Despite the noise made by the anti-racist demonstrations that swept the United States in 2020, the issue of disrespect towards the Black community is an old one, and David Bowie in 1983.
In an interview with VJ Mark Goodman , while promoting Let's Dance , the singer shared his observations about MTV, which at the time was only two years old. Among his comments, he asked the VJ: “I’m just thinking about the fact that there are so few Black artists appearing [on MTV]. Why is that?”
In an attempt to answer a question that had probably never crossed the presenter's mind before, Goodman states that he believes the channel is trying to go in that direction, prioritizing what they think fits MTV, and Bowie retorts, "The only few black artists appear from 2:30 in the morning until 6. Very few appear during the day. I've noticed that over the last two weeks, things seem to be changing, but it's a slow process."
Geography becomes a possible answer for Mark, who justifies that the channel needs to consider artists that the whole country would like to watch, since in some places, some teenagers would be "afraid" or wouldn't like Prince or other Black figures. From this, Bowie touches on a vital issue today: representation. "I'll tell you what maybe the Isley Brothers or Marvin Gaye mean to a 17-year-old Black youth. And he's definitely part of America too."
“Don’t you think that’s a frightening situation to be in? Isn’t it possible that the channel’s conviction is to be fair? This seems to be rampant in the American media. Shouldn’t it be a challenge to make the media much more integrated?”, questions the artist, who is thanked by Mark for his point of view, who says he “understands” Bowie’s position.
Check out the moment below.
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