Celebrities join together for Hurricane Katrina relief

Friday, September 09, 2005

Last week a concert benefit was held on NBC in order to assist those affected by Hurricane Katrina. This event was the talk of the media for the days to come due to the comments made by one of the celebrities speaking, rapper Kanye West. His statements, cut out of the west coast broadcast accused George W. Bush, our President, of not caring about black people. These statements caused uproar and much debate.

Tonight, two different telethon concerts were held. The first being aired across all the major networks. Shelter from the storm: A concert for the gulf coast was an hour-long commercial free broadcast containing celebrities from all different mediums. They took your calls backstage while onstage we saw a group of performers, which included U2, Mary J. Blige, Sheryl Crow and many others. No audience - just the performers, the phones, and celebrities answering. No frills.

The celebrities are there to help raise money for the victims, and their goal is to raise one million dollars this evening. The phones will remain open all night. So if you see this sometime tonight click on the link above and help out if you can, the toll free number will be open well into the morning hours. Past that point, donate via the Internet through the American Red Cross.

On another network, another telethon was being held. The BET relief telethon put together by Black Entertainment Television and called Saving Our Selves. This two and a half hour broadcast was hosted by Queen Latifah had a host of stars on stage and working the phones as well.  Performers on stage in Los Angeles included Mary J. Blige and Alicia Keys. Both also appeared on the Shelter from the storm concert.

Tomorrow night, MTV joins in with its own benefit concert, ReActNow: Music and Relief will air between 8-11pm EST. This concert will include performances from Kanye West, Rolling Stones, and Kelly Clarkson.

Unlike last week’s concert becoming the talk of the media because of one’s statements, that wasn’t the case this week. Calmer heads ruled. The message strong and powerful with images shown from the area affected and stories being told by celebrities. Help these people now.