*The former head of the NAACP’s Beverly Hills branch has written a letter blasting the national head for allowing Michael Jackson’s televised memorial service to be nominated for the organization’s Image Award as a variety show.
“Even though entertainers did perform, it was still a memorial service/funeral to honor this young man,” said former NAACP’s former Beverly Hills/Hollywood Chapter president Billie J. Green in a letter to national president Ben Jealous.
The letter continues:
The NAACP’s Image Awards were created to honor people who portrayed positive images of African-Americans in the entertainment industry. This show has always been a legitimate awards presentation. Unfortunately, this recent nomination of Michael Jackson’s memorial service/funeral has resulted in the ridicule of the Image Awards as a legitimate awards show. This nomination is an embarrassment to the past and present members of the NAACP and the African-American community as a whole.
