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…