For the first time in the 33 years, the world’s most loved music channel MTV will go black and white for 12 hours on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, as part of the channel’s initiative to encourage viewers to bring up race related issues with family and friends and to tell them the importance of race and skin color in their lives.
“Our aim is to jar audiences into having what we’re calling ‘The Talk’ – candid, confident and ‘color brave’ conversations on race and bias,” said an MTV representative to the People Magazine.
In keeping with its unique method of paying tribute to the crusader for black rights and equality, each of the commercial breaks on the channel during this 12 hour period will begin with a brief commentary about race relations from several noted celebrities and public officials. That will include Selma director Ava DuVernay, Rep. John Lewis, Senator Cory Booker, Senator Rand Paul, Kendrick Lamar, actor David Oyelowo, Jordin Sparks, Pete Wentz and Big Sean.
“The device of turning us black and white is going to be really— visually— a jolt to say, you know what, there are differences and if we are going to ever get to a freer, more equal society the best thing we can begin to do is talk about them,” said the MTV President Stephen Friedman.
Selma, the American history drama film which has been nominated for the Oscars, chronicles the 1965 crusade for equal voting rights for blacks led by King. “Although the Civil Rights Act of 1964 legally desegregated the South, discrimination was still rampant in certain areas, making it very difficult for blacks to register to vote. In 1965, an Alabama city became the battleground in the fight for suffrage.”
The music channel launched in 1981 has been regaling audiences all over the world but also drawn attention to social issues from time to time.
“We thought what better day than MLK Day to really use, not only the history and the power of what Dr. King said with the “I Have a Dream” speech, but hear it from artists, political leaders and the audience to really spark a national conversation,” Friedman said.
As part of their effort to find out how deep rooted the problem of racial discrimination is, MTV had commissioned researcher Luke Hales to find out how much of their young audience “knew about bias,” “talked about bias,” and “cared about bias.”
Though a greater percentage of those contacted by the researcher believed that all people should have equal rights and be treated as equals regardless of their race and skin color, only 22% of those aged 14-24 were comfortable while talking about bias related topics.
