We're Hypocrites, So Our Protests Are Short-Lived

Jonathan Peterson

In April 2000, singer R. Kelly faced yet another lawsuit alleging sexual misconduct with a minor. There was much talk in the African American community about what would seem to be his ongoing behavioral flaw. Our community seemed to be outraged. Individuals and black radio stations vowed to disassociate themselves from him. We protested radio stations that played his music and stores that sold it.

Seven months later, when R. Kelly dropped his "TP2.com" album, which debuted at No. 1, we seemed to have a change of heart. Suddenly, we were jamming to “I Wish” and grooving in the club to “Feelin On Ya Booty”!

Our hypocrisy as African Americans holds back the empowerment of our communities.

Too often our protests start out strong, only to be derailed because participation levels drop. We move on to the next appalling issue.

Let’s fast-forward to 2002, the infamous “Pepsi–O’Reilly–Ludacris” incident.

To appeal to its African American consumers, Pepsi recruited the growing rap icon Ludacris to be a spokesman. Initially, this probably went over well in the Pepsi marketing department staff meetings. However, Pepsi never anticipated that Fox News Channel commentator Bill O’Reilly would endorse a boycott of Pepsi for “peddling antisocial behavior” and promoting an artist with lyrics that degrade women.

Surprisingly, there was no mention of the rock group Papa Roach, also recruited as Pepsi spokesmen, having been in a porn film. (Nothing wrong with porn, huh, O’Reilly?) Nevertheless, 24 hours later, Ludacris’ Pepsi ads were a thing of the past.

Needless to say, we pulled out our stock of protest supplies and went on the offensive. Our Pepsi protest was in full swing. Russell Simmons, with his Hip–Hop Summit Action Network, along with HBCU students, denounced Pepsi while they sipped cool bottles of Aquafina and Code Red Mountain Dew, Pepsi products, from campus vending machines. How dare Pepsi pull Ludacris ads based on O’Reilly’s ridiculous accusations?

This protest too, was short-lived: It began in August 2002 and our protest ended six months later, in February 2003, when Pepsi, whose parent company has annual revenues of $27 billion, agreed to donate $1 million to various charities in low-income African American communities and hired a bigger and more marketable black spokeswoman, Beyonce. (We sure showed them. We mean business!)

When Ludacris released "Chicken-N-Beer" in 2003, the "Cut Uncut" protesters couldn't be found.

In 2003, Ludacris would drop his album “Chicken–N–Beer,” which included the explicit “P- Poppin.” This instantly became a late-night classic on Black Entertainment Television's "Uncut." However, the “Cut Uncut” protesters were nowhere to be found. Perhaps we all just stayed tight–lipped so as not to divulge our hypocrisy by fussing about such a degrading “Tip Drill” precursor. Besides, we would not want O’Reilly to think he had actually made a point!

What can I say about Nelly’s “Tip Drill” that has not already been said? Nelly was also denounced for allegedly glorifying a pimp lifestyle after he named an energy drink "Pimp Juice." Whatever happened with the “Pimp Juice” protest?

Never mind, pass me my fashionable “Vote or Die” T-shirt!

We have a problem in our psyches, or perhaps we are just choosing the wrong levels at which to protest. Either way, we must correct this behavior before we lose the credibility of our protests.

There is a bigger picture that we seem to miss. An effective protest must be channeled at the sources: first, ourselves, and secondly those producing the negative images and harmful social portrayals of African Americans.

The effectiveness of a protest is directly related to the unity and endurance of the protesters. Imagine if the Civil Rights Movement of the '60s lasted six months. Where would we be today?

We must also take individual as well as a collective responsibility for educating our youth on appropriate images and messages vs. inappropriate negative misogynistic ones.

We need to control our hypocritical behavior, which takes self–discipline and the courage to stand behind personal convictions. We must stop allowing the media, the entertainment industry, and most importantly ourselves, to make a mockery of our communities.

There are bigger and better issues to protest, starting with the drastic decline in black males attending and graduating from college.

Before we protest “The Man,” let’s make sure we examine our contribution to the problem. I will be the first to acknowledge the need to work on my hypocritical behavior. Here I am mentioning black males not graduating from college, and I have not finished my undergraduate degree. I’ve had plenty of time!

So while you think about this essay, I am going to continue working at adding myself to the percentage of black males who have graduated!

Jonathan Peterson, a former Howard University student who is continuing his education, is also executive editor of RAW Magazine.

Posted Nov. 22, 2004