They forget Musical Youth (Pass the Dutchie, 1982) and Eddy Grant (Electric Avenue, 1982) and Prince (Little Red Corvette, 1999 both 1983) and Herbie Hancock (Rockit, 1983)...
But then commies love to revise history.
Remember that the MTV/VH-1 Concert For New York had the police officers and firemen boos for Hillary Clinton overdub by Viacom with CHEERS. And that it the only version available from Sony.
"The segregation was MTV's early shame" - IRONIC considering Viacom is behind the black only BET. And where would one find the modern ROCK & ROLL bands with black singers like The Dirtbombs and The Bellrays? Oh wait, those are integrated bands (and Lisa Kekaula has a white husband). Unwelcome at MTV OR BET.
"Electric Avenue" was in '83. The first video by a black artist was "Billie Jean" in December 1982. MTV initially refused to air the video because they said bluntly that a black artist would not appeal to their white rock audience. CBS Records head Walter Yetnikoff then threatened to ban his rock acts from making videos and MTV relented.
There are other factual errors in this article. JJ Jackson, Nina Blackwood and Martha Quinn were fired at the same time in 1986 (I think in June). Alan Hunter left a year later and Mark Goodman left in 1988. Quinn came back in 1989 and left three years later. "Yo MTV Raps" debuted in 1988, not 1986.