BET Spared Boycott; Two Sides Meet

A consortium of African American fraternities and sororities has put off a boycott to protest the content of music videos telecast by Black Entertainment Television, and one of the group’s leaders says it will meet again with BET to try to settle differences.

The organization “agreed to put a hold on the boycott until we have the opportunity to work with them to see what we can work out,” said Norma White, chairman of the National Pan-Hellenic Council’s council of presidents.

The council of presidents, representing the nine African American fraternities and sororities that make up the Pan-Hellenic Council, had met over the weekend at the Hyatt Regency Crystal City in Arlington, Va., to create final language on a strongly worded letter to BET founder Robert Johnson.

In an earlier version of that letter, the group had charged that the network “does not operate in the best interest of the African American community” and that the music videos that make up such a large part of BET’s lineup are nothing more than “an exploitation of African American youth.”

White said the group decided to ice the boycott in response to a letter each of the presidents had received from Kelli Richardson-Lawson, BET executive vice president.

That letter, dated Nov. 14, was written as a follow-up to the council’s late-September meeting at BET headquarters. In it, she proposed that BET suits meet regularly with the council of presidents “to dialogue about BET and ways we can work together.”

White said all references to a boycott have been stricken from the council’s letter, as has the group’s list of grievances.

“From our vantage point, it certainly is good news that the notion of a boycott has been called off and even more positive that the council wants to continue dialogue that we’ve already started,” said Michael Lewellen, BET vice president for corporate communications.