OT: Rob Parker and Three Ex-Athletes Launching All-Black Sports Talk Radio Station in Detroit
The story in the Detroit News is paywalled, but here's the relevant part:
Former Detroit sports columnist Rob Parker and three business partners, all former athletes, have reached an agreement to lease WXYT 1270-AM from Audacy and launch the nation's first all-Black lineup of hosts. "Sports Rap Radio" is scheduled to launch in mid-May, and eventually will feature local programming from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., with Parker's nationally syndicated show, "The Odd Couple" with Chris Broussard, airing from 7-10 p.m.
One of his partners is former U-M wide receiver Maurice Ways.
February 23rd, 2024 at 2:59 PM ^
Avatar checks out
February 23rd, 2024 at 3:17 PM ^
Yeah, that’s Oliver and Lisa from Green Acres…
February 23rd, 2024 at 3:28 PM ^
Admittedly had never heard of that show, but I just looked it up. and two old white people in a show that came out the same year as the voting rights act, and was during the civil rights movement. I mean I'd say it checks out...
Especially when you seem to be a little miffed at the idea of a black focused radio show. Like who cares. Not everything has to be specifically for you.
February 23rd, 2024 at 3:41 PM ^
I think his overall point is that it appears in some circles that essentially race based segregation is being viewed with positivity and seen as somehow fostering "inclusion" and it is somewhat confusing to people.
February 23rd, 2024 at 3:52 PM ^
I don't see how it is segregation. I don't think their goal is for inclusion either. They want to highlight a certain perspective. I'm also not sure anyone is acting like this is some great thing and is praising it. Imagine there was an "all Norwegian language radio station." Would people get upset about it? I doubt it. There is this tendency for some people to be like "okay all race issues are completely solved, and we aren't going to be discussing them anymore, everything is completely equal now." Which even though we have made a lot of progress that completely ignores the context of history. I don't think it is that difficult to grasp that a white-only radio station would be seen more negatively. You have to factor in the history of the country where for a long time a lot of different things were whites only. There was segregation baked into the system. Some guys starting a radio station isn't the same thing.
February 23rd, 2024 at 4:01 PM ^
Ok. I kind of feel like a “this race only” anything is not what we should be going for but they are certainly free to give it a go.
February 23rd, 2024 at 4:06 PM ^
I'd just say I think your statement kind of draws an arbitrary line in the sand and says "before it was fine to have this race only, and now we can't do that anymore." Which ideally would be great, but I think because we had explicitly racist policies in this country for so long, there is still some lingering effects of that, so I'm willing to give it a pass and then combined with the fact that already the majority of radio hosts are white in Detroit, it doesn't bother me to bring some black perspectives into the mix.
February 23rd, 2024 at 5:34 PM ^
Its sad that people need the sociology of this country explained to them in 2024.
February 23rd, 2024 at 5:49 PM ^
I don’t need anything explained to me. I just disagree with you. I know that is a problem for a lot of people these days.
February 25th, 2024 at 8:26 AM ^
Ignorance isn't just a difference in opinion.
February 26th, 2024 at 8:52 AM ^
And hubris does not excuse rank hypocrisy.
February 23rd, 2024 at 5:03 PM ^
“They want to highlight a certain perspective…” That makes sense because all all black people think alike, I guess?
February 23rd, 2024 at 5:28 PM ^
Well that is certainly one way to put a bunch of words in my mouth that I didn't say.
Your response makes no sense either. It would only make sense if my comment was taking something Rob Parker said and applying that to every black person.
I'm actually baffled by how you got there logically. Like would you also say because Brian, Seth, and Alex have Michigan degrees that therefore every Michigan alum thinks alike? No you wouldn't. Because the jump from having a company with a group of employees that are people with something in common to then apply that to an entire group is bananas.
February 23rd, 2024 at 6:03 PM ^
Your words were that all-black sports talk would provide a “unique perspective.” That doesn’t make any sense unless all black people share the same opinions. What it will actually provide, like any other sports talk radio, are the perspectives of the individual commentators. What would your response be to a sports talk venture that promises to be “all white?” Would you think it reasonable if the stated goal was to provide the “unique perspective” of white people?
February 23rd, 2024 at 7:46 PM ^
A unique perspective does not equal “everyone agrees with that perspective.” I don’t get how you don’t grasp that. There are radio shows in Detroit with exclusively white hosts. Having a radio show with exclusively black hosts would be different than what is currently there, ie a unique perspective. Unique meaning it is different. Unique doesn’t mean it applies to everyone. And why you keep trying to make that link I’m not sure. But idk read a dictionary or something.
and to your second point, only to someone with no ability to grasp nuance or consider any context would equate the two. As I said in a different comment, it’s a little different when one group set up a system to keep the other group down. And it was that way for centuries. You can’t just ignore the past because it is convenient and because it makes you feel better.
and as I keep saying, there are religious radio stations that provide only a Christian perspective. Do those offend you as well?
