First Serena Williams gets heckled by a racist fan and then yesterday, Don Imus --the racist radio personality -- refers to the Rutgers Women's Basketball team as "nappy-headed hos." Really! It seems unbelievable to me that a White man in the public eye would be so disgustingly crass, degrading, and nasty on national television. And it wasn't like he was mumbling the words under his breath and they were accidentally caught on-air. He was actually pontificating on the ho-like qualities of the Women's Team. You can read a portion of the transcript here and understand why this man probably wears a white hood when he's just lounging around at home.
Besides the obvious disbelief and horror I felt when hearing about this, the hair historian in me was a wee bit intriuged. Not a whole lot of White people are aware of the power of the word Nappy. They don't understand how deeply this word can wound a Black American. Remember the uproar in 1998 about the White school teacher who read the book Nappy Hair by Caroliva Herron to her mostly Black students in Bushwick Brooklyn? When parents heard about the book they called for the teacher's immediate dismissal, held protests at the school and even made threats of physical harm against the teacher. Of course the teacher was shocked not knowing that to many Black folks, Nappy is like the other "N-Word."
So I wonder how does a Super White Man like Imus know the word Nappy? Why did that just roll off the tongue like he hangs with Black folks enough to know their innermost fears and frustrations? Because if he was intending to hurt and degrade he really did pick the right word. Calling a Black woman nappy-headed, even if she lovingly wears the biggest, nappiest Afro around, wounds to the quick. So I'm thinking, does Imus have some secret Black life on the side? Is he Strom Thurman all-over again? Or maybe he thought that since Eminem is White and he uses the other N-word and other Black-isms, he could get away with it too? Or not. I can't figure it out.
I hope the man gets fired and all his money gets taken away and he is forced to do community service in Chocolate City cleaning up trash with his bare hands!
Peace and Hair Grease!
5 comments:
It is sad that life in america is not evolving on a forward trajectory...we seem to be going backwards everyday! How is it ok for an employee of a major media outlet to say these things, (I think he also called them jigaboos - yikes!). Do we have Bill O'reilly and his boys on Fox to thank for opening up the floodgates (frank speech does not equal racism). This is not ok!
I really hope he gets fired too. And I was thinking the same thing about him even knowing the word.
I never liked Imus and believed he was and is a racist. If he wanted to take word jabs at the team, that is his right. What bothers me is the fact that he just had to include race in his rant. There was no need for him to insult all black women. As far as O'Reilly is concerned, I would have expected it from his ilk. Ironically, this insult didn't come from Fox. In fact, I don't recall anyone on Fox making a bluntly racist comment like that. For that I am suprised.
As the saying goes, "The more things change, the more they remain the same." While it may seem that we have come very far with respect to race relations and civil rights, it is clear that the deeper-seated perceptions and attitudes about race remain. The Imus comments is yet another chapter in a continuing, sad saga of people in high places making low remarks. If this society is really serious about eradicating racism, then it needs to make examples of people like Imus by taking them off the airwaves because they are abusing the right of free speech which in turn insults others.
Lori,
I'm not a member of blogspot so this is the only way i saw to contact you. I've read Hair Story and it changed my life. I even did a videography about it on Youtube...please check it out and tell me what you think http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=COfVQXxrexI. Anyways I really wanted to get in touch with you and Ayana. I currently do a internet radio program in which i hoped that you would be guest on. Visit blogtalkradio.com/blackhair for show archives. A lot of people were deeply effected by the videography and although i couldn't get all the great info into the message i think i got the essence of it. My email is ayeshamax@aol.com, please let me know if you can.
Post a Comment