For Immediate Release

Contact:

Janice Mathis

(404) 525-5663, (404) 394-1500

Althea Conyers

(773) 256-2714, (620) 245-7692

intern1@rainbowpush.org

Rainbow PUSH Coalition Hails BET’s

Concession to Community Pressure

in Changing Title of New Series
 

Viewing parties nationwide as ‘We Got to Do Better’ debuts

ATLANTA (July 26, 2007) -- Janice L. Mathis, Esq., executive director of the Rainbow PUSH Coalition’s Peachtree Street Project, hailed the decision by Black Entertainment Television (BET) to change the title of a new series as “a step in the right direction.”

BET replaced “Hot Ghetto Mess”-- the controversial title for a new social commentary series -- with the more positive “We Got to Do Better,” just before its first episode aired yesterday.

“The concept of tearing down stereotypes of African Americans and women in the media is something we are fighting hard to advance,” Mathis said. “If this show makes the effort to promote decency and integrity while exposing the ill effects of degradation, then I think it will serve as a mirror to the audience and reflect the ugly things we need to change.”

Mathis and Rainbow PUSH Coalition members joined the feminist organization What About Our Daughters to offer a critical eye on the content of “We Got to Do Better.” Viewing parties were held nationwide, including one at the popular Fox Sports restaurant in Atlanta.

“We demand accountability and, most of all, dignity,” said Rev. Jesse Jackson Sr., founder and president of the Rainbow PUSH Coalition, calling for an end to degradation of women in the media.

When “shock jock” Don Imus broadcast racist remarks about the Rutgers University women’s basketball team earlier this year, the act catalyzed demands for an end to the degradation of women, particularly in music and advertising.

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‘We Got to Do Better’

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Rainbow PUSH has made a special appeal to musicians and music industry heads to take responsibility for the images and messages they convey. The organization has partnered with others to form the Dignity, Decency, and Equality Coalition, seeking change in the images of women throughout broadcast, print and electronic media.

“Attending shareholder meetings is an effective way to influence the corporate mega-powers that control hip-hop and all media,” Mathis said.

Other tactics the coalition has employed include picketing Viacom, which owns both BET and MTV networks, and spurring U.S. Rep. Bobby Rush (D-Ill.) to hold hearings on Capitol Hill.

Just weeks after the group picketed Viacom, Mathis joined Dr. E. Faye Williams and leaders of several other women’s groups to meet for more than an hour with CEO Debra Lee at BET headquarters in Washington, D.C. The group presented Lee with a constructive agenda, including the establishment of a viewer advisory panel, more public affairs programming, a BET-led dialogue on decency, and greater diversity in senior staffing, mentorship and contracting. 

The Rainbow PUSH Coalition is a progressive organization protecting, defending and expanding civil rights to improve economic and educational opportunity. The organization is headquartered at 930 E. 50th St., Chicago. To arrange an interview with Rev. Jackson on this topic, please call the number above. To learn more about the Rainbow PUSH Coalition, please visit www.rainbowpush.org or phone (773) 373-3366.