February 23rd, 2024 at 10:15 PM ^
I’m not offended at all. I’m just laughing at your attempts to try to rationalize your hypocrisy. And just so you know, I’ve never participated in any meeting about setting up any systems to keep other groups down. I doubt any broadcasters not eligible for the all black talk radio lineup because of their race have, either.
February 23rd, 2024 at 5:33 PM ^
Youre either one of the dumber people who post here, or fantastic at playing the role.
This place needs a mute button.
February 24th, 2024 at 8:41 AM ^
You're*. I agree on the mute button.
February 23rd, 2024 at 3:54 PM ^
You have never heard of Green Acres? 😮
They weren’t old when the show was on.
”and two old white people in a show that came out the same year as the voting rights act, and was during the civil rights movement. I mean I'd say it checks out...” Yikes.
February 23rd, 2024 at 4:12 PM ^
No I'm not in the habit of watching TV shows that aired before I was born.
And yes a TV show completely about white people (no black characters according to imdb) that takes place while MLK was alive and pushing for equality checks out with a comment that is pearl clutching about how a black radio station is racist.
February 23rd, 2024 at 4:21 PM ^
I’ve never watched a millisecond of Green Acres but I know the theme song.
Knowing the names of major shows from when TV had three channels and was literally off the air overnight is just general knowledge stuff.
February 23rd, 2024 at 4:26 PM ^
I'm definitely not good at pop culture trivia. I assume that's why all the downvotes. People are enraged I don't know about Green Acres, I mean it couldn't be because they are melting down at the thought of a black only radio show. No one is that fragile right?
February 23rd, 2024 at 4:46 PM ^
You are getting downvotes because you are expressing bigoted thoughts. The not knowing of Green Acres is a minor concern at most.
A fragile person sees a photo of TV show characters and makes a bigoted assumption based solely on that.
February 23rd, 2024 at 5:09 PM ^
wow really, you don't say?
where to even begin with this comment. have you heard of sarcasm before? I don't actually think people are upset that I don't know what Green Acres is.
Further, there is nothing bigoted about anything I said. Go ahead and show me what is bigoted.
I didn't make any assumptions. Also notice that I'm not commenting on every single avatar of a white person, I'm commenting to the guy who is mad at the prospect of that there would exist a radio station that wants to have black only hosts.
Think of it this way, how many of the AM Christian radio stations have a daily show hosted by an Imam reading verses from the quran? I'm sure you, and all the others getting upset in this thread also think Christian radio stations are run by bigots. (PS that last sentence was sarcasm, because I'm willing to bet you aren't as pissed off about Christian radio stations as you are about black ones, and if I am indeed correct then you should look internally and ask yourself why?)
February 23rd, 2024 at 4:49 PM ^
It's on MeTV tonight at 9:30. We can turn it on after the hockey game and start a thread.
February 23rd, 2024 at 5:01 PM ^
And then we can go to The Gap!
February 23rd, 2024 at 5:05 PM ^
Calmly pointing out hypocrisy doesn’t equal “melting down.”
February 23rd, 2024 at 5:12 PM ^
Either enjoy your post-racial 21st Century and how liberal this board supposedly is or take your downvotes.
February 23rd, 2024 at 5:16 PM ^
Oh no…downvotes? Anything but that.
February 23rd, 2024 at 5:26 PM ^
Guessing you thought my comment was directed at you?
If you are on your mobile, and can’t figure out how the replies work, use arrows to collapse comment threads to see.
If your reply was just some kind of chiming in and piling on…uh, okay.
February 23rd, 2024 at 4:42 PM ^
Prejudice warps our ability to think rationally as your post illustrates. A photo of two cast members of “Green Acres”by itself is indicative of nothing but a love of a classic television show. It wasn’t a racist show. It was a lighthearted comedy show.
Yet for whatever reason the photo triggered you into making a bigoted assumption about his/her beliefs. As if Eva Gabor and Eddie Albert were Eva Braun and Adolf Hitler.
Large amounts of white people in rural areas in the Midwest and Plains regions did not come into contact with black people particularly in the time period in which the show was made. There being far more white people than black people as well as policies that discouraged black-owned farms it should become clear that it is perfectly understandable that a show set in a rural Plains area would not have any black people.
