“Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith and in purity.”

– 1 Timothy 4:12

Everybody has something to say about my millennial generation! It gets incredibly infuriating hearing the disparaging comments that many of our elders say about us based on the outrageous videos seen on WorldStar and the propaganda that many call the corporate news. When there’s something positive going on with the young people of our community, we all have an obligation to show our undying love and support. The current project: beautiful and multi-talented actress Keke Palmer’s new talk show on BET called Just Keke.

BET finally realized that the African-American teenage and young adult market hasn’t been tapped into in any capacity outside of 106 & Park. We’re hungry for programming and content that speaks to us as a generation. Our issues matter and we deserve a true outlet for our unique stories. From what I see, Keke Palmer is trying to capture this within the confines of her show, which comes on before the massively watered down 106 & Park. I would’ve loved to see it after 106 & Park (7:00-8:00) but hey, beggars can’t be choosers.

Keke Palmer and the team behind Just Keke deserve all of our love and support. Why should you care? Let me break it down for you!

1)   The Show Is On BET…….

The fact that BET is behind this show actually has me scared. They’re notorious for giving life to shows with fantastic concepts and then shutting them down before the projects could grow on us. Remember Don’t Sleep with T.J. Holmes and Reed Between The Lines? BET isn’t the once prominent black television outlet that it was back in the 90’s!

Back then, you had shows like Teen Summit that actually were centered around what was going on with the young adults of the 1990’s. They gave the youth of that era a voice and a place to express themselves. That doesn’t exist in any capacity now days. However, seeing the promo for Keke Palmer’s new show gave me a ray of hope.

In the promo, she said, “There’s no show that relates to my age. On my show, we’re going to talk about everything.”

I took a trip to the BET website to check out the live stream of the BET Awards. Until it started storming where I lived and Direct TV started freezing, my trip was virtually useless. That is, until I saw that they already had up their page for Keke Palmer’s talk show. When you click on the show name at the top of the page, you’re directed to the webpage and it has a button that says “Be On The Show!” I clicked it and a rollout of some of the topics popped up.

• Are you Seeking the Perfect Body?
• Do You Lie About Your Life on Social Media?
• Have You Taken the Anti-Cyber Bullying Pledge?
• Have You Ever Been Cyber Bullied?
• Is a Threesome Causing Drama in Your Relationship?
• Are You Proud of Sleeping Your Way to the Top?
• Did You Have a Messy Breakup Via Social Media?
• Are you Dating a Friend’s Ex Behind Their Back?
• Do You Want to Confess to Cheating?
• Did You Survive an Abusive Relationship?
• Is Saying the N-word Ever Okay?

In my opinion, those are some pretty good topics. They’re taking a page out of Steve Harvey’s book centering the show around real people and confronting real issues. I mean really, who else is talking about the usage of the “N-word” on a national platform? With the right hosting from Keke, this show really could pop off. However, does BET have faith enough to give this show room to grow without pulling the plug?

Let’s visibly show our support! That way, BET can’t say that the viewership “wasn’t showing up” or “weren’t supporting the concept”. I refuse to let a show aimed at my generation go the route of Don’t Sleep, which didn’t even make into to New Years of 2013.

 

2)   Finally We Get to See A Positive Repersentation Of Black Youth In The Media

Take a glance over the topics that will be discussed on the show again. Imagine a show about female self-worth with the host being a beautiful, talented, intelligent young black woman that’s been working in Hollywood since she was a young child. Imagine a real dialogue about cyber bullying, what it really is and how it truly affects teen society today. We need this!

 Not only will this be the hub for black youth expression,  it’ll also be the forum for black youth understanding.  Parents and other elder figures in our community can  check this out and see the problems we have to deal with  on a daily basis. Just Keke is the show that all of us  teenagers have wanted for years. It’s what I envisioned as  I was writing The Diary Of Aaliyah Anderson.  Positive representation of black youth in the global media  space. What can beat that?

Congratulations to Keke Palmer on being the youngest talk  show host in history. I really want to see BET give this  show a chance. Check it out weekdays at five o’clock!

 

 

 

The cover to my novel, The Diary Of Aaliyah Anderson. It’s coming out in October. Also, My novella is dropping this summer.  Make sure you look out for me! You can read a preview of The Diary Of Aaliyah Anderson  on Wattpad now!

 

 

Do you have any questions, comments or concerns? Was I right or wrong on this issue? I would love to hear from you! Contact me directly at:

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