DigitalGardin said:

Acutally it was J. Edger Hoover who said that. He was the racist director of the FBI, who made it his life-long mission to being down all rising African American leaders who were trying to help the black community. This include Martin Luther King, Malcolm X, Nation of Islam, the Black Panther Party, Fred Hampton (the FBI and Chicago PD murdered him and got caught red handed) - FBI also played a role in alot of the assassinations of Black leaders.


Did you know Hoover even deemed the Black Panther Party's Free Breakfast Program for Children the biggest threat to national security??? That man was was evil.

Graycap23 said:

Great answer, Michael.
Unfortunately it lacks substance and it's not related to this topic.
We're just talking about Elvis here.
No one argued that racism never existed in the U.S.
But what does Elvis has to do with it?

You said that Elvis was racist.
Please offer some proof, or you are just like that congressman from NY who publicly called Michael Jackson a pedophile.

MrSoulpower said:

Proof? I just don't see how it is important in 2009.
I really don't.

Graycap23 said:

What does it have to do with 2009?
You made a claim that one of the biggest musical icons ever was racist.
You didn't back up your claim with any proof.
So we have to assume that you just like to slander Elvis just because.

MrSoulpower said:

This is why I don't repsond 2 U
[Graycap23 - Self Snip]
[Edited 7/8/09 14:27pm]

Graycap23 said:

Dumb ass? No need for name calling.
I don't call you dumb for lacking basic knowledge of things you claim to know about.
But since you - once again - lack facts or proof for your claims, it's all you got left. I see ...

Back on topic. You claimed that Elvis was racist. And when you were asked to offer some proof for your accusations, you had none. Instead, you came back with funny one liners and name calling. Waaaay to go.

Game .... match!

theAudience said:

The cycle had been re-provoke because of the Michael VS. Elvis discussions.

NastradumasKid said:

I really didn't intend to piss you off. My apologies, it just gets frustrating to hear the words steal and borrow about Presley when the same terminology isn't used for every other artist who is clearly influenced by any other artist or genre. If Elvis and Little Richard were raised in the same region of the United States, in very similar economic circumstances, why is Little Richard influenced by the music he heard, and Elvis borrowed?

Again, I am sorry you were pissed off by my comment, I just want a clear answer to the borrowed/influenced question.

As far as other artists dying broke, don't assume that the music industry hasn't left a wake of destitute black and white musicians in its wake.

kalelvisj said:

Okay, fie we got that straighten out.

wow what a "great" distraction from MJ's memorial jeez lets talk about Elvis and how he may or may not had been racist...

Elvis can't touch this one IMO

I don't think Elvis was a racist. I heard that rumor when I was a little girl too.
[Edited 7/8/09 17:54pm]

hmmm.
I just don't trust what the press writes especially if it's based on anecdotal 'evidence' based on something someone else said.

How many times is something printed that is attributed to Prince which is either misconstrued or he didn't actually say.

I remember Trent Reznor being horrified at official Interviews that magazines got wrong from what he'd said.




To me, I don't know if Elvis was or not. I wouldn't personally be too surprised if he was racist, but nothing I've read thusfar actually makes me sure of it.

missfee said:

Are there not supposed to be any other discussions on the board while we grieve for Michael? And if not, are you going to go toss random comments into every other thread as well?

kalelvisj said:

Umm no, but is Elvis being racist a suitable topic to discuss other than MJ??? How many times are we going to discuss Elvis being or not being racist on this site??? And obviously you can't read because my comment wasn't random. But anywho, if you care to carry on with me and your senseless comments, frankly I could care less. kick rocks.
[Edited 7/8/09 18:29pm]

He was racist, but utilized soul music to become a superstar. Very ironic.

missfee said:

nurseV said:

Would you care to offer some proof for this?
It's a pretty heavy accusation, you know.

MrSoulpower said:

SERIOUSLY, I CAN REMEMBER AS A CHILD BACK IN THE MIDDLE TO LATE SEVENTIES SEEING ELVIS PRESLEY ON TV INTERVIEWS/DOCUMENTARIES AND REMEBERING SOME OF THE THINGS HE SAID ABOUT THE AFRICAN-AMERICANS WHO WORKED FOR HIM. CAN'T REMEBER HIS EXACT WORDS. BUT THE THINGS HE SAID THEN WERE CAUTIOUS, BUT RACIST. SORRY ABOUT THE CAPS

nurseV said:

I don't really mind the caps. If you remember Elvis being on talkshows in the late 1970s (how did he do that, he died in 1975), talking bad about black folks, and this really happened, then there would be some footage available, some witnesses, some news reports and we wouldn't have this discussion right now.

This didn't happen. Maybe you don't remember it correctly, maybe you just made it up. But there is no footage of Presley going on TV, talking bad about black folks. Especially not after he died. There is absolutely no evidence that Presley was racist, in fact, it was quite to the contrary. Most black musicians who have worked with him have expressed their admiration for his talent and his guts. Scroll up and read the story from Jet magazine.

If he was racist, he surely kept if to himself. And as a white, Southern artist, who grew up around black folks during Jim Crow, who went to church with them and who ended up singing their music when hardly any other white person would do that, it wa quite unlikely that he was racist. All this indicates that Presley wasn't a racist but had a sincere admiration for black culture.

Before you come here, calling a musical legend racist without being able to back this up with some proof, you should seriously consider think about what you're doing.

By the way, Michael Jackson was a pedophile. Because I've seen him say on TV 20 years ago that he liked kids.

Elvis died in 77

MrSoulpower said:

Like I said he died in 77 and it did happen. Be more respectful of the dead He was a racist like it or not and your opinion of Michael is yours and that's your right.

Two things: not this shit again and NO, Elvis was not racist.

nurseV said:

You can't remember which show or what he said but you know it was racist?

nurseV said:

You're right, he died in '77. Forgive my typo.

But the fact is, there is absolutely no footage and no proof that Presley was racist. Nothing. Don't you think that if you remember watching this a child, some adult would remember it? Someone who watched it? Or were you the only one who watched it? Elvis being the biggest star at the time, don't you think the footage would still be available and circulating? The fact that there is nothing available to back up your claim is that you either don't remember it correctly (looking at your profile, you're 36, so you were 3 years old when Elvis died and you were hardly old enough to catch racist remarks on TV), or that you just made it up after I asked you for some proof.

My remark about MJ was not my opinion. I thought you'd understand the hint. There was no proof for Michael Jackson being a pedophile. There were indicatiors, hints, but no proof.
And there is no proof of Elvis being racist.
Both accusations are wrong if they cannot be backed up with facts.
You haven't done so, which is why accusation that Elvis was racist no more acceptable than people's claim that Michael Jackson molested children.

RipHer2Shreds said:

I do because I use to watch Elvis alot with my mom-who liked him and those are the last memories I have of her-so it is something I will always remember and before anyone says anything disrespectful-the memories are of my mother. She would watch all things Elvis and I do recall the statements that he said about his African-American employees. Those things may have been acceptable in the middle 70's, but looking back they were not good statements.

Vendetta1 said:

Exactly. I'm not even a fan of Elvis. But when someone tried to disrespect a great artist who broke racial barries in the midst of Jim Crown, then I think the truth needs to be told.

Then again, maybe he was racist. But if so, then he was damn good at hiding it and he played a very good game.

nurseV said:

Too late. You started it by calling someone racist without having your facts straight.

i seen a snip!!!


i seen a snip!!!

MrSoulpower said:

I was 5 and I remember because like I said they are also memories of my mother.I will not argue over whether my own memories happened