The Hunger Strike
To protest the manipulative and damaging programming coming from the cable network BET, Huey goes on a hunger strike. While his crusade doesn't inspire Granddad or Riley, it does attract the attention of BET executive Deborah Leevil, who resolves to see that it doesn't stand in the way of her network's plan to destroy black people everywhere. But following a visit from the ex-funk music star-turned-publicity-hogging talk radio host, Reverend Rollo Goodlove, Huey finds he has an ally in his fight. Huey is encouraged by the supportive crowd that has come to hear the outspoken Goodlove at a large outdoor rally. Despite its success, he still cannot get Granddad or Riley to join the strike or his upcoming march on BET's headquarters. Yet, as the public campaign against the company gains momentum, Huey worries about the message Reverend Goodlove's lifestyle is sending to their supporters, especially after Mistress Leevil airs a video of Rollo cavorting at a notorious strip club. Though Reverend Goodlove tries putting the best possible face on the nightclub escapade, as well as a checkered past that includes a host of public scandals, Huey worries that the Reverend's reputation will hurt the boycott. However, as his vast experience with bad publicity helps him to deflect this latest round of criticism, too, Goodlove ratchets up his attack on the network with a DVD that documents BET's negative effects on the black community. So, to undermine support for the protest, Leevil co-opts Reverend Goodlove with an offer of a show of his very own. And as Huey finally decides to call off the hunger strike, he learns that Uncle Ruckus has also been given a new show on BET.
