Shame on Robert Johnson

The Democratic primary has taken an aggressive turn for the worst as politics of race has been interjected into the presidential debate between Senators Obama and Clinton. Several sources have accused Senator Clinton of making racially insensitive comments about the importance of Dr. Martin Luther King’s involvement in getting the Civil Rights Act of 1964 passed and the underlying theme of hope as it relates to Senator Obama’s campaign.

Regardless of Senator Clinton’s words and intentions, which more than likely were not racially infused as she has shown an honest comment to Civil Rights, she is guilty of allowing and/or not stopping Robert Johnson, the founder of Black Entertainment Television (BET), from making pity and irresponsible comments at a rally in which she was to give the keynote address. Johnson stated,

“To me, as an African-American, I am frankly insulted that the Obama campaign would imply that we are so stupid that we would think Hillary and Bill Clinton, who have been deeply and emotionally involved in Black issues since Barack Obama was doing something in the neighborhood – and I won’t say what he was doing, but he said it in the book – when they have been involved.”

Johnson’s immature statement was pointed at Obama’s self admitted youthful drug use. So my comment to Mr. Johnson, do you think us as African-Americans are so stupid that we think your comment was truly in reference to Obama’s work as a labor organizer and not a stab at Obama’s past drug use?

I have lots of respect for Robert Johnson’s business accomplishments, creating BET and becoming the first African-American to own a professional sports team, but I don’t appreciate underhanded and irrelevant comments from him about someone’s past drug use, especially since Johnson made his fortune showing music videos and comic concerts on BET, where the artist praised and propagated images of Black youths in neighborhoods selling and doing drugs.