#IfNerdlandWasOn Nails Why Viewers Are Sad to See Melissa Harris-Perry Leave MSNBC

MHP on her relationship with the cable news channel: u201cI am not a token, mammy or little brown bobble head.u201d

By Kenrya Rankin Feb 29, 2016

On Friday (February 26), journalist and scholar Melissa Harris-Perry asked a former colleague to publish a letter she wrote to the staff of her eponymous MSNBC show. In it, she said that her felt marginalized by network brass and that the show had been quietly removed from the lineup without discussion or notice. She was slated to appear this past weekend to cover the South Carolina Democratic primary—where the Black vote was key—but she wasn’t interested, saying, “I will not be used as a tool for their purposes. I am not a token, mammy or little brown bobble head. I am not owned by Lack, Griffin or MSNBC. I love our show. I want it back. I have wept more tears than I can count and I find this deeply painful, but I don’t want back on air at any cost. I am only willing to return when that return happens under certain terms.”

But a goodbye tweet from Harris to her #Nerdland followers and a subsequent article from The New York Times confirmed yesterday that the show is now permanently off the air.

 

Fans quickly jumped on the #IfNerdlandWasOn hashtag—started by Advancement Project co-director Judith Browne Dianis—to discuss just what will be missing from media now that Harris-Perry’s show has been canceled. Here are a few choice tweets including the one that started it all.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Harris-Perry had a response of her own, rallying #Nerdland to show its support by donating to worthy causes.