BLACK ACTIVISTS REACT TO `PJS'.Byline: Keith Keith may refer to: People with the given name Keith:
``The PJs,'' a prime-time cartoon series A cartoon series is a set of regularly presented animated television programs created or adapted for television broadcast with a common series title, usually related to one another. that will debut on the Fox network at 8:30 p.m. Sunday Sunday: see Sabbath; week. , has drawn the ire of African-American activists. Najee Ali, the head of Project Islamic H.O.P.E., a religious advocacy organization, is leading a campaign to protest the show, created by comedian Eddie Murphy Edward "Eddie" Regan Murphy (born April 3, 1961) is an Academy Award nominated, Golden Globe Award-winning American actor and comedian. He was a regular cast member on Saturday Night Live from 1980 to 1984, and has worked as a stand-up comedian. . ``The PJs,'' short for projects, is focused on Thurgood Stubbs (voiced by Murphy), the superintendent of the inner-city housing development. The show is produced by Imagine Television, Touchstone touchstone Black, silica-containing stone used in assaying to determine the purity of gold and silver. The metal to be assayed is rubbed on the touchstone, and then a sample of metal of known purity is rubbed on the stone right next to it. Television and Will Vinton Studios. Ali says that there are no redeeming re·deem tr.v. re·deemed, re·deem·ing, re·deems 1. To recover ownership of by paying a specified sum. 2. To pay off (a promissory note, for example). 3. characters in ``The PJs.'' He also criticizes the show for having too many scenes of people drinking beer out of 40-ounce bottles and using crack cocaine as a comic device. ``We feel it is very negative and reinforces stereotypes about the African-American community and pokes fun at residents living in poverty,'' Ali said. ``There is nothing good about it. There should be at least one positive character to balance it out. We're asking that it be taken off the air if it can't be rewritten with some kind of positive balance in the show.'' Fox, which has heavily promoted ``The PJs,'' issued a statement defending the program. ``Fox looks forward to `The PJs' joining its schedule and believes the true measure of any show lies in its ability to raise important cultural issues rather than avoid them. We respect the opinion of each member of the Fox audience, and so we hope everyone will judge `The PJs' for themselves.'' Ali and other African-American community leaders will stage a protest outside the 20th Century Fox studios at 9 a.m. Tuesday. Later that evening, ``The PJs'' will move into its regular 8:30 p.m. time slot Continuously repeating interval of time or a time period in which two devices are able to interconnect. . Ali, who has also led protests against movies such as ``How to Be a Player'' and ``The Player's Club,'' said he expected more from Murphy. ``Eddie Murphy, being an African-American entertainer, should be more sensitive to the plight of the inner city. Instead he chose to become economically empowered by using the suffering and pain and adversity ad·ver·si·ty n. pl. ad·ver·si·ties 1. A state of hardship or affliction; misfortune. 2. A calamitous event. in the community.'' This is the second time this season that African-American activists have lobbied against a program. Last fall, Danny Bakewell and the Brotherhood Crusade protested loudly against UPN's ``The Secret Diary of Desmond Pfeiffer.'' The show has since been canceled because of poor ratings. |
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