What’s your take on what’s been dubbed as the Black men blackout, i.e. the lack of African-American actors on stage, at this year’s Oscars?
I think we need to get over that s–t. How many Chinese do you see? You don’t see them out marching and s–t. Oh God please. I think … We need to get over it, that’s all.

Have you ever felt pressure to represent your people in a certain way in any of your films?
I don’t have any “my people.” I never had to deal with that part of my thing. Once, I straightened my hair when I was doing The Electric Company, and this woman comes up to me and says, “You…you… shouldn’t!” And I said, “Hold it. You don’t dictate my image. Get away from me.” And another one said, “But you’re a black man!” And I said, “Oh? Do tell!” After I played the president in Deep Impact, somebody said to me, “How does it feel to play a Black president?” And I was like, “Whoa, whoa. I didn’t play a ‘Black’ president. I played the president.” I don’t have to play Black.

And yet you’ve never shied away from controversial film portrayals of Black men like the pimp in Street Smart or the driver in Driving Miss Daisy. Has there been a special blueprint you’ve followed throughout your career?
I’m not shaped by anything at all except if it’s a good story and [has] an interesting character. I don’t have to worry about my image. My image has to do with my work. I’m not John Wayne. I’m an actor. I want to do anything that tells a good meaningful story. The part I play in it is just a part of that story.

Well I guess that helps explain why he wouldn’t cringe at playing Hoke in Driving Miss Daisy, and the Black side-kick in dozens of other films, giving him an estimated net worth of $90 million.

Wikipedia.com has an entire section on Freeman’s page called “Comments on Race.” It reads:

Freeman has publicly criticized the celebration of Black History Month and does not participate in any related events, saying, “I don’t want a black history month. Black history is American history.”^[14] He says the only way to end racism is to stop talking about it, and he notes that there is no “white history month”.^[15] Freeman once said on an interview with 60 Minutes‘Mike Wallace: “I am going to stop calling you a white man and I’m going to ask you to stop calling me a black man.”^[14] Freeman supported the defeated proposal to change the Mississippi state flag, which contains the Confederate battle flag.^[16][17]

I guess Wikipedia can add this BET interview to this section of his sketchy biography.

The others profiled this month also include:

• Kevin Liles, an author, a philanthropist and a former Def Jam Music Group president;
• Marvelyn Brown, an author and AIDS activist;
• and Beverly Bond, the founder of Black Girls Rock! Inc.

They will also be posting a longer interview with Kenyon on the BET.com website.

Also earlier today, the Huffington Post published my statement for QEJ on Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.

Tune in tonight if you can, and read the Huffington Post piece.

But what really took the cake was this dumb-ass section on “How to tell if Your Man is Gay” which is full of every fucking ludicrous stereotype out there. Why, oh why do I expect BET to act right? Every time you think they’re gonna do something worthwhile they continue the downward spiral further into the abyss of foolishness. I did a show a few months ago on Blog Talk Radio about homophobia in the Black community, and the questions listeners asked were so conservative and uninformed it was really unnerving, like “Why are gay men always trying to take our men, etc.,” or “How can you tell if someone is on the DL?”

Given that that kind of ridicululous paranoia is out there in the world, and to have BET create a website that a lot of Black people will go to, and see that bullshit as their potentially first exposure to Black LGBT issues from a “legitimate” source, is downright sad. What someone at BET did to try to save themselves from the wrath of the Black Queers was to make the last entry in the series a thinly veiled way-letting you know the whole thing is “tongue-in-cheek.” Here’s what it says:

“The truth is, you don’t need all these signs to know whether your partner is gay or not. What you should do is sit down and talk to him about it. Make him feel that it is all right and that you understand. Finding out if your boyfriend is gay needs a little observation and a lot of honesty.”

Bob Johnson, founder of BET had the unmitigated gall to stand up in front of a crowd and act as the authority on Black people, and defend Clinton’s record with Black people…As black as the Clintons think they are, they are white enought to not realize how many Black people actually despise Bob Johnson. Many of us blame him for cutting BET news programming (and firing Tavis Smiley), and turning the channel into a video channel replete with images of violent black masculinites, hypersexualized black women, with a hefy dash of homophobia. In fact, THE SAME NIGHT he made these comments, Black folks were protesting outside the taping of a BET Awards show in DC.

Not only were they protesting. Thet were actually organizing hunger strikes! Well, at least lil Huey from The Boodocks was. The rumor has it that BET has used its might to keep this episode from airing.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lF29I2UvoGc]

The blacks are giving her hell over that comment, and on Sunday’s “Meet the Press” she said that the Obama campaign was “deliberately distorting” her comments.

