Roland Martin, the CNN contributor who during the Super Bowl on Sunday advocated violence against gays, after a scantily-clad David Beckham appeared in an H&M ad for Beckham-branded underwear. Martin made several vile comments, including one advocating violence: “If a dude at your Super Bowl party is hyped about David Beckham’s H&M underwear ad, smack the ish out of him!†Since we all know that well-respected peers can have a profound impact on our beliefs, we believe it’s time for the more enlightened of Roland Martin’s peers and co-workers to get together and perform an intervention.
Who exactly are Roland Martin’s peers? Well, of course we know Don Lemon at CNN. Lemon last May came out as a proud gay man. There also is Anderson Cooper at CNN — widely assumed to be gay and rumored to be making that public this month. Of course, there are other highly-respected journalists at CNN who are not gay, but certainly could do their part to speak with Martin and help him understand that his anti-gay bigotry does no one any good — certainly not him, certainly not CNN’s brand, and certainly not themselves.
Folks like Wolf Blitzer and David Gergen and Donna Brazile.
But Roland Martin has other peers and co-workers too. Like the ones who are represented by the same speakers bureau that represents Martin: Keppler Speakers.
Keppler Speakers bureau represents well over 100 famous names, and it’s time they started properly managing their assets.
So, just exactly who are these famous people?
Well, Keppler represents people like Elizabeth Birch, a “Human Rights Pioneer and Workplace Diversity Consultant,” and former Chairman of the board of directors of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force and former Executive Director of the Human Rights Campaign (HRC).
Eric Alva, an Iraq War Veteran and LGBT Rights Activist.
Bob Arnot, a “Leading Medical Expert, Award-Winning Journalist, and International Humanitarian.”
Then there’s Keith Boykin, “New York Times Best-Selling Author and TV’s Leading Commentator on Politics, Race, and Sexual Orientation,” and one who publicly has attempted to counter Roland Martin’s anti-gay comments via Twitter before, including yesterday and today.
Keppler is also home to Morris Dees, the “Legendary Civil Rights Activist,” who is the co-founder and chief counsel for the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) — the good folks who have branded organizations like the American Family Association as certified anti-gay hate groups.
Who else from Keppler should intervene with Roland Martin?
How about Howard Fineman? Jennifer Granholm? Or Lani Guinier?
Who’s Lani Guinier? Here’s her bio via Wikipedia:
Lani Guinier is an American lawyer, scholar and civil rights activist. The first African-American woman tenured professor at Harvard Law School, Guinier’s work includes professional responsibilities of public lawyers, the relationship between democracy and the law, the role of race and gender in the political process, equity in college admissions, and affirmative action.
I’m betting she’d have a few choice words for Roland Martin.
There’s also Robert F. Kennedy. And civil rights advocate, attorney, and cancer survivor Ted Kennedy Jr. and international human rights activist and author Kerry Kennedy. And fellow CNN journalist Soledad O’Brien.
And if all these folks are a little busy, there are a few more folks the Keppler Speakers bureau represents that I know could do the job: Ellen DeGeneres, Dan Savage and Judy Shepard.
It’s time for Roland Martin’s anti-gay behavior and comments to change. It’s time for an intervention from a jury of his peers.
What can you do?
Contact Keppler Speakers here. Let them know you’re concerned about the comments someone they represent, Roland Martin, has made. If enough people do it, they may talk with him. Heck, maybe they’ll suggest he give a speech discussing his views on homosexuality and the LGBT community.Â
You can also sign GLAAD’s petition here.
And contact CNN here.