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mmm 5A OPINIONS/ Cftt Ctatlotte $ot Thursday April 15, 2004 Perpetuating use of the ‘N-word’ Angela Lindsay Nigger (n.) - usually offen sive: a black person; member of any dark-skinned race; its use among blacks is not always intended or taken as offensive ... it is otherwise a word expressive of racial hatred and bigotry.. This was the partial defini tion given by Webster’s dic tionary, but apparently that has changed recently, 1 received an e-mail last week encouraging me to celebrate because the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, imder the presidency of Kwesi Mfume, managed to get the Merriam-Webster company to discontinue associating black people with the word in its dictio naries. Forgive me if I fail to jump for joy. Let’s be honest here. The alteration of this definition is, at most, but a small, quiet battle victory in a 400 year long war, which, at present, is aU but lost on the few sur viving members of the NAACP. Some may say that because I grew up in an era of integration that 1 may not know the cruelty the N-word can unleash. Wrong. I’ve been called the N-word by a hateful white person before. It hrrrts. Just because I have the freedom to choose where I want to sit on a city bus doesn’t mean the sting of that word from a racist is any less potent today than it was 50 years ago. But what’s more painful to endure is the ensuing jubilance for a victo ry that is obsolete and which effect is likely to be negligi ble at best. Not to mention the genuine possibility of contradiction. We as black folk carp about “other” people sayring this word and conderrm them for it, even if they use it benign ly, say, during an intellectual discussion. But why? We do it - many times in a far less commendable fashion. Some say we are empowered by adopting the word as our own, thereby ridding it of its historical nefariousness by transforming it into a term of endearment. We’re all guilty of it. It shps out excit edly during football games, “That nigga can nm!” We spit it out disgustedly when disgruntled, “That nigga makes me sick!” And black ■ hip hop stars use it freely throughout their rap songs: Jigga/what’s my (expletive) name/Jigga/and who I’m rollin’ wit, huh/my niggas/niggas better get it right- (from “Jigga, My Nigga” by Jay-Z.) But as soon as anyone un-Negroid in features even forms then- bps to say it, we get aU up in arms and are ready to holler racism. We hsten intently to white rapper Eminem who, by all accounts, is far from a bigot, to see if he even hints at saying “the word” on any of his albums. We crouch in delicious anticipation, study ing every verse of his compli cated rhymes, and are poised to pounce on him like wolves to prey if he slips up and says it, no matter how amorously he may mean it. This futile undertaking by the NAACP is about as embarrassing as the uproar generated by blacks in D.C. over David Howard’s use of the word “niggardly.” During a meeting with his staff, Howard, the white director of a Washington, D.C. mimicipal agency, told them that in light of budget cut backs, he would have to be “niggardly” with funds. Niggardly is an adjective meaning “small, few or scanty; stingy, miserly” (New World Dictionary, 2nd College Ed.) and has no rela tion to, and actually pre dates by about 300 years, the consonant slur. Arguably, Howard could have exercised better judg ment, but his use of a per fectly legitimate word cer tainly did not warrant his consequent resignation at the behest of insufferable protests and outcry by the black community. Not only has a man lost his livelihood, but it also made black folk appear ignorant. Are we so neurotic that we require all other races to tip-toe on eggshells around us? I thought we were a much stronger people than that. Earlier this year, the NAACP received a lot of flak for the nomination of alleged child pomographer R. Kelly for an Image Award. In his defense, Mfume stated, “It continues to concern me that every now and then an Image Award nomination is put forth that fails to meet the high standards for posi tive, constructive images on which the program was orig inally created. Part of the reason for this is that the NAACP does not totally con trol the nominating process but is held totally responsi ble for all of the nomina tions.” Though Mfume made a noble attempt to under mine the NAACFs involve ment with the selection of less than caliber nominees for its award, it is stiU the NAACP Award, and its name is irrevocably attached to it. Such is the case with the definition of the N word. So should the old definition of the N-word in all dictio naries continue as it once was - alluding to the degra dation of African Americans? I don’t know. Frankly, I don’t think it matters what mean ing is written down because we know the meaning when it’s spoken aloud. The reality is that we need to shoulder much of the responsibility for the perpetuation of this word in our vocabulary. The onus is on us as black folk to collectively denounce this word which connotes racial insult and demotes our self esteem. ANGELA LINDSAY is a Charlotte attorney. Her e-mail address is angeMind.my@hot- mail.com Taking on