| Good news for Outkast as a Detroit Federal judge ruled yesterday that Civil Rights pioneer Rosa Parks did not have her rights violated when Outkast used her name as the title of a song. The judge stated that Outkast was protected by the First Amendment and they are not obligated to compensate her. So that about takes care of this little contentious 25 thousand dollar lawsuit that was filed by Ms Parks and her lawyers. The real key to this whole thing was that Outkast did not slander Ms Parks in anyway shape or form. The sad part about this is that for many young people who are only familiar with Parks through history books which are all too often limited, she is not seen in such high regards. For many the lawsuit came across as petty and just further showed how divided the Hip Hop generation is from it's Civil Rights era predecessors. The judges ruling comes at a day after a study from the Burrell Communications group in Chicago was released that showed that Black teens are swayed by Hip Hop celebrities more then any one else. How we in Black America allowed Ice Cube and Snoop Dogg to become bigger heroes then Jessie Jackson and other Civil Right leaders is a discussion on to itself.. The larger question is who is the one controlling the presentation, defining and imaging of these Hip Hop heroes and celebrities? If you are a parent I suggest asking your child who their heroes and sheroes are.. If you ain't in the top 5.. You might want to really find out why... |