KMJQ-FM aka Majic102 has been the longtime R&B station on our local FM radio dial since 1978.
It is owned by the African-American owned Radio One corporation, and has long been a Top 5 Arbitron rated station in the Houston radio market.
Majic 102 since 2000 has been the local host station for the syndicated Tom Joyner Morning Show and Rev Al Sharpton's Sunday morning talk radio show. So when the anti-HERO commercials started running in heavy rotation on its airwaves Sunday I was surprised and disappointed about it.
But yesterday Majic 102 irresponsibly posted a story on their website about the Houston Equal Rights Ordinance by Robert Washington with the inflammatory and transphobic headline ' Mayor Parker Promotes Ordinance To Allow Men In Women's Restrooms (Your Thoughts) from a 'christian' website.
And as you probably guessed, the predictable bigot eruptions and ignorance ensued in the comment threads.
It was an avalanche of transphobic negativity and derogatory phobic comments aimed at Mayor Parker in that comment thread, with logic and reason taking a backseat to fearmongering and over the top ignorance. .
Never mind the fact the bathroom predator meme has been pimped by the anti-HERO forces since the proposed human rights law was introduced April 30 and has been widely debunked for the conservalie it is.
It's problematic
that Majic 102 would link to an anti-HERO website that plays into the
'fear and smear' anti-trans hatred continually propagated by the opponents of this much needed ordinance in this entire HERO debate. I guess you forgot some of the Houston area African-American listeners KMJQ-FM targets are also members of the LGBT community who have been negatively affected by anti-TBLG discrimination in the Houston area that the HERO is designed to address.
We have also been affected by the faux faith-based hate speech coming from the opponents who are depressingly African-American ministers, and you added to that problem..
I guess it has escaped your attention Majic 102 that African-Americans are part of the team fighting hard for passage of this much needed human rights law. The HERO has the support of the NAACP, the Urban League, 85% of the Houston African American community in a recent poll and various African-American local, state and federal legislators.
It also saddens and infuriates me Majic 102 that as a Radio One station, you have placed yourself on the wrong side of Houston history and human rights. You promoted by linking to that problematic post long discredited bathroom predator lies that emerge every time human rights legislation is proposed that will protect the transgender community.
As someone whose late father worked in this radio market for 35 years, I have an intimate knowledge of what the power of radio can do. It can inspire people to be better politically aware human beings or can be negatively used to demonize oppressed folks by the tyranny of the majority
Majic 102 unfortunately has veered down the opposite path over the last two days.
KMJQ-FM, you owe the Houston transgender and SGL community an apology along with giving us an opportunity to debunk the bathroom predator lies either on-air or by posting an article on your website rebutting the problematic one.
Not holding my breath that either one of those will happen.
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