Entertainment

MTV Will Go "Color Blind' For MLK Day

by Loretta Donelan

To honor Martin Luther King Jr. Day, MTV has announced a plan to go "color blind" on Monday January 18th. It will air its programming in black and white in order to draw attention to #TheTalk, a new initiative MTV has started as part of its Look Different campaign. The initiative aims to get millennials to talk more openly about racism, enlisting stars and a Twitter campaign to open up a dialogue. In addition to the 12-hour black and white programming, guests like Kendrick Lamar, Big Sean, and Ava DuVernay will appear on the network to share relevant personal experiences.

Though the black and white programming might seem a little bald, MTV president Stephen Friedman has said that he wants it to draw attention and open up conversation about race in the United States.

“Millennials believe strongly in fairness, but they can also find it difficult to talk openly about race – to be not simply ‘color blind’ but ‘color brave,’ Our audience is looking for a way to bring the national conversation on race into their homes and this campaign will give them a forum to express true color bravery.”

Other guests to appear on the network for #TheTalk include Pete Wentz, Penn Badgley, Jordin Sparks, David Oyelowo, and congressmen Rand Paul, Cory Booker, and John Lewis. MTV also has a website that allows millennials to look at their own implicit biases. Definitely check it out, and tune in to MTV starting at 9 a.m. on Monday.