Article By Mae Thompson // EEW Magazine // Race + Culture

The Word Network, a white-owned, religious-oriented cable and satellite channel directed at black viewers, recently came under fire and was accused of bigotry—a problematic accusation for a network that bills itself “the largest African-American network in the world.”

The CEO and President Kevin Adell refused to apologize for an offensive text depicting himself as a matching fur coat and hat-wearing, blinged out “pimp,” and the African American preachers that draw millions of viewers to the Christian broadcast network as his “hoes.”

So, we’re pimping the gospel now?

Critics say the insinuation of the internally-circulated meme, which looks like something straight out of a 70s Blaxploitation film, is that a leader, whose sole mission should be to share the gospel with all nations, views his job as pimping preachers. Pimps are notorious for using subjects as vehicles of seduction for their prophet-generating hustles. Hoes are trafficked and typically aid the pimp’s mission due to fear, manipulation, limited options, ignorance, or desperation, and sometimes, it’s a combination of all those things. Hoes offer their bodies and skillsets in service to the cause of getting paid.

So, we’re pimping the gospel now?

Well, if the network’s a pimp, it’s time for the preachers tied to it to refuse to be hoes. Someone has to say, there will no more pimping prophets for profits and prostituting the oil of anointing for a greasy scheme.

Being that the Metro Detroit businessman is white, and the overwhelming majority of on-air personalities and staff members are black, some say such a characterization calls to mind an era when white slave masters treated their black slaves however they wanted with impunity.

EEW Magazine Online must point out that Adell insists he is not racist as evidenced by his majority-black staff. But his failure to respond with sensitivity to the sincere offense of his black base, partners, and leaders, is not justified by the company’s employment trends.

When the Detroit Chapter of the National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) condemned Adell, calling the image “repulsive” and saying it “denigrates community leaders,” instead of taking the occasion to issue a formal apology, the unrepentant entrepreneur threatened a lawsuit, according to Detroit Free Press.

His reason? The statement from the Detroit NABJ that calls for a boycott, apology, diversity training, and a plan to avoid a repeat of this scenario, is "defaming me.”

It’s interesting that Adell has trouble seeing or admitting his own culpability; he defamed himself. No one forced him to send that meme. He chose to do it, and just as the tone deaf CEO made his choice, black folks have the right to make their own choice to boycott his network.

This is exactly what Bishop George Bloomer, a North Carolina pastor who received the text message and was the first to publicly speak out, has done. He parted ways with the network after he said his outrage was ignored. According to Bloomer, when he received the derogatory image, he educated Adell, telling him it had a racist connotation.

But he said Adell shrugged him off then photoshopped Bloomer into a newly edited image wearing a white tuxedo and calling him Tattoo, fictional character from “Fantasy Island,” an American television series that aired from 1977 to 1984. Tattoo, a little person, notoriously called his employer “boss.”

Bloomer, however, who said he was the face of The Word Network for 8 years, is not a little person in stature, popularity, or mentality. Therefore, he refused to remain silent, but rather, he chose to use his large platform and voice to bring attention to what he views as racist and egregious behavior on the part of Adell.

By Adell adding insult to injury with the second photoshopped image, Bloomer had had enough.  He exited, blew the whistle, and sparked public outrage against The Word Network.

“Adell’s refusal to apologize shows brazen racism on his part,” said Rev. Daniel Wright, a 21-year-old Detroit-based minister who reached out to EEW Magazine Online to say he is canceling his subscription.

Wright added, “Racism, when it rears its head in subtle and blatant forms, stems from a superiority complex on the part of the oppressor. This man Kevin Adell appears to the be the worst kind of racist—the one who builds a fortune on the backs of black people while refusing to show them respect or dignity or even acknowledge their pain. It’s exactly what was done in the American slave system.”

According to a Change.org petition, already signed by close to 5,000 people calling for a boycott of The Word Network, Adell did not create the image that landed him in hot water. However, “he wasn’t offended by it and even texted it to various staff.”

Though many black people are employed by The Word Network, WFDF-FM (910) in Detroit, and WADL-TV (Channel 38)—all helmed by Adell and targeting African-Americans—it does not excuse his inexcusable behavior. Notwithstanding, at present, it appears unlikely that Adell will humble himself and show contriteness over what is at the very least flagrant disrespect and at the very worst flagrant racism.

Adell would be best served by taking the low road, saying sorry, and heeding the words of  Proverbs 16:18: “Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall.”