The whole debacle between Lil Wayne, Emmett Till's family, and Mountain Dew may turn out to be a teaching moment for the rest of America, at least, that's what Al Sharpton hopes for. A sit-down is being planned for PepsiCo and the Emmett Till family, Sharpton revealed.
In a statement made via National Action Network, Al Sharpton revealed that PepsiCo and Emmett Till's family plan to meet, and turn the Lil Wayne controversy into an educational lesson, by shedding light on Emmett Till and sensitiziing corporate America.
Sharpton's statement read, "I have been in conversations over the last several days with leadership at PepsiCo and the family of Emmett Till. This has been a 'teaching moment' for Lil Wayne, corporate America and the family of Emmett Till yet more than a condemnation of any one artist, it is an affirmation of Emmett Till and a call for more sensitivity about what we say and do in our culture. National Action Network does not want it to end with artists losing contracts but rather with a sensitizing of corporate America so we can learn from these experiences and set a tone that will help everybody."
The meeting is scheduled to take place today, May 8th, HHDX reports.
Emmett Till's family initially went after Weezy F for referencing Emmett Till in bad taste in "Karate Chop (Remix)." When Lil Wayne neglected to apologize, the family went after his sponsors, namely, Mountain Dew. This resulted in PepsiCo dropping Lil Wayne from their campaign efforts.
[UPDATE: Al Sharpton releases a statement following the meeting.]
Earlier today, as reported above, Al Sharpton attended a meeting with PepsiCo and Emmett Till's family in order to discuss the Lil Wayne controversy, and turn it into teaching moment.
Following the sit-down, Sharpton releases a statement. Read it below.
The meeting today with PepsiCo representatives, the family of Emmett Till, and me at corporate headquarters was a positive meeting. PepsiCo apologized to the family again and they accepted while agreeing with me that this is a “teachable moment” and we must work with younger Hip-Hop artists so they know their civil rights history and become more engaged in the community. National Action Network (NAN) doesn’t want the end result to be the penalization of artists-although they clearly need to be corrected–but rather them becoming more engaged and conscientious of civil rights history. We agreed to work as partners to try and sit down with younger hip-hop artists, corporate executives, and people in the civil rights community.