The Ni@@er and the Teachable Moment

Denise Bolds, MSW

June 24, 2013

 

 

Once again I am riding the wave of obscurity with the Paula Deen incident. Being partially raised in the south and Black I am astounded at how the media and many Blacks are completely blowing past the teachable moment here. Paula Deen is a southern woman raised in the south – okay -we get that. And at Paula’s age, you can be sure she has and still probably does use the n-word. THAT is part of the southern culture; Django could not have emphasized this concept any more clearly: Blacks did not have names in conversations or communication; a Black person male, female or child was addressed as ‘ni@@er’. Period.

What’s missing from the media is Paula Deen and her cooking empire; Paula Deen Enterprises are being sued in a $1.2 MILLION DOLLAR lawsuit for sexual and racial discrimination by former employees who happen to be white. What the media does not bring forth is how Blacks in this day and age are still being mistreated in the workforce by the good ‘ole US of A.

Paula’s revelation came through a deposition – remember that. Under oath Paula Deen admitted to what is considered by many to be mainstream vernacular. The fine line here is Blacks in the music industry have basically prostituted themselves and the n-word in entertainment for large sums of money = Rap Music. The n-word has no place in the work place especially being used in a derogatory manner by whites as alleged in the lawsuit against Paula Deen Enterprises.

So, the response from useless pontiffs in the media is: “Paula is doing what Blacks do to themselves regularly, it’s called rap music! Ha! Ha! Ha!” Here’s where the teachable moment comes in:

Yes, the word ni@@er is used mainstream in rap music, and I do not agree with it. If I had my way as many other Blacks feel, I would have marched and protested vehemently as the white music producers and executives allowed this oppressive word to become mainstream. When Michael Jackson used the word “Kike” in one of his songs in 1996, Jackson’s record label had to recall and edit CD’s due to the ‘outrage’ by the Jewish community. 

Blacks should be following the Paula Deen incident as a red flag of what occurs for Blacks in the work place and the hostile environment Blacks face for employment every day. I don’t hear the useless pontiffs’ speaking about THIS. Paula Deen and Paula Deen Enterprises should be mandated to undergo a HUGE employer racial sensitivity training  as part of the settlement; I don’t hear Blacks demanding this either. It’s not enough that Paula Deen was let go from the Food Network Channel and lost several endorsements, she will rebound. Firing Paula Deen is not doing anything for Blacks unless it is identified that being Black does not places a bulls eye on one’s forehead for workplace hostility called racism.

The Paula Deen incident has left the media spotlight – but as time reveals, there is more to the atrocities and racial targeting Black employees endured employed at Paula Deen Enterprises. When will the media admit the hostilities Blacks face being employed in America. Don’t believe it? Look at the barrage of racial slurs and disgusting pictures about first Black president of the United States Barack Obama. Many of these outrageous emails and publications came from supposedly educated, elected officials – all white.

Teachable moment: I don’t care where you grew up or how you were raised; derogatory words such as ni@@er does not belong in the work place. For myself and the many Blacks I interact with, many agree with me that ni@@er doesn’t belong in a song either. It’s time for Blacks to stand up, step out and put the n-word where it belongs – OUT of the common, mainstream of America. This word is and will always shall be a title of oppression that was over 400 years of darkness in America called slavery. Imagine if Blacks were outraged as the Jews and Native Americans are? We would have restitution, federal scholarships for our children to attend college and profits from casinos. I’m Just Sayin…

 

 

 

Why I Will Not Celebrate July 4th



Denise Bolds, MSW July, 2013

Another July 4th is upon America, land of the free and home of the brave. The national holiday that stops all postal, banking and business is to commemorate the adoption of the Declaration of Independence from Great Britain. The Declaration of Independence gave freedom of the 13 colonies from the ‘rule’ by Britain 237 years ago.

Independence is freedom, respect and equality, as an African American I don’t see these concepts readily for my people. Last week as America celebrated a gain for marriage equality, blacks lost vital voting rights. With a black president of the United States of America, blacks are still behind; having the highest rate in unemployment, school drop-out, teen pregnancy, crime, incarceration, infant mortality and mental/ medical illness.

As an African American woman and single parent I have been called nigger, followed in stores, denied housing and jobs because of my ethnicity, stereotyped, called ‘angry’, treated as though I am invisible and most of all blamed for the travesties of my black race. I cannot celebrate Independence Day July 4th because I am black and the Declaration of Independence did not and does not include me.

Would I fare better in another country? There is that chance. I cannot forget my ancestors were taken hostage from Africa, brought to a cruel continent where they were denied their language, culture, religion and rights as human beings and forced to endure the cruelest forms of oppression for over 400 years. I cannot forget and put aside the 400 years of oppression called slavery. I cannot celebrate Independence Day July 4th. July 4th 1776 blacks were still slaves in America.

For every black man incarcerated for a crime he did not commit.
For the Moynihan Papers.
For the Rockefeller Laws.
For Stand Your Ground.
For every black family that is fractured.
For every gun and liquor store in predominately black communities.
For every black baby born underweight or prematurely.
For every black child wrongfully assigned to special education.
For every Oscar Grant, Travon Martin and DJ Henry killed with little or no repercussion.
For every black female wrongfully processed by USA judicial system.
For every dollar the record and media executives earn by exploiting the word ‘nigger’ and the misrepresentation of black culture.
For every job I am qualified for but refused because I am black.
For every bit of black history that is not mainstreamed in America that was built on the backs and wombs of blacks.
For every black child on the pipeline from the education system to incarceration.
For every aspect of black history that is carelessly thrown into dumpsters.
For every health disparity both mental and medical received by blacks.
For every police officer who utilizes excessive force and kills blacks without any punishment.
For the hypocrisy that is white entitlement.
For every black man, woman and child ascribed to a life of less than because they are black.
For every black man, woman and child who have forgotten black history and the lives paid for what we are today.
For every black man, woman and child who cannot see the black humanity crisis that is evident.
For every black man, woman and child who remains silent and complacent.

For the fact that in 2013; I feel compelled, because the sign of the times to write such an article. I cannot celebrate July 4th Independence Day. 237 years later with all of the contributions made by blacks, we are still destroyed, denied, distracted, disenfranchised and devalued.