Rappers, Activists Lead ‘Turn Off The Radio’ Campaign

In a follow up to the January 14th Community Tribunal that revealed censorship of, and separate standards for Black Music on New York music media, Bob Law of the National Leadership Alliance recently announced that a coalition of prominent community leaders, ministers and elected officials are calling for the first major Turn Off The Radio […]

In a follow up to the January 14th Community

Tribunal that revealed censorship of, and separate standards for Black Music

on New York music media, Bob Law of the National Leadership Alliance recently

announced that a coalition of prominent community leaders, ministers and elected

officials are calling for the first major Turn Off The Radio Rally Tuesday February

18.

Chuck D and Dead Prez, as well as the Rev. Calvin

Butts, Dr. Leonard Jeffries, Minister Kevin Muhummad and Rev Richard Ashley

will be present to protest New York radio standards.

The coalition charges that New York airwaves

that target the Black community are filled with a preponderance of negative,

violent, and destructive ideas.

The coalition will ask the community to on selected

days to turn off the radio.

Law said that the turn off the radio strategy

came from Dead Prez, whose sophomore set was titled Turn Off The Radio: The

Ulcer in the Belly of the Beast

.

"In our conversations with young people

in the hip hop community we learned that there is a great deal of music both

hip hop and R&B that is positive and nourishing," Law told AllHipHop.com

in a statement. "Music radio and music TV simply refuse to play it."

The National Leadership Alliance alleges this

programming policy is part of the assault on the spirit and physic of the Black

community.

At the rally the organizers will issue an open

letter that will articulate the community’s concern and they will announce

the first radio off day.