February 23rd, 2024 at 4:51 PM ^
Eva Gabor and Eddie Albert were American Gothic
February 23rd, 2024 at 5:21 PM ^
I never said it was a racist show. I didn't even call anyone here racist. You guys are getting really angry over the common internet phrase "avatar checks out." And calling me prejudiced because I am not mad about a black radio show? Bizarre logic.
But anyways, now I'm looking up this show and it turns out that Eddie Albert was blacklisted because his wife was left-leaning and he was suspected of being a communist. That's right up your alley Sal.
February 23rd, 2024 at 4:49 PM ^
I don't think any black people lived in Hooterville. The show did poke fun at a certain type/class of white people, which many people don't seem to have a problem with.
February 23rd, 2024 at 6:54 PM ^
I saw Arnold Ziffel campaigning for Wallace in '67.
February 23rd, 2024 at 8:04 PM ^
Maybe he doesn’t like Rob Parker like most human beings
February 23rd, 2024 at 3:48 PM ^
And their biracial family.
February 23rd, 2024 at 3:08 PM ^
For those seriously interested in this thought, it's illegal to hire based on race. It is not illegal to hire with a focus on a certain race. It's a very fine line to walk and is a great way to end up in court. That said, it's not illegal to say you want to hire xxx race, but you can't disqualify someone because they are xxx race.
February 23rd, 2024 at 3:16 PM ^
Poseidon thank you for the response, seems like they are disqualifying anyone not African-American
February 23rd, 2024 at 3:30 PM ^
"The Bona Fide Occupational Qualifications rule is the exception to Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, which prohibits employment discrimination “based on race, color, religion, sex and national origin.”
A bona fide occupational qualification (BFOQ) is a legally allowed restriction of hiring and employing a person based on their sex, religion, or national origin. To be defined as legal, or “bona fide,” the qualifications should relate to the particular business’s necessary operations, as well as the position’s essential job functions.
To say it differently, the BFOQ law allows for necessary employment discrimination based on sex, religion, or national origin if the particular business’s operations or the job position’s duties justify it."
If your rabbi position is open, you can discriminate against people who aren't Jewish. I guess if you want to highlight the Black perspective, having people who have the perspective of being Black is a bona fide occupational qualification.
February 23rd, 2024 at 3:54 PM ^
That's reading a LONG way into a couple of sentences. Especially for a sensitive multiracial man like yourself? Detroit's had white radio for a long, long, long time, while being a predominantly Black city. Rob Parker's not a wildly talented man, but anyone who gets on their high horse about an attempt to establish a radio station with a predominantly Black perpsective a) probably should have gotten out with their soapbox about 1000 times before now (cuz there's lots of Black radio stations), and b) casts just a little doubt on their--rather suspect--attempts to paint themselves as enlightened about these issues (because, you know, I spend time in the vicinity of brown people!)
At least give them a little time to, you know, mount the effort, show just what the programming might consist of. Folx like you can usually seize on SOMETHING to pee and groan about at that stage.
Or--hey, who's got time for patience now--just join the many less careful concern trollers here, and pee away. It's the same sorry people, time after time. Once you've offered such graceless garbage more than five times, I'd say that your tin "But I am not a racist" badge should probably be suspended, but
February 23rd, 2024 at 3:57 PM ^
“Folx” Writing in Old English-style is becoming the rage these days. Whyte,Wypipo….bizarre really.
Metro Detroit is still mostly white. Do you think airwaves stop at the city limits?
February 23rd, 2024 at 4:01 PM ^
And even with this new radio station, the majority of radio personalities in metro Detroit will still be white.
February 23rd, 2024 at 8:06 PM ^
Like who actually cares?
February 23rd, 2024 at 5:46 PM ^
Irony is not your strongest point, Audi Quattro.
February 23rd, 2024 at 3:36 PM ^
They wanted to use ‘Extra Melanin Sports Radio’, but I wouldn’t license the name to them….
February 23rd, 2024 at 3:52 PM ^
Isn't that the radio station where white guys call in to cosplay as black people?
February 23rd, 2024 at 4:04 PM ^
Actually, it’s where a family lives where some of the kids happen to have the most beautiful chocolate skin you have ever seen. More importantly, they are really great kids. Many here have met them. I’d invite you, but you’re going to need to work on your racist attitudes
February 23rd, 2024 at 4:15 PM ^
I don’t know man, my children’s chocolate skin is pretty magnificent. Imagine taking 3 pieces of Hershey’s milk chocolate and 1 piece of white chocolate and mixing them together. I’ll argue my children’s chocolate beauty vs anyone.
February 23rd, 2024 at 6:10 PM ^
Why do I suddenly feel the need to eat children’s skin?