Today marks the 45th anniversary of Martin Luther King Jr’s assassination by James Earl Ray. According to a report by CBS News on Jan. 18, to honor the great doctor, MTV is changing the color of its programming to black and white. This is one great way to honor a major legend!
The color change to black and white is meant to invoke a conversation between friends and family about race. When using hashtags to talk about this on Twitter, Facebook, and Google Plus, using #TheTalk can help keep the conversation going between everyone.
In fact, the president of MTV, Stephen Friedman had this to say about this color change:
The device of turning us black and white is going to be really- visually- a jolt to say, you know what, there are differences and if we are going to ever get to a freer, more equal society the best thing we can begin to do is talk about them.
MTV will air in black and white for a full 12 hours today. During these 12 hours, you will get to hear about personal issues and reflections on race from different people including celebrities and politicians. Some of them include Kendrick Lamar, Big Sean, Jordan Sparks, Ava DuVernay, who directed the movie, ‘Selma’ and many other big names.
According to Pix 11, this will be the first time ever for the TV station to air in black and white in the 34 years it has been on television.
MTV said they think there is no better day than MLK Jr. Day to bring on #TheTalk.
