Going to the Black Entertainment Television (BET) building with my father when I was younger was one of the highlights of my youth. In the 90’s, BET was everything. It was only 10 years old at the time of our first introduction to one another, and it was the biggest platform for blacks that EBONY, Essence nor Vibe could give us. Based in Washington D.C.; once heralded as “chocolate city” even though it is not so chocolate anymore, BET was the avenue we needed to give actors, actresses, journalists and minorities in general an opportunity to be heard and employed. Which leads me to my next question: what has happened to this network?
Most former loyal viewers will mark the BET transformation to when 106 & Park hosts Free and AJ left, when College Hill was cancelled or when BET Uncut finally succumbed to the angry letters from parents. While all three of these may be true, the biggest change in BET started from the top of the chain and trickled down: the introduction of Debra Lee and Viacom. Boondocks writer and creator Aaron McGruder describes Debra Lee’s role in the destruction of BET in his now banned episode that illustrates her as being critical in pushing her propaganda to destruct black people by way of shoddy programming on BET. While the episode demonized her and even shows her slicing off the heads of boardroom executives that disagreed with her, his message could not have been truer.
It seems that BET has lost its way in being the innovative platform for black people that it once was. I don’t even bother to watch it anymore seeing as though they do not showcase shows or music that uplift our community in any way and only seem to bother to do so when prodded enough. This is the most critical moment in our black history with more racially charged deaths this year than years prior, yet I hardly see BET taking this opportunity to be the agent of change that it should be. Even the quality of the networks’ many award shows are mediocre at best. When given the opportunity to give decent tributes to major black artists that have passed away, BET fails miserably in every way possible.
The network has become nothing more than a bay dock for defunct black movies, televangelists and Young Money videos. They are appealing to what they think black youth cares about, failing to consider that they have the power to educate and change our state of mind and interests. Black youth need to be enlightened and educated, not left to wallow in our ignorance. BET can change an entire generation like it once did, but whether they have the courage to is the question that is left unanswered.