Newspaper columnist suppressed in Corvallis

I'm not holding my breath for the ACLU to fight the case of David Williams, columnist at the Daily Barometer at Oregon State University.

Williams's column is daringly titled "A message from a white male to the African American community." In it, he points out that some black celebrities held up as role models for the community aren't good ones. He says, "One would think that with the strong presence of talented blacks in government, sports and entertainment, this minority base would have a slew of noble and moral leaders."

OK, I don't see any white sheets yet.

Singer Robert Kelly stands accused of child pr0nography [my deliberate misspelling] by Chicago authorities. The primary evidence in the case is a videotape that allegedly shows him having sex with an underage girl.

While Kelly rightfully has the presumption of innocence, I don't think he is the type of person that deserves praise.

During the recent Soul Train Music Awards, Kelly received trophies and applause. While being in serious trouble for a sick crime, his music continues to earn him millions of dollars in sales. In fact, in January he was nominated for an NAACP Image Award.

In my eyes, that's the equivalent of nominating Bob Dole to host the Oscars -- it just wouldn't make much sense.

Here's the racism. Williams dares to criticize the NAACP. And he even suggests that promoting these morally challenged celebrities is harmful to the black community:

Sure, Kelly, Simpson and Iverson are just mere instances of misbehavior in the grand scheme of things. Their misconduct is not what necessarily hurts minorities; it's the acceptance and lack of accountability African American leaders have chosen to embrace these figures with.

If this is what constitutes racism in the 21st century, maybe it's time for the NAACP to disband and put its dues and fund-raising into AIDS research or something. Or at least explain why an accused pr0n producer is a role model to be preferred over all the black business people, authors, journalists, performers, athletes, religious leaders and so forth who don't have an accusation of murder, pr0nography, or other corruption pending against them. It's the NAACP that breeds racism, because people who don't know any better come to think that the Robert Kellys are the best the black community has to offer.

By the way, I've made a copy of the piece in case the Barometer takes it down. If you can't find it at the link, e-mail me.

Source: Tongue Tied - Free Speech - Oregon Style