Its Past Time We Discussed the Black Entertainment Network (BET)

I remember back when BET first started in the early 1980s (it originally debuted in 1979).  Like most institutions focused on African life and culture in capitalist societies today, those institutions arose because the dominant capitalist institutions were concerned only about European Judeo-Christian history, culture, and society.  For example, despite the undeniable fact that Africa is the mother of practically all forms of musical expression operational within the U.S. today - from country to blues to salsa to gospel, etc., it took a megastar like Michael Jackson to break the racial exclusivity present on MTV.  So, I understand why African folks, and others interested in African culture, would flock to BET.  The early focus on African musical expression and especially, the commitment of the network back then to air discussions on topics of African political struggle, were far from what we needed, but at least, it was something.

Its worth saying again that BET, even in its African owned capacity of the 80s and 90s, was far from what African people should have and deserve.  If the argument is that BET was an example of African independence and voices in its African owned days, that's a very unstable argument at best.  It wasn't until 2001 that the media mogul corporation Viacom bought out the Johnson family and BET, but most people have little to no understanding of colonial politics and how neo-colonial politics manifest themselves in capitalist societies.  In other words, regardless of African ownership, BET, like all corporate media, is always beholden to the interests, ideas, tastes, and concerns of the capitalist corporations that buy up its air space through advertising.  As long as that's the model for corporate media, there is no such thing as independent voices.  Every voice is nothing except the reflection of the values of capitalism, period.  That's why we were unfazed when BET approached us in our All African People's Revolutionary Party Bay Area/Northern California cadre circle in 1998, months after Kwame Ture (Stokely Carmichael) made his physical transition in Guinea-Conakry, West Africa.  The BET representative who contacted us indicated they wanted to interview a few of us about Kwame's life and contributions, specifically after he moved to Guinea full-time in 1969.  Despite the fact this was a few years before BET sold to Viacom, we - possessing a clear class analysis of everything that happens in this capitalist society - had no illusions about BET being a propaganda arm for the corporate interests that dominant its airwaves.  We knew then that BET was never going to air our revolutionary Pan-African views in a positive context.  We knew that just from reviewing the basic content on the station which at that time consisted 80% of reactionary music videos (during a time, I admit, when much of the music coming out was some of the best dance music I've experienced in my lifetime).  The other portion of airtime was devoted to some of the most reactionary and anti-human religious programming you can find on any network.  I mean constant commercials on Sunday mornings praising the zionist state of Israel, despite their clear oppression of the Palestinian people and their blatant exploitation of African resources to continue to enable them to do so.  We knew all of this, so we were skeptical.  We discussed this as a circle and with our Central Committee, and it was collectively decided we would decline the interview request.  BET, of course, decided to air their segment on Kwame anyway, and if you archive it, you will see that it was as bad a hit job on our Pan-Africanist work as anything you can find on any imperialist network.  Only the most inexperienced and naive soul could blame this on our lack of participation in the interview.  Anyone who has done what we do as long as we have done it knows that even when we speak out, the networks, ever focused and concerned about what their advertisers want and think, would certainly have edited out any militant statements challenging the existing status quo.  One has to work hard to display the blatant lack of humanity BET broadcast by depicting Guinea as the dictatorship under Sekou Ture and the Democratic Party of Guinea, the same way any white left or imperialist entity would define our struggle and our people.  And again, that was when BET was African owned by the Johnson family.

Over the last 18 years, since BET has been taken over by Viacom, the programming, as much as it would seem impossible to believe, has declined significantly to make matters that much worse.  The dominance of music videos has been replaced by reality shows and I mean some of the most "get the money, disregard human life" reactionary television you can imagine.  So reactionary that the dominantly backward hip/hop music videos that defined BET in the 80s and 90s seem progressive compared to the filth spewing from the network today.  The reactionary religious programming of course continues.  And, besides the chance to at least catch a decent African movie that is going to be constantly interrupted by those capitalist commercials again, there is going to be absolutely no sign of any conversations and discussions on BET as there were 20 years ago.  

Its difficult for me to see any redeeming value to BET in 2019 and beyond.  The only plausible argument is the tired visual symbolism argument.  The one used for the Obama administration that argues that brutally murdering millions of people, including many of our own people in Libya, is worth it just so our people and youth can see a biological African family everyday that sanctions those murders.  That is too high a price to pay for cheap symbolism and BET is also a price not worth paying.  Unless you can argue that our people have any better self esteem today than we did back before we had any visuals of us on television, which you can't argue, then BET today makes no sense.  In fact, all it does is cater to the misrepresentation of who we are and where we can find our humanity. 

An example of my point about the lack of reason for BET to continue to exist, take the question of casual usage of the n word by African people.  Its no wonder so many of our people, especially those of us who are younger, actually believe they have a sound argument for using the n word openly today.  Its as if they have no way to assess the damage their continued perpetuation of this criminal label has imposed upon our people.  I still haven't met a single African who has experienced the n word the way I have, with European people making every effort to kill you calling you that as if it was your middle name, express tolerance for the word's casual usage among our people.  The only people arguing for that casual usage apparently have only experienced the word as a casual label so to them, they can't understand what the big fuss is all about.  By the same token, these same Africans arguing for their ability to use the n word casually would be ready to kill a European who uses it.  The irony in that is the anger they feel at hearing Europeans use it is the same anger we feel at hearing them use it because we understand that they are only using it because it has been programmed into us by this oppressive system.  As a result, when our people say it, we hear white supremacy saying it.  Where BET ties into this is what use is that media outlet if we cannot have those types of discussions on it?  What's the use of having something like BET if at no point of its existence do we ever use it to challenge the status quo?  Even an average high school student would comprehend that Chevron, KFC, McDonalds, etc., have no interest in paying for a discussion among African people about the n word.  No interest at all.

That's why BET was never designed to serve the African masses.  Its purpose was always, and continues to be, to serve the interests of capitalism by convincing the African masses, using our cultural expressions, etc., to lull us to sleep thinking that BET and other similar neo-colonial enterprises, are representing progress for us within the capitalist system.  The sad truth is like everything else we participate in within this society, our access to it has only contributed to making our conditions that much worse.