Black News Channel Launches!

Black News Channel is coming to life. The news channel devoted to African American culture and entertainment launches in February.

Former Oklahoma Republican U.S. Congressman J.C. Watts, Jr. is launching a news channel for African Americans.

I hope that this news channel isn't the "Black version" of Fox News.

Watts, a former lawmaker, reverend and former Canadian Football League player as a member of the Ottawa Rough Riders. Watts dreamed of having a cable news channel that talks issues that involve the Black community.

Soon, he will get his opportunity this year.

Black News Channel is coming and he wants a launch date in February 2020.

BNC is founded by Watts and Amir Windom. They partnered together to make a network that is intended to providing quality news and original programming to African-American households.

The network will serve 30 million households once launched.

J.C. Watts is the founder of BNC. He is a former Republican lawmaker turned media mogul.

"Black History Month is an appropriate time to launch the Black News Channel," said Bob Brillante, co-founder and CEO for BNC, in a news release. "We are committed to make sure that when our viewers tune in they are witness to a quality viewing experience."

It will be a 24/7 news channel.

The goals of the network are to:

• Give voice to an underserved community.
• Build bridges to connect the many diverse cultures in our nation.
• Facilitate a more informed national conversation about challenges facing our urban communities.
• Engage African American viewers in our nation’s social, economic and political discussions and debates.
• Create a platform for African American newsmakers and policymakers to reach their constituents.
• Showcase African American achievers creating positive role models for black youth.
• Produce educational programming that is culturally relevant to empower African American viewers.
• Inspire African American viewers with uplifting and spiritual messages produced daily;
• Preserve a proud African American heritage.
• Recruit and train aspiring African American journalists.

BNC will be a unique multi-platform news and information channel created for African Americans, subscription television's most dynamic, high growth and loyal consumers.

BNC has a real opportunity to change lives and mindsets through the creation of a singular news organization based on a profoundly unique and critically important premise. BNC will serve up authentic, genuine, responsible and responsive news to black Americans. BNC’s news will include the priorities, issues, realities, and points-of-view of our black population and communities. BNC will be able to make a deep, rich connection to this target audience by being the antidote to today’s toxic news environment; our network will provide relevant news, as well as celebrate black lives, culture, and history.

The mission for BNC is to bring an innovative and life-changing network. It's mission is to provide intelligent programming that is informative, educational, inspiring and empowering to its African American audience.

Watts is considered a conservative. So some of the issues that may detract folks from watching is the fact that agitators like Candace Owens, Larry Elder, Jesse Lee Peterson and Alveda King might find a home on BNC.

Watts refuse to the notion. He said that his network will not be partisan (as Fox News and MSNBC).

"Conservative means many things to different people. To me, it means living the way my grandmama taught me," Watts stated. "She taught me to treat people the way that I want to be treated. In a Black home, you rarely saw people leaving their lights on at night because grandmama taught that it was a waste of electricity. If the lights were on, you knew that something pretty serious was happening."

Watts continued: "The bottom line about being a conservative is that you treat people with respect, and you don't believe in wasting things. That’s important. And, another primary place that I get my conservative values is the Bible. I was thought that I shouldn't just be concerned about Oklahoma University, my alma mater, but I should also be concerned about Morehouse. That's why I sponsored anti-poverty legislation because sometimes you have to put extra resources into different communities to give them the infrastructure to attract industry and jobs."

"My biblical principles drove me much more than the Republican party. Look, the National Football League recognized that having successful teams in every market would benefit everyone, and that’s why the team with the worst record gets the top pick in the draft. They know that if the Cincinnati Bengals perform better, everybody wins because you would have more advertising and a better television contract for everyone. So, I feel the same way about underserved communities. If we can help them to be stronger and create more opportunities within those communities, then that's good for all communities."

Here's what the far-white trolls say about the network.

This is why it's very important to stay in school.

Nonetheless, the network will official launch on February 16th. We will be watching for developments and wish the network well.