Oscar Winner Hits Angry Chord
'Pimp' Song Denounced for Exploiting Negative Stereotypes
By Avis Thomas-Lester
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, March 7, 2006; B03
When Christine Smith heard the song "It's Hard Out Here for a Pimp" announced as the Oscar winner for best original song on Sunday night's telecast, she almost fell off the sofa in her Arlington living room.
Deborah Veney Robinson of Silver Spring had pretty much the same reaction. So did Juaquin Jessup of Northwest Washington.
"It was just like during the time when all the blaxploitation films were coming out with African Americans being portrayed as pimps and hos and gangsters," said Jessup, 51.
"It was another example of how they pick the worst aspects of black life and reward that. There are more important things in our culture that need focus more than the hardships of a pimp," he said. "The only place many people see our culture is through movies and on television, and at the same time, this country is experiencing an influx of people coming over here from all over the world, and the only thing they see of black America through the media is . . . pimps and gangsters and all of that. It's always some low-down brother or some welfare mother." . . .
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/03/06/AR2006030601461_pf.html
