By Ismael AbduSalaam
With over 600,000 petition signatures in hand, Hip-Hop star Nas will accompany members of MoveOn..org and ColorOfChange.org as they demand FOX News “ends its pattern of racist attacks against Black Americans including presidential candidate Barack Obama and his wife Michelle.”
The protest is scheduled for 2pm tomorrow (July 23) at FOX headquarters in Manhattan.
The demonstration has been triggered by what many perceive as thinly veiled racial attacks by the network and its panelists against the Democrat White House hopefuls.
The groups cite a list of recent questionable occurrences: an on-screen message referenced Michelle Obama as “Obama’s baby mama,” a commentator confusing “Obama” with “Osama” and joking about both being assassinated, and the Barack-Michelle fist bump being referred to as a “terrorist fist jab.”
In February, the network drew additional criticism after Bill O’Reilly debated on calling a “lynching party” for Michelle Obama.
The signatures were collected online last month by ColorOfChange.org, a grassroots organization the focuses on issues pertinent to the Black community.
Last year, the organization successfully stopped the Congressional Black Caucus Institute from hosting a presidential debate on FOX, which was cancelled after the major presidential candidates failed to attend.
Nas drew the ire of Bill O’Reilly last year after the Queensbridge MC was selected by students to perform at a free Virginia Tech concert.
On air, O’Reilly denounced Nas as a violent artist, citing the songs “Made You Look,” “Got Yourself a Gun,” and “Shoot Em Up” as proof.
Nas responded officially on his new album Untitled with the track “Sly Fox,” which attacks the network’s political integrity and coverage of race.
Due to the attention garnered by the song and the accompanying underground video, MoveOn.org and ColorOfChange.org felt the prominent lyricist would be a strong public figure for the demonstration.
James Rucker, the director of ColorOfChange.org, feels FOX’s treatment of the Obama's points to a far bigger issue.
“When FOX talks about lynching the woman who may soon be our First Lady and then refers to this wife and mother as a ‘baby mama,’ they are maligning not only the Obamas, but Black women and Black people across this country,” Rucker explains. “We have over 600,000 signatures-more than half a million people, saying we won’t stand for FOX’s racism and hate-mongering.”
When asked to comment further on his reasons for joining the protest, Nas was brief. “FOX poisons the country with racist propaganda and tries to calls it news,” he stated.
Nas new album Untitled was released on July 15.
In three days, the album sold over 113, 000 copies and is expected to debut at #1 on Billboard’s Top 200.