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One Arrested During Outkast Grammy Protest
One person was arrested and another slightly injured during a protest of a Minneapolis CBS affiliate, as protesters sought an apology for the airing of Outkast's performance during the Grammys.
About 50 protesters gathered in front of the WCCO-TV, Channel 4 studios on Thursday afternoon seeking to meet with station representatives and present General Manager, Ed Piette with a petition that has over 12,800 signatures from around the world chastising Andre 3000's performance.
"We want to educate them on why this was so disrespectful to us," member Jake Al Reum told the Star-Tribune. "I think they had an opportunity not to show it. They knew this was going to anger Indian people. They had to have known it. They can't be that dense."
Al Reum said he was seeking an apology from the affiliate as well as the parent network.
Station representatives said this is the second time the group has protested in front of its offices. A press release by the Honor Nation called for a protest of the station on March 16.
A security guard suffered a minor neck injury as a result of the scuffle police said.
The February Grammy performance of "Hey Ya," which used a traditional Navajo song in the opening, also featured Andre 3000 and backup dancers wearing green buckskin dresses and green buckskin leggins as well as a billowing tipi in the background.
The rendition drew heavy criticism from several Native American organizations as well as Native American rapper Litefoot.
"If I would have dressed up like a Zulu and stuck a bone in my nose and held a watermelon and sang one of my songs that had nothing to do with Zulu's... Do you think that I would have even made it out of that auditorium? We all know the answer," Litefoot told AllHipHop.com shortly after the performance. "But what we have here with Outkast is unintentional ignorance. I don't believe that Andre 3000 did this out of spite. I do believe that ignorance is ignorance and regardless of what caused it-the end result is the same. "
Representatives for the television station said that had no problem meeting with the protesters as long as the meeting was "safe and peaceful."
Source: allhiphop.com
About 50 protesters gathered in front of the WCCO-TV, Channel 4 studios on Thursday afternoon seeking to meet with station representatives and present General Manager, Ed Piette with a petition that has over 12,800 signatures from around the world chastising Andre 3000's performance.
"We want to educate them on why this was so disrespectful to us," member Jake Al Reum told the Star-Tribune. "I think they had an opportunity not to show it. They knew this was going to anger Indian people. They had to have known it. They can't be that dense."
Al Reum said he was seeking an apology from the affiliate as well as the parent network.
Station representatives said this is the second time the group has protested in front of its offices. A press release by the Honor Nation called for a protest of the station on March 16.
A security guard suffered a minor neck injury as a result of the scuffle police said.
The February Grammy performance of "Hey Ya," which used a traditional Navajo song in the opening, also featured Andre 3000 and backup dancers wearing green buckskin dresses and green buckskin leggins as well as a billowing tipi in the background.
The rendition drew heavy criticism from several Native American organizations as well as Native American rapper Litefoot.
"If I would have dressed up like a Zulu and stuck a bone in my nose and held a watermelon and sang one of my songs that had nothing to do with Zulu's... Do you think that I would have even made it out of that auditorium? We all know the answer," Litefoot told AllHipHop.com shortly after the performance. "But what we have here with Outkast is unintentional ignorance. I don't believe that Andre 3000 did this out of spite. I do believe that ignorance is ignorance and regardless of what caused it-the end result is the same. "
Representatives for the television station said that had no problem meeting with the protesters as long as the meeting was "safe and peaceful."
Source: allhiphop.com