1981 Irish hunger strike showdown between the prisoners and the British Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher. One hunger striker, Bobby Sands, was elected as a Member of Parliament during the strike, prompting media interest from around the world. The strike was called off after ten prisoners had starved themselves to death—including Sands, whose funeral was attended by 100,000 people. The strike radicalised Irish nationalist politics, and was the driving force that enabled Sinn Féin to become a mainstream political party. There had been hunger strikes by Irish republican prisoners since 1917, and twelve had previously died on hunger strike, including Thomas Ashe, Terence MacSwiney, Seán
The Hunger Strike Aaron McGruder on an introduction video for the episode found on the DVD set, this episode was originally set to be titled "BET Sucks". At the headquarters of BET, fictional president Debra Leevil (a parody of BET Holdings CEO Debra L. Lee with a personality resembling Dr. Evil from the "Austin Powers" films) presides over a board meeting to discuss the network's strategy for destroying black people. The issue of Huey Freeman is brought up, as he is shown on CNN giving a press conference stating that he is on a hunger strike and that he will not eat until