Click-2-Listen
AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF
Sunday, March 04, 2007
An unrepentant Sam Allred said Saturday that an on-air comment Thursday morning about U.S. Sen. Barack Obama wasn't racist because he was trying to mock a "foolish-sounding remark" made by U.S. Sen. Joe Biden.
Allred and co-host Bob Cole were discussing Obama, D-Ill., between 7 and 7:30 a.m. on the Sam & Bob morning radio show on KVET (98.1 FM) when the conversation turned to comments made by Biden several weeks ago.
Sam Allred:
KVET radio personality says I was mocking Biden, not
Obama.
"He's clean is what what's-his-name said. Joe Biden told us that," Cole said.
"Clean darky," Allred said.
Cole immediately exclaimed, "Sammy!" The show then cut to commercial.
Biden, D-Del., who is one of Obama's rivals for the party's 2008 presidential nomination, was asked in a February interview that was published in the New York Observer to evaluate the other candidates.
"I mean, you got the first mainstream African American who is articulate and bright and clean and a nice-looking guy," Biden said of Obama. "I mean, that's a storybook, man."
Allred was not on the air Friday morning, and several people familiar with the situation said he had been suspended for a week and will meet with station management Monday.
Reached by telephone Saturday, Allred first vehemently denied that anything controversial was said on the Thursday show. In a later interview, he said the outcry about the remark was hard to figure out.
He had declared his support for Obama earlier in the program, Allred said.
Asked whether he regretted using the phrase, Allred replied, "I always regret a misunderstanding, yeah."
Does he consider himself free of racial prejudice?
"Of course, of course," Allred said. "That is such a stupid question in this day and time."
Nelson Linder, president of the Austin chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, said he has received about 30 calls since Friday from people complaining about the comment. One woman filed a formal complaint with the NAACP, Linder said.
"To me, the entire context was basically inappropriate," he said. "Humor doesn't lessen the impact of racism, and I think that should be very, very clear to everybody."
Linder said he plans to meet with KVET officials next week. Allred should apologize for the remark, and the station needs to talk about the importance of cultural sensitivity, Linder said.
"Once we have talked to them, we're going to address the FCC based on their response," Linder said, referring to the Federal Communications Commission. That agency has jurisdiction over broadcasting and periodically review stations' licenses for renewal.
Neither Allred nor KVET General Manager Pamela McKay would discuss whether Allred had been suspended. McKay said it is the station's policy not to comment on employee matters.
KVET put this message on its Web site: "During an on-air broadcast on 3/1/07 on KVET FM, a statement was made that might have been heard as offensive to some of our listeners. It is not our station's intention to be offensive. It is our stations' policy that we do not discriminate against individuals regardless of race, religion, gender, age or sexual orientation."
David Kobierowski, co-founder of Texans for Obama, a local group of Obama supporters that is not affiliated with the senator's campaign, said Allred's comments distract from the true issues of the presidential race.
"I'm hopeful that it's something that folks don't focus their attention on, that they focus on the issues, on the meaningful topics that will help our society," he said.
Allred has made a career out of using broad humor that often touches on race. It is a common occurrence on the morning show for him to refer to "white trash," for example. He and Cole have been a morning team on KVET, which plays country music, since 1990.
Allred, who declined Saturday to give his age but is in his early 70s, still performs with a band that he founded in his days at Austin High School, the Geezinslaws. The group is known for novelty songs such as "Lighten up, it's Christmas" and "There's a Five-dollar Fine for Whinin'." He has been with KVET since 1969.
He and Cole often spar with listeners and spend time discussing local, state and national issues.
Allred's signature on the show, which is on from 6 to 10 a.m., is his quick fuse with callers whom he perceives as tedious or inane.
"It's such a to-do about nothing that it really breaks my heart," Allred said.