On Thursday, both ABC’s Good Morning America and CBS This Morning hailed a video released by left-wing website Mic.com featuring celebrities describing “23 Ways You Could be Killed if You are Black in America.” On GMA, Pop News anchor Sara Haines touted how singer Alicia Keys had “called on Hollywood's biggest names for a powerful rallying cry in response to police brutality.”
After a brief clip played of the video, Haines explained: “The We Are Here movement lists ordinary actions that resulted in the loss of black American lives. Beyonce, Kevin Hart, and Chris rock are just a handful of celebrities joining forces to bring about change.” Co-host George Stephanopoulos observed: “That is powerful.” Haines agreed: “That is powerful.”
On the CBS morning show, co-host Norah O’Donnell used identical language to promote the effort: “The website Mic released a powerful video that addresses race relations in the U.S. More than two dozen celebrities are seen describing actions by black people before they were killed by police in recent years.” After the clip, she added: “Alicia Keys says at the end, ‘The time for change is now.’”
Neither network explained the staunchly liberal agenda of Mic.com nor did either broadcast bother to refresh viewers on the details of any of the police shootings highlighted in the video.
All three network morning shows on Thursday celebrated the Black Lives Matter-style political activism featured at Wednesday night’s ESPY Awards against “gun violence” and the “shoot-to-kill mentality” of police toward African Americans.
Here are transcripts of the July 14 segments on ABC and CBS:
Good Morning America
8:06 AM ETGEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS: Let’s move over to Sara for Pop News.
SARA HAINES: Thanks, George. We’re going to start with Alicia Keys. She’s called on Hollywood's biggest names for a powerful rallying cry in response to police brutality. Take a look.
ALICIA KEYS: Failing to single a lane change.
BEYONCE: Riding in your girlfriend's car with a child in the back.
CHRIS ROCK: Running to the bathroom in your own apartment.
KEVIN HART: Missing a front license plate.
HAINES: The We Are Here movement lists ordinary actions that resulted in the loss of black American lives. Beyonce, Kevin Hart, and Chris rock are just a handful of celebrities joining forces to bring about change. Queen Latifah, Adam Levine, and Taraji P. Henson also spoke up to make a difference in collaboration with Mic.com.
STEPHANOPOULOS: That is powerful.
HAINES: That is powerful.
CBS This Morning
8:32 AM ETNORAH O’DONNELL: The website Mic released a powerful video that addresses race relations in the U.S. More than two dozen celebrities are seen describing actions by black people before they were killed by police in recent years.
ALICIA KEYS: Failing to single a lane change.
BEYONCE: Riding in your girlfriend's car with a child in the back.
CHRIS ROCK: Running to the bathroom in your own apartment.
PINK: Selling cigarettes outside of a corner store.
TALIB KWELI: Riding a commuter train.
O’DONNELL: The video is called “23 Ways You Could be Killed if You are Black in America.” Alicia Keys says at the end, “The time for change is now.”
