Columnist Julienne Louis-Anderson argues that BET missed a critical opportunity to encourage Black civic engagement by excluding voting and political messages from the 2026 BET Awards despite the importance of the upcoming midterm elections. She contends that, like influential artists such as Jay-Z, Black media institutions have a responsibility to use their cultural platforms to promote democratic participation, not just entertainment.
Author Archives: Julienne Louis-Anderson
Posted inOpinion
Claudette Colvin, MLK, and the erasure of Black women from civil rights canon
Claudette Colvin, a civil rights activist who challenged segregation as a teenager, is pictured years after her historic arrest that preceded the Montgomery Bus Boycott. Julienne Louis Anderson, a lifelong educator, womanist and a fellow of The OpEd Project in partnership with the National Black Child Development Institute, argues that Colvin’s story, long excluded from textbooks and curricula, reflects the broader erasure of Black women from the Civil Rights Movement.
