The AC Phoenix
January 2005
Page 51
WITNESS FOR
JUSTICE
The Ghost Of WLBT
By: Bernice Powell Jackson
Forty years ago, African Americans in Mississippi did not see any
blacks on their television screens although about half of the
residents in the Jackson area were black. They did not see news of
the civil rights movement, which others across the nation saw. If Dr.
Martin Luther King, Jr. was scheduled for a program, it simply was
not carried. Then came a lawsuit against the owners of WLBT, the
Jackson television station, and it all changed - not only for the
people of Jackson, but for the whole nation. It was the United
Church of Christ, which worked with a local group of African
American citizens to challenge the license of WLBT owners.
It’s a story well known and remembered by many African
Americans within the broadcast industry, but has been forgotten by
many in the general public. But history is now being repeated in a
very chilling manner and not just in Jackson, Mississippi, but in New
York City and all across the nation.
It seems that the NBC and CBS television networks are refusing
to run a 30 second television ad from the United Church of Christ
(UCC) because the ad’s all-inclusive welcome has been deemed
“too controversial.” The ad is part of the denomination’s new, broad
identity campaign set to begin airing during the Advent season. It
states that, like Jesus, the UCC seeks to welcome all people,
regardless of race, ability, economic circumstance or sexual
orientation. “No matter who you are or where you are on your
journey, you are welcome here,” the ad states.
The frightening response of the two networks was that because
the commercial even tangentially includes gay and lesbian persons,
it is too controversial to sell air-time to the UCC for these
commercials. The actual words of the CBS response were,
“Because this commercial touches on the exclusion of gay couples
and other minority groups by other individuals and organizations and
the fact that the Executive Branch has recently proposed a
Constitutional Amendment to define marriage as a union between a
man and a woman, this spot is unacceptable for broadcast on the
CBS and UPN networks.” (Italics are mine.)
The United Church of Christ General Minister and President John
Thomas said, in response, “It’s ironic that after a political season
awash in commercials based on fear and deception by both parties
seen on all the major networks, an ad with a message of welcome
and inclusion would be deemed too controversial.” Ron Buford,
UCC coordinator for the identity campaign of which the ads are one
part, added, “In the 1960s the issue was the mixing of the races.
Today, the issue appears to be sexual orientation. In both cases, it’s
about exclusion.”
The television ads are directed to those persons who feel alienat
ed, not welcome or excluded by the church. In focus groups and
test market research done earlier this year, the UCC found many
people who fit into such a category and so the ads were designed
to reach out to them, especially during the Advent season leading up
to Christmas. Nothing in the UCC ad deals with gay marriage. It
does, however, deal with exclusion.
The chilling aspect of all of this is that some broadcasters seem
now to be taking their cues from government leaders and in
response to legislation which has not yet been introduced, passed
or ratified. “The consolidation of TV network ownership into the
hands of a few executives today puts freedom of speech and free
dom of religious expression in jeopardy,” says former FCC
Commissioner Gloria Tristani, currently managing director of the
UCC’s Office of Communication, Inc. “By refusing to air the UCC’s
paid commercial, CBS and NBC are stifling religious expression.
They are denying the communities they serve a suitable access to
differing ideas and expressions,” she added.
If the airwaves are no longer owned by the public and if network
executives can make such a decision about this ad, then every
group whose message might be considered at all controversial must
beware. Rev. Martin Niemiller was a 20th century German
Protestant pastor who was attributed with this quote, “When Hitler
attacked the Jews, I was not a Jew and therefore I was not
concerned. And when Hitler attacked the Catholics, I was not a
Catholic and therefore I was not concerned. And when Hitler
attacked the unions and industrialists, I was not a member of the
unions and I was not concerned. Then Hitler attacked me and the
Protestant Church and there was nobody left to be concerned.” If
we remain silent at this attack on our right of freedom of speech,
then our nation is in grave danger. The story of WLBT, the Ghost of
Christmas Past, visits us. Let’s pray and work for a happy ending.
(Note: You may contact your local NBC or CBS affiliate.)
MARTIN
LUTHER
KING
duppii detidcui
“A Drum Major for Infant Mortality”
ALPHA & OMEGA
FAMILY INSTITUTE
• Reduction of Infant Mortality
• Food Pantry
• Nutrition Classes
• Computer Classes
• Health Ministries
• Parenting Classes
ALPHA & OMEGA DELIVERANE
CHURCH OF FAITH
Elder John W. Huntley, Pastor
Delois IL Huntley, Executive Director
1445 Gray Avenue • Winston-Salem, NC 27105
(3360 748-4787