Record companies wouldn't budget for videos by their black artists since they didn't think MTV would play them, so the network could make the argument that they simply didn't have any good videos by black artists that were worthy.
What they did have were lots of European acts (like Musical Youth), who had been making videos for years, and were overwhelmingly white. MTV was programmed by guys with radio backgrounds who tried to program it like a radio station with a rock format, something that proved impossible because they didn't have enough videos by rock artists. MTV was accused of racism in this era, notably by Rick James, whose " Super Freak" clip was rejected by the network. Jackson's "Billie Jean" video was the first to make heavy rotation, and more black faces started appearing on the network soon after, notably Prince.
The clip for " Pass The Dutchie" by Musical Youth was the first video by a black act to make regular rotation on the network, but they were considered a novelty, with no member older than 16. The video for this song is often credited with breaking the color barrier on MTV, which debuted August 1, 1981.
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