AIDS requires everlasting faith for believers By Phill Wilson. NATidNAL NEWSPAPER PUBLISHERS ASSOCIATION Religious faith today is as controversial as ever. Witness the recent uproar over Mel Gibson’s film on “the Passion of the Christ” has put religion and faith front and center in the public discourse. People on both sides - critics and sup porters- have been making emotional arguments based on their own views about God, Jesus and the Gospel. Clearly, Americans of faith don’t shy away from a debatetake their faith seriously. Black folks are no exception, I don’t believe you can put more than one Black person in a room and not find faith. I’m not talking about plain old Christian faith, or Church faith. I’m talking about middle passage faith. I’m talking about the faith that helped us survive 300 years of slavery, reconstruction, and Jim Crow. I’m talking about the assassination of Medgar Evers, Malcom X, and Martin Luther King Jr. As black people, we’re always and we’re talking a lot these days about our relation ship with God and the role of religion faith in our communities and in our fives. So I find it interesting when so many black folks of “faith” But many are so reluctant to talk about a subject that should be on the tips of their tongues - a disease that’s killing us without discretion. Faith plays a central role in my fife. As the grandson great grandson, and great great grandson of a black Baptist minis ters, the silence on HIV is especially dis concerting, AIDS is understandably difficult for many ministers and their congregations to talk about. Discussing AIDS means minis ters have to talk candidly about sex, sexu al orientation, drug use, poverty and a whole host of topics that make some people uncomfortable. But I believe this difficulty is the very reason why black black chinch es need to lead the way. This is not the time for us to, to start shying away from the tough issues that affect our fives. Black folks have always gone to church for more than just their spiritual salvation. Our churches are our refuge, our place of healing, our source They go because the black church is a place of refuge and heal ing, a source of strength and power for peo ple living in awhen society that has too often told them their fives aretells us we are unimportant. Our churches provide the foundation for us to mobilize against that which would do us harm. And they go because churches help lead the struggle for health, equality and opportunity. The civil rights movement of the ‘50s and ‘60s was led by men and women of the cloth, and religious leaders should also be leading the fight against AIDS. After all, the spread of HIV is fueled by the very same social injus tices that stoked the civil rights movement some half a century agoof the very issues — poverty, social inequality, and bigotry- that mobilized black churches in the past. prayer and HIV education activities. Individual churches are also making a difference. In Miami, the 103-year-old Mount Tabor Missionaiy Baptist Church has made HIV/AIDS ministiy one of its defining missions. Located in a part of Miami with one of the highest AIDS rates in Florida, the church is working to change the fives of African Americans living with HIV/AIDS and those at high risk, including drug users, prostitutes and the homeless. The motto of the Metropolitan Interdenominational Church in Nashville is “Whosoever come”. The Church’s AIDS ministry exemplifies that commitment to Inclusion. The church also holds concerts and other events to raise awareness, offering free on-site test ing and educational materials to those who attend. Mount 'Ihbor and Metropolitan is are just one two examples of churches that are taking similar steps. Our One inspiring example of faith in action is the New York-based organization The Balm in Gilead. For more than a decade. The Balm in Gilead has been preaching about AIDS to black churches, reminding black churches that, if nothing else, there is always prayer. Tlirough its annual Black Church Week of Prayer for the Healing of AIDS, They’ve the Bafin has helped thousands of churches become lead ers in preventing HIV by providing train ing, networking and education. The organization also sponsors the annu al Black Church Week of Prayer for the Healing of AIDS, which engages more than 5,000 churches every March in a week of These groups deserve our admiration for their courage, commitment, and compas sion. But so much more needs to be done. The third chapter of Ecclesiastes teUs us ‘Tb everything there is a season and a time to every purpose.” When it comes to AIDS, the season is now. We have the tools to end this epidemic. The challenge is whether we have the moral will to use those tools effectively and compassionately. Black ministers need to use the power of the pulpit to challenge stigma, preach acceptance, and take their place as leaders in the development of AIDS programs and policy. Church members need to use the power of the pews to provide refuge to those living with HIV/AIDS, to counsel and support those who are risk, and to pro vide testing and other services to those Who don’t know their status. And as a com- munify of faith, we should never underes timate