When I was sitting in the chair last week on the set of the new Arsenio Hall show, I was reminded about how many incredible people benefited tremendously from his belief in our culture. When he was the hottest show on the planet, and everyone was throwing their fists in the air, every young rapper, young actor, young comedian, important civil rights leader, was given a spot on his show. Even from my camp alone, with people like Will Smith to LL Cool J to Public Enemy, the Beastie Boys, Third Base and every Def Comedy Jam comedian (pretty much every major black star today), Arsenio gave so many people access to late night television when the other networks would ignore us.
In fact, many believe he was taken off the air because of the appearance of Minister Louis Farrakhan on his show, who although controversial, had helped save the lives of hundreds of thousands of black men and women. That is the essence of Arsenio, he will give a platform to so many, who others just turn away. Let’s rally around our brother and help make his show a success, so the network understands that he is a rare jewel of late-night television and we need him on the air. On a personal note, I am not writing this because he is my dear friend, in fact I do not know him that well, but I can tell you that from my experiences, he does not have a bad bone in his body, and he certainly will represent us to the fullest!
