Forwarded at the request of the paper: MTN show suspended for 'threatening' speech By: Shannon Gibney Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder Originally posted 5/25/2005
War of words erupts over 'Big House' statements On May 18, community activists Booker Hodges and Al Flowers were told by Minneapolis Television Network (MTN) staff that their show The Real State of the City Address would be suspended for three months for its use of "illegal" and "threatening" speech. At issue was a show in which Hodges referred to Minneapolis Third Ward Council Member Don Samuels as a "house ni**a," and said, "We trying to kill the house ni**as." The situation has elicited a veritable eruption from free speech advocates, Samuels supporters, and concerned community members. "That was a dangerous and reckless use of language," said Samuels. "Either these guys don't understand the power and privilege that's been handed to them to use the public airwaves, or they're just mean-spirited and hateful. To use the public airwaves calling another Black leader ni**er, and to have that going into the homes of White people... [Hodges] has just disqualified himself from being a leader." During the broadcast in question, Hodges said, "Ultimately, all the things that we sit here talking about, whether it be economic development, which is job creation, people like Council Member Samuels...it's simple. We as a people, one, must unite. We have to learn from like Nat Turner's mistake, and we have to kill the house ni**as, we got to kill 'em, and that's what we're doing on this show. We trying to kill the house ni**as. And we have to get in power. You have to understand, as long as we have to go begging to somebody, we are never going to get where we need to be." Hodges asserts that he was not actually encouraging viewers to kill Samuels or anyone else; he says that he was speaking euphemistically, that Samuels knows this, and that Samuels and his supporters (whom he claims mainly reside in the Rybak camp) are exploiting the situation for political gain. "I'm competitive. When I'm playing sports, I say I want to kill my opponent," says Hodges. "Does that literally mean that I want to kill them? No, but it's a figure of speech. I don't think [Samuels] has any valid concerns. If you look at his statements, he never says, 'I feel Booker or Al is going to kill me.' He says, 'I feel threatened by the statements.' "I think people should be able to make statements like that, and they do make statements like that. I wasn't trying to advocate killing someone at all - and people who know me know that. "I feel that MTN staff - there was more pressure put on them than a submarine at 2,500 feet in the ocean - by Gail Plewacki [City of Minneapolis communications director], who I'm told threatened their budget, Mayor Rybak and Council Member Samuels." Both Samuels and Plewacki deny these accusations. "Basically, the speech that I felt broke the law was the threatening nature of 'You have to kill the house ni**a' - I think [Hodges] said it about four times," said Pam Colby, MTN executive director. "I felt that that was where it crossed the First Amendment, and it moved into threatening speech. "Since 9/11, our country has less tolerance for threatening speech of any kind. I think intent is another topic. But that's how it comes across, that it's threatening speech," said Colby, who added that she has received calls (both in support and critical) about The Real State of the City Address for months. Hodges said, "I apologized to Don. I said, 'Look man, if you're threatened by those statements, cool, but you still got to answer for the Big House.'" 'The Big House' Hodges and others began referring to Samuels as a "house ni**a" after a March 25 Insight KMOJ Public Policy Forum in which he spoke favorably about his family's relation to "the Big House." Samuels said, "I still know the time when my great grandfather on both sides were mulatto men. They were descended from the last slaves in the family, mulatto slaves. And the reason my family got a leg up on the people in our village in Jamaica is that we were in the Big House. "We saw homework done. They saw books read. They saw the piano lesson. My father taught piano, my mother played piano, directly because they were in the Big House. That's why my wife and I say that our house is the Big House on our block. We're going to open it up to every kid on our block." "This is just an attack on our community," says Flowers, referring to Samuels response to The Real State of the City Address. "Why is Council Member Samuels trying to play the victim now, and he's saying these things? "We're [Flowers and Hodges] not working for any campaign - we don't work for anyone. We're just telling people, 'Look when you're voting.' That's our thing. You get to pick who you get to vote for. It's very important for us in this city election, for the African American community, if you want to have a voice downtown, to get out and support the candidate that speaks for you and all citizens of Minneapolis, but especially you in the African American community." But Samuels stands by his comments. "Those statements were probably offensive to a lot of Jamaicans as well as African Americans. I was not saying it because it was the safe thing to say; I was saying it because it was true. "I can honestly say that my ancestors benefited from slavery. I've had advantages from slavery, and I still continue to have benefits from slavery. Can we admit that? Do I need to pretend that that's not true? Or can I say that I have an obligation in my community to tell the truth? "Until I was 40, I thought my family was just bright. As it turns out, we got a piece of land because of our closeness to the White slave masters. We learn a lot of things from our enemies. The point I'm trying to say is that we need to reap all our advantages. I'm going to open my house so that all the kids can see the advantages. "We tutor kids in our home. They don't clean our house, they call us mister, they call us Don and Sandra. The reason I don't have to be careful with my language even though I'm a politician is because I know who I am. A person of goodwill hearing me might think I was naive or politically incorrect, but they would not attack me." More heat than light Community activist Professor Mahmoud El-Kati agrees with Samuels, although he says he can see Hodges' and Flowers' point of view as well. "It's unfortunate in some aspects, because I think that that kind of statement can be taken both ways. I'm sure the way [Samuels] meant [the reference to the Big House] was noble. At the face of it, it could be taken as a noble act. On the other side, it could be seen as condescending and not taken well by other people, particularly if they have this thing called pride," said El-Kati. "However, I don't hold much truck for name-calling in our community. It's counter productive and it's a waste - they could have said that in another way. But I could appreciate what [Hodges and Flowers] were saying." El-Kati added that community members should be careful about the kind of infighting they engage in. "You find more heat than light coming out of that kind of situation," he said. "Once you start the name-calling, you forget what the issue is, what the question is. That's why I think it's unfortunate. We as a community can't benefit much from that." Shannon Gibney welcomes reader responses to [EMAIL PROTECTED] REMINDERS: 1. Be civil! Please read the NEW RULES at http://www.e-democracy.org/rules. If you think a member is in violation, contact the list manager at [EMAIL PROTECTED] before continuing it on the list. 2. 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