Men Are
Men , not
' Dawgs '
Some entertainers have tried to make |
art of their coarseness, but in their pub
lic crudeness they have merely revealed |
their own vast senses of personal inferi
ority. When they heap mud upon them
selves and allow their tongues to wag
with vulgarity, they expose their belief
that they are not worth loving and are in
fact unlovable. When we as audience in
dulge them in that profanity, we are not
unlike Romans at a coliseum battle be
tween unarmed
Christians and rag
ing lions. We not
only participate in
the humiliation of
the entertainers,
but are brought low
by sharing in the
obscenity.
We need 1o
have the courage to
say obesity is not
funny, vulgarity is
not amusing, inso
lent children and
By Dr.
Maya
Angelou
submissive parents are not the characters
we want to admire and emulate. Flip
pancy and sarcasm are not the only ways
in which conversation can be concluded.
If the emperor is standing in my liv
ing room stripped to the buff, nothing
should prevent me from saying that since
he has no clothes on, he is not ready for
public congress. At any rate, not loung
ing on my sofa and munching on my trail
mix.
My mothers and grandmothers,
aunts, nieces and sisters are not what
some of the so-called comedians have
named them. My brothers and fathers
and husbands and nephews are not
"dawgs." They are men.
I know the name for the female of the
dog. I will refuse to have that name de
scribe any human being.
Adults, preachers, teachers, organi
zational executives, we had better be
about the business of reclaiming our
children and our language or we will for
feit our place in history. After our peo
ple struggled so hard during evi^times
to live with some dignity, it would be
shocking if we let our history, our peo
ple, our children and ourselves down in
degradation.
riic rnww
Dr. Angelou speaks at Winston-Salem State University in the fall of 2005.
Maya Angelou no
fan of the 'n' word
Her way with words has garnered
her fame and prestige around the globe.
But Maya Angelbu says that there are
some words that not even she, or any
one else, can make sound graceful and
dignified.
The world-renowned poet and long
time city resident told more than 1 ,000
Winston-Salem State University fresh
men Sept. 25, 2005, that the "n-word" is
toxic, regardless of how it is used or
who uses it.
Auditorium. For the
second straight year, jfj A f k
Angelou was the
keynote speaker for WSSU's New
Student Convocation.
She walked onto the stage to a
standing ovation and began her remarks
singing a song in several different lan
guages. The song foreshadowed her
later statements on the importance of
words and language.
Angelou, known for books like "I
Know Why the Caged Bird Sings" and
poems like "Phenomenal Woman," has
long expressed her disdkin with the "n
"It is poison " she
said, her words res
onating through a
packed K.R. Williams
Look
word" and its prevalence in the world of
hip-hop. She told the students to
remember the word's history.
"It was created to denigrate an entire
people," she said. "Don't use the word.
1 begj'ou."
Angelou went even further, telling
the students to make themselves scarce
around people who use the "n-word" or
other racial slurs.
"I will not stay in a room where
racial pejoratives are used," she said.
There are words that Angelou
encouraged the students to use and
memorize, mainly those of noted poets
like Paul Lawrence Dunbar, James
Weldon Johnson and Countee Cullen.
She threw in bits of her poetry and
works of others during her remarks and
encouraged the students to visit the
library the next day to become acquaint
ed with great black poets and writers.
Through their words, Angelou said, the
students will see that the black experi
ence is vast and far-reaching.
"You need to know that somebody
was there before you," she said.
Angelou is most often linked with
Wake Forest University, where she
holds the lifetime appointment of
Reynolds Professor of American
Studies. Despite the fact she has been
employed at Wake for more than two
decades, Angelou says she loves WSSU
and Wake Forest equally.
"This is my school ... Wake Forest
is my school," she said during a news
conference before her convocation
remarks.
Young people hold a special place in
Angelou's heart. It is the reason, she
said, that she enjoys speaking at schools
and student convocations. She told the
freshmen that not enough adults tell
young people how talented and special
they are, so Angelou reminded them of
that several times. Looking over the sea
of students - who, upon school orders,
dressed in their Sunday best for the con
vocation - Angelou said she saw the
person who could one day develop a
cure for AIDS and the man or woman
who could one day devise a way to rid
the world of racism.
"She may be in the. third row. He
may be in the sixth row," she said.
"Why shouldn't I think he or she is here
at Winston-Salem State University. I
believe in you."
- The Chronicle