Well I saw the interview when it aired, and no, no one is distorting her comments. She said something really politically foolish trying to one-up Obama, and she got caught out there. I thought at the time that that statement was going to come back to haunt her.

But it doesn’t end there. Saturday, Bob Johnson, founder of BET had the unmitigated gall to stand up in front of a crowd and act as the authority on Black people, and defend Clinton’s record with Black people. Johnson said

“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.”

He later said he was not referring to Obama’s admitted drug use. As black as the Clintons think they are, they are white enought to not realize how many Black people actually despise Bob Johnson. Many of us blame him for cutting BET news programming (and firing Tavis Smiley), and turning the channel into a video channel replete with images of violent black masculinites, hypersexualized black women, with a hefy dash of homophobia. In fact, THE SAME NIGHT he made these comments, Black folks were protesting outside the taping of a BET Awards show in DC.

Johnson is also the sleaze bag who moved the show Comic View from Los Angeles to Atlanta, allegedly in order to avoid paying unionized rates to comics appearing on the show. Not that I care about that modern day minstrel show, but it was still a low blow.

To make matters even worse, I just saw a debate on PBS’ The New Hour between SCLC veteran Rev. Joseph C. Lowry (Team Obama) and Civil Rights vet Rep. John Lewis (Team Clinton). John Lewis had the nerve to defend Clinton on the basis that “The Clintons would never do anything to harm African-Americans.” I am not sure if that’s a direct quote, but it’s definitely not far off. He said it twice.

WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH US?

I can definitely understand why black people may not necessarily be in 100% Barack’s camp, but I certainly cannot understand why some of us back Clinton over him–and completely uncritically.

But I said a few posts ago this election was going to help expose the tensions of the civil rights old guarde as they fall out of favor. Not because Black people are more conservative, but because they are now too entrenched in the machine to be effective as agitators. And their tacit support of the Clintons against a Black candidate generally more progressive than either Bill or Hillary, is quite telling. William Jelani Cobb has a great article in the Washington Post about this very issue.

Ummm…yeah.

I wish this were a joke. But she blogged on her myspace page a long and drawn out piece about how we need to get over separating the races and whatnot…

This is gonna be hard guys. I LOVE the comedians on BET. I also LOVE the fact that they play my favorite show of all time, In Living Color. However, I do not believe in seperating ANY RACE in America. WE ARE AMERICANS! How dare we have Black History Month! In my eyes, the Native Americans deserve it MUCH more, seeing how we destroyed their ENTIRE SOCIETY. There are hardly any of them left! They also have been proven to have the WORST living conditions on their reservations. I want AN AMERICAN HISTORY MONTH. One where we learn about EVERY race, ALL OF OUR LEADERS, EVERYONE! I think by having a month dedicated to one race, and not one for any other, is RACIST. Every fund set up to only help people of one race is SICK and RACIST.

Yes, I get it. Black people were slaves here once. You know what? That does suck some major balls, however, it is time to move the fuck on. Do we hear the Jews crying that they were made slaves for thousands of years? Do we hear them whine that they should OWN the pyramids in Egypt because THEY broke their backs making them? Do we hear them bitch and moan about Hitler, etc? (my hubby is a Jew)Nope, we dont. It’s time for us to UNITE AS ONE. I do not think that singling out one race, giving one race opportunities to go to college (I know a TON of poor white.asian, indian, american indian, etc etc that could use that too!), giving one race the EXCUSE to blame things on others for being whatever nationality they are, is a good way at making sure we NEVER kill racism.

I am over this shit. WE ALL CAME FROM ONE BLACK WOMAN FROM AFRICA, THAT is our EVE! It has been proven by science, and I stand by it. If any other race had a chanel dedicated to just them, we would think it was racist. If any other race demanded a month be set aside for ONLY them, they would be considered racist. I am NOT living by this double standard any longer.

Think I am racist? I am not. I know what racism is. I dated a guy named “Justin” in Junior high. Nothing serious, but I really liked him. He was the blackest of black…BEAUTIFUL skin, kinda like Alex Wek’s. He was handsome, and athletic, etc. I was called a nigger lover. But you know what? I was called that by a whole 2 people out of a school with HUNDREDS of students. THAT is why I am NOT buying this racist shit anymore. Let us teach or children that there is NO DIFFERENCE! We are all human. I hope one day aliens land and try to kill us. Maybe THEN we would finally realize that WE are ONE.

Now, I can think of many reasons to boycott BET (as I write this I am watching Hell Date. That’s reason to start the Civil Rights Movement all over, let alone anything else) but because black people are being racist? REALLY?

Now with the Jena 6 case and Megan Williams being beaten and raped in WV, she can’t think of any other racial cause to champion other than boycotting BET and Black History Month? Chile, please!

Check out Pop Gumbo’s response…