Nelly Has Harsh Words For Spelman Protesters, Rapper Says 'I Don't Have My Sister Today!'
Date: 08/31/08 | By Njai Joszor
Filed under: Hip Hop News, Nelly
Three years after a highly publicized protest at Spelman College, Nelly has issued a candid response to the group that protested his "Tip Drill" video at a bone marrow fundraiser.
"I come down there to teach people about leukemia and help benefit and try to help save lives and try to find a donor for my sister" says Nelly who recently discussed the death of his sister a year after the protest and how he really felt about the protest on Sirius Satellite Radio.
The platinum-selling rapper planned a bone-marrow drive for his sister at Spelman College in April of 2004, only to be cancelled after a group of students at the all-female college protested his appearance. When asked about the experience and the fact that he was down there to educate the community and to potentially find a donor for his sister, he says "instead of doing that and help and teaching our community about a bigger issue as far as healthcare, you want to have a three hour conversation about a f-king video. Now, where are our priorities in it? "
He went on to say: "Why didn't you take that same three hours and educate brothers and sisters up on leukemia and what I came down there for? Now the same fight you are fighting in 2005, are you fighting that today? Because I don't have my sister today! No, I don't have her today!"
A donor for his sister Jackie Donahue was never found, she died in 2005.
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If the current Grand Wizard of the KKK in Georgia wanted to speak at the Martin L King center to discuss an end to racial violence, would that be acceptable? He is going to speak on a very important subject, but is he the person who should be speaking on this subject?
How was it Spellman’s fault your sister died? This was Spellman’s finest hour, just like the women in that video had the right to pose in sexual situations. The women at Spellman had the right to take this stand.
As a Spelmanite I understand it is our duty as female African American leaders to stand up for what we believe is right and to ensure that all rights of mankind are carried out. Knowing this I disagree with how we handled this situation. I feel as though we could have better planned a legit protest addressing all videos that had such degrading content and carried on with drive although educating spelmanites wasn't a major concern. At the end of the day that black woman could have said no and it was in fact a FELLOW BLACK WOMEN WHO NEEDED OUR HELP REGARDLESS OF WHOM SHE WAS RELATED TO.
Context always gets lost in the firestorm...People seem to forget that the protesters wanted and offered to have the drive AND address the sexism in the music videos. Nelly CHOSE to cancel rather than be held accountable. Why do Black women have to be demonized for wanting what the are entitled to.. RESPECT. Both sexism and leukemia are critical issues to be addressed it is not one or the other.
More than half of the world's population is female. The Tip Drill video is horribly sexist along with many many many other videos like it. Leukemia or not, sexism is a BIG DEAL. Calling the Spelman women names, and dismissing their protest is also sexist and a BIG DEAL. I'm not going to be quiet about it any longer until we all get how wrong sexism is in ALL of its forms. Nelly was not powerless to do something for his sister b/c of the protest, that is just a weak excuse and a way to make the women who stood up to the sexism in his video look like the enemy. Effective, but wrong.
sisters at spelman are some selfish b****es on the planet instead of trying to save someone life they wanna b**** about a video i hope spelman get what they deserve.
I've wanted to see how this all would play out. When the marrow drive was first announced I found it interesting that Nelly chose Spelman of all place to "educate" And if he was so interested in "educating" the community why didn't he take it more to the streets? I'm sorry he lost his sister - but it sounds a little more than suspect that he would be holding this drive at Spellman and not educating at a more street level and holding a drive at that level.
I feel that brothers pain sometimes in the blindness of our own voice we cant hear what someone else is speaking...and them same chicks at Spelman who thought they were taking a stance for women were only taking a stand for themselves..as for AKIL you are one of them people so blinded by your own voice...he lost his sister..tha brother is hurt and angry.. anger is not going to make you say let me try again in this particular case..especially the lost in this case is his own blood and love...
I call bulls*** on Nelly All he had to do was have another fundraiser and another and another until he found a donor. The sisters at Spelman are correct for protesting a video that they find distasteful. Someone needs to show evidence that the same sisters protesting are the ones dancing to it or in the video itself, otherwise such statements are simply conjecture. If Nelly is really sorry he lost his sister, and really feels that the cancelled event had a part to play in that, then the only way to honor her death is to cease and desist from such videos.
I feel bad for this brother and his family because like one of the posters wrote, the same people who are offended today, will be the same ones making the next video, at least as long as the price is right. Oh well, let's all look forward to the next political charged protest of nonmerit. Maybe they can protest brothers with less than perfect credit!