You naGGars are missing the point!

Yesterday I received an email from my boy Sei about the NAACP's burial of the word "nigger". In case you haven't read/heard, the NAACP kicked-off their 98^th Annual Convention in Detroit by "burying" the word "nigger".

Obviously the burial was symbolic and done in an effort to get people (Black and otherwise) to stop using the word that "is the most vicious of all racial insults and the most well known example of racist language and self-hatred by African Americans." At first I laughed because the "symbolism" of burying the N-word seemed like a waste of time. To me, the idea of burying a word was silly. Really, what does burying a word mean to the average Joe Schmoe like myself? Not much at all. Not only does it not inspire me to want to stop using the word, it appears to be another futile attempt by a seemingly disconnected (to Black youth) organization to create a discussion/initiative around the N-word. Or is it? Isn't discussion of the use of the N-Word a good thing? Don't we need to bring this topic up more often to educate people about the long history of the N-word and to give reasons for no longer using it?

I discussed the concept of the burial of the N-word with K because I think she's very astute when it comes to these matters and has lots of very thought-provoking things to say. Here's the gist of what she had to say:

"There are words that have long been used in such a manner that no matter what you try to do to them they still mean the same thing...There are words that nobody uses anymore in the english language because they have become antiquated and no longer apply to today's society. It is not an outlandish concept to no longer use the [N-] word. I still think the whole burying thing is 'out there', but like I said before I understand why they feel the need to do it and it's only symbolistic of a larger campaign. I really don't get why people feel SO strongly to keep the word around. It's like fighting hard to legalize heroine, or something."

After doing some research on the burial of the N-word by the NAACP, I discovered that the burial is simply part of a larger campaign that seems worthwhile.

The NAACP STOP Campaign is described as "an initiative of the NAACP Youth & College Division that seeks to "STOP" the demeaning images of African Americans in the media, particularly with respect to the portrayal of African American women. These images are also reflected in songs and music videos that show half-dressed women being objectified by men. The NAACP, through its STOP Campaign calls on those outside and especially those within the Black community to Stop Defaming our Women, Degrading our Community, and Denigrating our History. No word defames, degrades and denigrates like the N-Word and we want to STOP it!"

The "mock funeral" of the N-word was simply a part of this broader campaign. After having read this, everything made more sense to me. The STOP Campaign sounds like an initiative that we all can/should support because it has the goal of changing the way African Americans are viewed by mainstream society. I think that's a goal that most of us can agree needs to be achieved. I think we need constant reminders of how the images of Blacks on television can ultimately lead to the stereotyping and prejudice that we ALL hate to be subjected to.

In the end, I think a lot of the people dismissing the burial of the N-word (like I did initially) are missing the point or perhaps just not doing our their research on what the NAACP is really trying to accomplish. In other words, we're doing exactly what some dumb-azz naGGars would do - remaining ignorant and indifferent to the things that can potentially have a positive impact on the way they're viewed and treated.

If you really don't have any intentions on at least trying to stop using the N-word, maybe the link below will give you the impetus you need:

Ni99er Jokes

It's not so easy to dismiss the NAACP's burial as trivial after reading that...