Everyone has had their say in regards to Stacey Dash’s recent comments about the eradication of BET and Black History Month. Today on The View, host Whoopi Goldberg broke it down for the viewers why Black History and BET are so necessary.
The panel included co-hosts Sunny Hostin, Joy Behar, Sarah Haines and Paula Faris. Sunny, who’s black, was not here for Stacey’s comments at all. “I think it’s the height of hypocrisy that Stacey Dash would say that there should be no BET when she had a recurring role on the BET show, The Game,” Sunny Hostin said before listing out all of the Black magazines Dash covered and all of the BET and NAACP Image Awards that Dash won.
“I think it’s great to celebrate our differences and what makes us unique…but I think you have to look—racial tensions are at an all time high,” Faris said trying to play devil’s advocate. “Is it subconsciously, whether we realize it or not, creating a divide amongst us and pitting one group against the next?”
It was then that Whoopi chimed in and asked Faris what she knew about Black History. Faris, obviously unable to answer, said that she knew what she learned in school and what she “researched herself.”
This proved Whoopi’s forthcoming point. African American history, as well as Asian history and even Hispanic history is not properly taught in schools. Though we are Americans, we are not equally represented.
“It’s not taught. As it pertains to America,” Goldberg said. “American history holds all of us but we’re not all treated like Americans. One of the reasons there is a BET is because networks wouldn’t take a lot of the shows that have an all-black cast.”
“And they still don’t,” Hostin chimed in regarding the very small percentage of black programming.
“When I was at school I knew nothing about my history,” she said. “I wasn’t taught about my history and so we have that so there’s an awareness so people can learn information and their history.”
