Nappy Headed Hos! There, I said it. What's the big fricken deal exactly? I'll explain it to you.

Al Sharpton's image is his greatest virtue, particularly when it comes to his income. Do you think he really cares about the ladies' basketball team? I say not, he's not advocating that they spend more time studying and less time playing. He's not advocating that they wear different uniforms. He's advocating that a white man can't say anthing percieved as deragatory about the black community. He's doing this to keep up his image as a righteous crusader for "those people", but you can't refer to the black community as "those people" because it's deragatory.

However, since Sharpton's activities have resulted in the firing of a prominent radio personality, he has given himself more power in the eyes of his community. This means he can charge more for appearances or consulting or whatever mechanism he utilizes to appear righteous to his community.

Think about this, the best thing he could have done for the black community was nothing. Without the publicity, a majority of people wouldn't have known about the radio DJ's comment. But because so many more people have heard it directly due to Sharpton's remarks, some will perceive the remarks as true, especially since there is such an uproar over it. Yes, why wouldn't people react the way they do if it weren't true? Sharpton, you aren't a righteous crusader, you are sacrificing the image of the black community for your own personal gain and you know it. The reason you get away with it is because the community does not percieve it as such.

What can the public do about this? It's difficult for a group to change an image based on stereotypes, but it can be done when the media broadcast news or events on a regular basis that challenge the stereotype in question.

As for the advertisers who were pulling away, they should create advertising the challenges the negative stereotypes portrayed!