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PepsiCo To Meet With Emmett Till’s Family & Al Sharpton

(AllHipHop News) The family of Emmett Till will get the chance to address their concerns with officials of PepsiCo face-to-face today (May 8) . Civil rights activist and television host Rev. Al Sharpton will also be present at the meeting after asking the soda company to speak  with him and the family about the recent controversy involving Lil Wayne. Sharpton released a press statement on the issue through his National Action Network last week: I have been in conversations over the last several days with leadership at PepsiCo and the family of Emmett Till we intend to meet next week. This has been a “teaching moment for Lil Wayne, corporate America and the family of Emmett Till yet more than a condemnation of any one artist, it is an affirmation of Emmett Till and a call for more sensitivity about what we say and do in our culture. National Action Network does not want it to end with artists losing contracts but rather with a sensitizing of corporate America so we can learn from these experiences and set a tone that will help everybody. It’s in that spirit that we go forward to meeting with PepsiCo next week. Wayne began receiving public criticism earlier this year for a line in the song “Karate Chop (Remix)” that made a comparison between the violent death of the civil rights icon and a sex act. Wayne eventually made a statement directed to Till’s family, saying that he would “like to take a moment to acknowledge your hurt.” The family rejected the letter expressing that they felt the statement was not a real apology and vowed to continue to lobby companies with ties to Wayne. [ALSO READ: Emmett Till’s Family Rejects Lil Wayne’s “Apology”] Eventually, PepsiCo made the decision to end its endorsement partnership will Wayne. The YMCMB rapper had been a part of Mountain Dew’s (a subsidiary of PepsiCo) “Dew You” campaign. [ALSO READ: Pepsi Co. Drops Lil’ Wayne For Offensive Lyrics] Mountain Dew’s connection to Hip-Hop artists took another blow last when the company had to pull an ad featuring Tyler The Creator. The commercial was deemed as racially insensitive and misogynistic by some. According to the A.P., Sharpton and the Till family’s sit down with Pepsi will take place at their corporate headquarters in Purchase, New York.

Rev. Al Sharpton Set to Be Honored At 2012 BET Awards; Releases Statement Calling Rodney King A "Symbol Of Civil Rights"

(AllHipHop News) Reverend Al Sharpton will be honored with the Humanitarian Award during this year’s BET Awards, which is being hosted by Samuel L. Jackson and will air live from Los Angeles’ Shrine Auditorium on July 1. The longtime political activist will join a list of previous honorees that include Magic Johnson, John Legend, Quincy Jones, Denzel Washington,  Muhammad Ali, Wycelf Jean and others. According to THR, Sharpton was specifically selected for “his work as the founder and president of the National Action Network, a nonprofit civil rights organization based out of Harlem, as well as his radio talk show (Keepin’ It Real) and his national cable television show (Politics Nation on MSNBC).” In addition, following yesterday’s (June 17) troubling news that Rodney King was found dead at his home on Father’s Day at age 47, Sharpton has gone on record in a statement to call King a “symbol of Civil Rights.” He stated  that King made the country “focus on the presence of profiling and police misconduct.” He later praised King for spreading peace in the years following his vicious beating nearly 20 years ago by the LAPD that ultimately set off the infamous L.A. Riots. “Through all that he had gone through, with his beating and his personal demons, he was never one to not call for reconciliation and for people to overcome and forgive,” Sharpton proclaimed. The 2012 BET Awards will air live from the Shrine Auditorium on July 1.