Black Philanthropy Shouldn’t Take Tainted Hip-Hop Money

To the Editor:

I find it highly unconscionable that an African American foundation head as esteemed as William Pickens III, of the Paul Robeson Foundation, and board member of the National Center for Black Philanthropy, would advise African American grant seekers and nonprofits to denigrate ourselves by taking on the role of laundering agents for many in the hip-hop community (“Nonprofit Leaders Urged to Seek Greater Support From Black Donors,” May 31).

Surely our missions, visions, and core values should help us discern where we should and should not accept money. Mr. Pickens’s suggestion that “ill-gotten gains from ill-gotten goons can be turned around by our influence” is not only ludicrous, but also irresponsible. To accept his premise, I must accept either that there is nothing wrong with lyrics that promote violence, misogyny, materialism, and that glorify the worst of urban America, or that those lyrics are OK as long as profits support black causes.

The current status of the African American community and the black family makes it impossible for me to cavalierly believe that the end justifies the means. African American grant seekers taking money from rappers is tantamount to Mothers Against Drunk Driving taking money from alcohol companies and the American Lung Association taking money from cigarette producers.

Further, I am troubled by Mr. Pickens’s attempt to draw a parallel between today’s rap artists and robber barons like Henry Ford and John D. Rockefeller to allay our concerns when deliberating whether to accept “dirty money.” Even if I were to entertain that hypothetical stretch, I defer to my mother’s wisdom that the vices of one community yesterday should not determine what is right or wrong for my community today.

Kirt B. Bennett
Executive Director
Young Leaders’ Academy of Baton Rouge
Baton Rouge, La.