women Are The Mothers Of Civilization!! (As Sean Price would say) "RESPECONIZE!"

"We Started This Sh#t -And This The Mutha- Fu**In' Thanks We Get!?"

Beverly Bond
Founder/President
Blacck Girls Rock! Inc.

*Heavy Hitters*- NYC


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