Washington DC --- Rev. Delman Coates, organizer of the "Enough is Enough" campaign completed the first month of weekly rallies protesting the corporate sponsorship and distribution of music, lyrics, and videos that degrade women of color, glorify criminal activity, and negatively portray black men as pimps, gangsters, and thugs.  In an effort to spotlight what he regards as a pervasive problem in American popular culture, Rev. Coates is leading weekly Saturday rallies outside the Washington, DC residence of Debra Lee, CEO of Black Entertainment Television.

Today Rev. Coates was again joined by Dr. E. Faye Williams, National Chair of the National Congress of Black Women who has been there every Saturday since the campaign began; Rose S. Afriyie and members of the National Organization for Women; Keith Silver, President of the DC Chapter of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference; civil and human rights activist, Dick Gregory; and hundreds of others.

Rev. Coates said that rallies will continue at the Washington, DC location, and beginning Saturday, October 20th, supporters in New York City will begin holding weekly rallies there.  Rev. Coates will announce the SURPRISE location for the New York rallies on Thursday, October 18th.  Supporters in New York will assemble at the Abyssinian Baptist Church in Harlem at 11AM on Saturday, October 20th, and will depart for the rally location at 11:30AM.  According Coates, the “Enough Is Enough Campaign” seeks to demand that media and entertainment companies give Blacks and Latinos the same respect given other groups when it comes to offensive lyrical and visual content.  He stated at the rally that corporate and entertainment executives use different standards for authorizing messages that offend people of color than they do for lyrics and messages that offend other groups.  

Dr. E. Faye Williams reminded the crowd that the Civil Rights Movement required several years of marching and other actions before change came, and urged the crowd to stand fast, and to continue the fight against misogynistic and violent portrayals of women and Black people.  She said, “Now today we have people like Isiah Thomas - a brother we have loved and respected in his career - who can say it’s okay for a Black man to call a Black woman the ‘b’ word or the ‘h’ word but it’s not okay for a White man. We’re here to tell Isiah he’s wrong.  We’re here to tell those who decided that it was okay to call a Black woman a ‘b’ but not okay to call a Jewish woman a ‘h’ - we’re here to tell them that we’re not going away.  We’ll be here every Saturday until we, as the song says, Get Some Satisfaction.”  She challenged more pastors to come out in support of the movement for dignity, and the balancing of rights with responsibility.  

Dick Gregory told the crowd that he would be joining the rallies every week he’s in town.  He told those gathered to bring their coats when it gets cold, rains, or snows; this is a fight for the long haul.  Gregory told the crowd said, "People like Debra Lee owe it to those who made sacrifices in the Civil Rights Movement to do better and give something better back to the community."  Ms. Afriyie, a Field Organizer for the National Organization for Women reminded the crowd that young people were protesting as well because they want positive role models, and that BET should use the airwaves to "build us up, not tear us down".  Keith Silver talked about Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. who always spoke for those who could not speak for themselves, and urged the crowd to keep fighting for what is right.

Others are invited to join the "Enough is Enough!" campaign every Saturday @ 1 PM Eastern Time at 28th and McGill Terrace, NW in Washington, DC.