[Editor’s Note] Stop Setting Us Back

by Maggie Burks
July 23, 2008

Back in April, I was packing up my bag and belongings to leave the office for the day when I decided to pop my head into Donna’s office. I could hear the sound of Arts, Eats and Beats reverberating through the streets below, and was anxious to join the celebration. But when I walked into Donna’s office, she was busy responding to a flurry of e-mails, all about one man: Mike Lacey.

I’d seen her blog on the Web site earlier that day, which detailed Lacey’s use of the word “n*gga” in a speech he delivered to a crowd of journalism professionals in Arizona. I’d read how one of the top executives in the alternative journalism world, owner of Village Voice Media, had not only smeared the image of our industry and the people who work in it, but also the Distinguished Service award for which he gave his notable speech.

After making his way up to the podium in a blazer, button down shirt and blue jeans, Lacey accepted his award, remarking that the very people who wouldn’t give him or alt-journalism the time of day in years past were awarding him now. It was a proud moment that signified the importance and relevance of alternative journalism in our society. Then, in a blasé manner, Lacey jokingly referred to a former white colleague as his “n*gga,” and in doing so, set us all back about 40 years.

I can’t say that I really felt anything at the time. I thought he was wrong; I thought he was stupid. But I didn’t feel outraged. Instead, I felt jaded. “Just one more notch in America’s racist belt,” I thought to myself. “One more round of debate that, in the end, will mean nothing.”

But racism wasn’t the problem, I later realized. After standing in Donna’s office for a few minutes, I took a seat across from her, and we hashed out the whole thing. A very “hip” media colleague commented to her that the term “n*gga” had been reinvented. You see, it’s “street” now—a perfectly acceptable term that young people use as a term of endearment. You know, like cronies?

That’s when it clicked. Ignorance, not racism, fueled Lacey’s remarks. Though the word itself is racist, I don’t believe Lacey had a malicious or racist intent in using the term. The problem, however, is that people actually think this kind of behavior is OK—cool, even. And that’s what infuriates me. That’s what makes my body turn hot and my eyes water with anger. I’ll never know the soul of a hateful, unyielding racist, but I know that often they learn this attitude from parental figures and leaders involved in their upbringing. But ignorance—where does one cultivate an appreciation for that?

Often I feel like it’s a curse to carry the burden of education. It’s difficult to politely reproach my peers when they try to justify ignorant behavior. Blacks have lived in America for hundreds of years. Why do I still have to explain that black people actually can get a tan, or that, yes, we can blush, too. Why do we still have to explain why people just can’t say “n*gga” or any derivative of the word?

I’ve heard several people—including blacks—say that the word carries a new meaning in today’s society. They say that by applying a new meaning to it, such as “crony,” that they are helping “remove the chains of bondage” that the term connotes. I hear these people clearly, and I suppose on some level, I recognize what they’re saying. But for the most part, I think it’s ridiculous.

Go ahead and try to reason with the many civil rights activists who were spat on and called “n*gger” because they were “stirring up trouble.” Tell that to the family of my great grandmother, whose murder is still unsolved because the police in north Mississippi didn’t care enough about a “n*gger” to investigate.

It’s easy to look around the South and think, “Boy, we sure do have a long way to go,” but it’s instances like Lacey’s speech that remind us just how far America has to go. This notion makes many people uncomfortable. We should be done talking about race, right? Few want to talk about the issues that threaten the prosperity and advancement of our country. I certainly don’t. But dialogue, as Donna told me that night, is essential to healing, which much of the country—especially Mississippi—hasn’t done.

The willingness to be uncomfortable and talk across racial and social lines shows maturity and sensitivity to each other. We’re all jaded, but that’s not the point. Ignoring a problem so blatantly affecting America’s image will only breed more ignorance. This, in turn, can only lead to more Mike Lacey “uh-ohs” and repressed resentment.

We are active spectators in a changing political and social climate in the U.S. For the first time in history, America could vote a black man into the White House. But what good is this achievement if Americans can’t come together to support his office and each other?

I recently interviewed Lindy Beard, a Jackson woman from Rio de Janeiro, who told me that in Brazil, she didn’t encounter the same problems as in Mississippi. “Who cares what color you are?” she plainly asked me. “Why can’t everybody get along?” America is one of the most diverse countries in the world, yet its citizens don’t understand each other. We create useless roadblocks to progress, all the while touting social advancement.

After video of Lacey’s speech reached the Internet, people watched it and automatically defended his First Amendment right. But it’s not about that. For the most part, we all have the right to say whatever the hell we want to. Lacey wasn’t wrong to speak his mind; he was socially irresponsible and reckless.

We live next door to Muslims, but don’t know what Ramadan is. We work with people of different races, but insult them behind closed doors because it’s “cool.” This generation of Americans has a unique opportunity to advance society—to really change the norm. The only problem that can hold us back is ignorance.

 
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