Don Imus Is Out At NBC and CBS

Imus has finally been fired by NBC and now by CBS radio. This was a decision driven by the advertisers who began to bail on these two networks.

I am happy with the decision, but hope that it doesn't become a model for Black hypocrisy. Black America has just raised the bar for itself in terms of what kind of language is acceptable. Now this standard must be applied across the board. Hopefully this aggressive effort to have folks fired, to organize protests, to have advertisers pull their ads, etc will not end with Don Imus.

Many African Americans have tried to make excuses for this kind of language when it comes from within the "Black Community".

Others are sort of stuck on the fence, saying that they don't agree with the language, but it's the "White man's" fault- White Executives at record companies are calling the shots that determine what rappers say and determine how women (especially Black women) are depicted in music videos.

And then there are other African Americans like myself who feel that the standard that we held Don Imus to, must be the same standard that is applied across the board. Anything less is wrong, and hypocritical....and will make "Black America" look bad in the end.

I don't buy the argument that it's the "White man's" fault...that White Executives are behind all of these ills. There was more truth to that 10-15 years ago. However, this is not so much the case anymore. Many of these Black rappers are also top moguls, who either have their own record labels or control their own sub-labels under the umbrella of larger record companies. Rap moguls (thugs)- such as Jay-Z, Sean Puffy Combs, Damon Dash, Dr. Dre, Master P, Irving Lorenzo, Cash Money, 50 cent, Jermaine Dupri, and many others- have full artistic control over what they do. There is no one holding a gun to their heads, telling them exactly what to say and how to depict women. These are grown men (& women...in the case of Debra Lee of BET) who make a conscious decision to engage in this behavior. So that argument about the White man making them do it can no longer fly. Black America has to start taking responsibility for the poison that it has helped to create. Of course the wider American culture must also be held accountable, but Black culture has been hiding behind that for too long. It's time for "Black America" to own up to its responsibility and culpability on this issue and it must finally do something (substantial) about the problem.

Hear a discussion from earlier in the week.