the power of prayer. Plenty of resources are available to help churches get involved. One great place to start is The Balm in Gilead. Check out their Web site (www.balmingilead.org) or call them at (888) 225-6243. Another important source of information is the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s 24-hour hotline at 800-342- 2437 (in Spanish, 800-344-7432). I also encourage anyone who cares about the health of black communities to check out the Black AIDS Institute online, at www.blackaids.org, or to contact me by phone at (213) 989-0181353-3610. For those of us who are living with HIV/AIDS, faith is not a choice — it’s an essential tool in our survival kit. I take comfort in my faith that neither my God, my family, nor my community will desert me. I also live with the faith that Black communities of faithchurches will take action to prevent others from becoming HIV’s newest victimshelp end the pandem ic. I believe there are moments in time that- when we have both the power and oppor tunity to move humanity forward. It is during those times when we rise to show the best of who we are or we sink into the depths of the worse of who we can be. We are at such a time and place. United in faith, let us rise to the occasion.Please, let us all pray together and rise up together to meet the challenge. PHILL WILSON is founder mid Executive Director of the Black AIDS Imtilute in Dis Angeles. He has participated in numerous inter national conferences on AIDS and was selected by the Ford Foundation in 2001 as one of “Twenty Leaders for a Changing World." Wilson has been living with HIV for 23 years. He can be reached at Phillw@BlackAIDS.org. by Aiiron McOnider GRAMTOAP. IVE PONE SOME SOUl SEARCHING I PONT THlNk^ iVt SHOWN YOU ENOO&H ^ APPRECJATION. I ICNOA/ I'M NOT THE EASIEST ^ iCiP TO RAISE, I'M A PIT STRONG-WILIH) YES. PERHAPS EVEN STOWOCN AT TIMES. PUT YWVE ALWAYS PEAAONSTRAT® L EXEMPLARY PATIENCE ANP FAIRNESS _ f THE F.P.I., PUT I Sf/iAR THEY GOT NOTHIN'.' Gay ban would hurt all families By Robin Selby SPECIAL TO THE POST Did you know gay families save $562.5 million in taxes annually? I was researching an article on the Alternative Minimum Tax and discov ered the following. It’s time the American public was informed of a few conse quences relating to President Bush’s discrimina tory amendment banning gay marriage. The proposed amendment not only discriminates against gay families but also affords discrimination against “traditional” families through a difference in high er tax levies affecting 3 mil lion American households. In 2005, an estimated 9 mil lion American households will suffer even higher tax bills if President Bush does not extend the current time- fine of the Alternative Minimum Tax. The Alternative Minimum tax affects middle and upper class (married heterosexual) families whose combined incomes range from lOOK to 500K These families pay an average $3000 more taxes each year because of the tax intended to levy wealthy families who were exempt ing from taxes altogether. It is only affecting heterosexu al families and „traditionally defined'%6 married couples. Same sex couples are exempted because they are not permitted the „free- dom%o to marry and file joint tax returns! The 2000 census estimated lOOK non-traditional fami lies (same-sex couple house holds). 'Hie actual figure is measured at 250K but there are many in the closet because of our nation,s fail ure to permit equal civil rights and recognition for these same-sex couple households. The majority of same sex couples (around 75 percent) are professionals with combined household income of $100,000 to $500,000. An estimated 187,500 same-sex house holds would fall into the AMT tax bracket. Do the math: 187,500 (same sex cou ples/households) X $3000 (avg AMT addi tional contribution per household) = $562.5 million. An estimated $562.5 mil lion dollars annually are exempted from tax collec tions because of our govern ment’s refusal to recognize and allow basic civil free doms to gay citizens! Heterosexual families are required to pay the greater of the regular tax or (after losing many deductions from the AMT rules) their Alternative Minimum tax which is usually averages $3000 more than their regu lar tax bracket. The amend ment intended for Gay America discriminates against gay families by deny ing basic civil freedoms but also poses an unfair tax dis advantage to traditional families! Many Americans do not realize the significant effects of discrimination until it directly affects them. President Bush may succeed in denying civil liberties to Gay American families but he is also penalizing the pockets of the “family” struc ture he hopes to protect. Please consider carefully the full ramifications of dis crimination. It affects every one, not just the class of citi zens for which it is intended. If you support this amend ment, keep in mind you are also protecting gay families from paying their full tax bills if they were allowed the rights of marriage. ROBIN SELBY lives in Charlotte.
The Charlotte Post (Charlotte, N.C.)
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April 15, 2004, edition 1
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