Black Entertainment CEO: Obama Shuns Our Community
Friday, 06 Mar 2015 03:51 PM
African-American CEO Byron Allen says President Barack Obama has been helping a number of American industries, but has shunned helping the black community.
"You need to have economic inclusion for everyone and, yes, President Obama has disappointed me and the American people," Allen said Friday on "The Steve Malzberg Show" on Newsmax TV.
"I have said to him, 'Please, remember you promised us hope and change and I'm very disappointed. I haven't seen it.'
"President Obama, you bailed out the banks, but why don't you audit the banks that you bailed out and you'll see they're not lending money to African-Americans. Those are jobs in our community, those are our businesses."
Allen, the chairman/CEO of Entertainment Studios, began as a standup comedian, was the youngest comic to appear on "The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson" and hosted NBC's "Real People."
He and other minority business owners have sued Comcast, NBC Universal, Time Warner Cable, the Rev. Al Sharpton and the NAACP for billions of dollars.
Allen told CNN's "Reliable Sources" on Sunday that companies make token donations to Sharpton's organization in an effort to cover their own racial discrimination issues. He also said Comcast and Time Warner Cable each carry only one black-owned channel.
Allen told Steve Malzberg he objects to Sharpton's invitations to the White House.
"President Barack Obama, I voted for him twice, I gave him quite a bit of money to get into the White House, a substantial amount of money, I'm disappointed," Allen said.
"I find it alarming that this is a man, Al Sharpton, [who] has $4.5 million in back taxes. I find it alarming that I can go on YouTube and put in 'Al Sharpton drug sting' and there he is in the early '80s trying to do a cocaine deal with an undercover FBI agent," he said.
"It is so alarming that this man is hanging out at the White House and that white corporate America believes that he speaks for me or for black America....
Later, Allen told the Malzberg show, "To even suggest that Al Sharpton speaks for me as a person of color, a black person, or even black people at all, that is racist in itself. Just like there is no white person that speaks for all white people."
Allen said Obama has not helped black businesses enough.
"President Obama bailed out the car companies and the car companies aren't advertising with us in a significant way or at all. Chrysler, Ford and General Motors," Allen said
He also criticized telecommunications giant AT&T.
"America needs to ask AT&T, why are you spending more money on Al Sharpton’s lavish 60th birthday party than you spend in a terrific magazine — Ebony magazine — which has been around 70 years and is read by 10 million African-Americans each month?" Allen asked.
"Why are you spending more money with Al Sharpton than you do with Stevie Wonder's radio station, Los Angeles KJLH, or Byron Allen and his 30-plus television shows?"
Allen's company, founded 22 years ago, is one of the largest independent media companies in the world, with more than 30 television shows on the air and seven 24-hour HD networks.
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