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*Rev. Al Sharpton got on the horn with EUR’s Lee Bailey Thursday to explain the roots of a march scheduled to take place Monday in New York to address the recent actions of Tony Yayo.
The protest, also to include Hip Hop Summit Action Network heads Russell Simmons and Dr. Benjamin Chavis, was organized in response to the G-Unit rapper’s alleged assault on the 14-year-old son of a rap rival, but Sharpton says the sentiment behind the demonstration goes deeper to address a mindset promoted by some members of the rap community.
“It’s a message to those in the industry that would so pollute our community with the kind of behavior that would make our young people feel that there’s some source of manhood and macho respect in acting in a savage way,” Sharpton said of the march.
“If we’ve gone now to where we permit the beat down of people’s children, then where’s the line gonna be drawn? What we’re trying to do is send a message that there must be standards, there must be a line, there must be an example,” he said. “But more importantly, it’s to let the kids know that this is not something to be applauded or looked up to.”
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Tony Yayo
Bailey asked if the march could be seen by critics as “a lot of firepower to be throwing to a knucklehead.” Sharpton responded: “The knucklehead represents a mentality and represents a mindset that you need to stamp out. Sometimes you have to take knuckleheads to make a bigger point because it represents a real message to others of what we will no longer tolerate in our community.”
Yayo, born Marvin Bernard, pleaded not guilty on Sunday to misdemeanor charges of harassment and endangering the welfare of a child. He is accused of repeatedly pushing and smacking James Rosemond, son of Czar Entertainment CEO Jimmy “Henchman” Rosemond, and causing injury to his ear and face.
Yayo celebrates his 29th birthday tomorrow (3/31).
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