The Michael Richards rant a couple of weeks ago shocked the nation and provided one of the most heinous and high-profile displays of racism in the recent history of American culture. The impact, like the gravity of the words uttered by the man we all know as Kramer from "Seinfeld," was enormous, with many prominent figures in the African-American community promising change in racial discourse.
Comedian Paul Mooney has decided to stop saying the "n-word" in future acts and Jesse Jackson has launched a campaign to expunge the word from our collective conscience. Whether these efforts just represent sudden and unthoughtful reactions to a misguided statement or something meaningful in America's understanding of race is something that can be debated, but undoubtedly they epitomize the strong emotional appeal that the "n-word" retains in our culture. In the University context, the main problem is that students do not receive the proper education on the subject. Despite its special stature, it is not immune from use.
One of the more troubling places where its expression is common enough for this columnist to write about it in a newspaper is right here at our University. I hear the word at least once a week, and sometimes much more frequently. Often is it spoken in the context of a joke, or as a direct quotation of lyrics, but every once in a while it rears its ugly head in flagrant displays of frustration, a bit more tame than that of Richards, but not all that dissimilar. What should the University do about this problem, and more realistically, what can it do?
It would help to analyze why the word is precisely so inflammatory because people often do not have a good grasp of this issue. Imagine if I called a white person "cracker," or a Chinese person "chink," or a Vietnamese person "gook." What would normally be the repercussions? I have actually said the first two to friends (as a joke), and normally nothing happens. Some people will ask why at this point, thinking that those words should receive the same treatment as the "n-word." Well, as you can infer from my refusal to explicitly write the "n-word," they do not and should not. Like the "n-word," those other terms represent a derisive designation for a racial or ethnic group, but unlike the "n-word," they do not have the necessary history to make them formidable expressions of fear, dread and insult. The "n-word" has become inextricably linked to the exploitation suffered by African-Americans in the past; it connotes a history of inferiority more than a label for a certain group.
In addressing the problem of education, Student Council Diversity Initiatives Chairman Ryan McElveen explained in an interview that, "Most of the time students don't know they are making insensitive comments because they've never had any sort of formal education regarding race." This problem stems from an early age and runs through high school, when most people self-segregate and do not consider inter-racial issues until they come to college. Even at the University, however, there is no notable attempt to bridge some of the gaps that inspired this column. What to do about all of this is the big question.
Student-run organizations do hold conferences and lectures highlighting these issues, but that is not enough. Often only interested individuals attend, those with standardized and similar viewpoints -- not the people who really need to be addressed. Something more proactive needs to be done, like rallies or targeting certain University zones and areas, perhaps by handing out fliers or engaging in conversations, where racial sensitivity is lacking. Also, as McElveen explained, "Multiracial coalition building is a start. To do so by playing up issues that confront all communities of color at the University will achieve the most impact." Fundamentally, this is something the students will have to resolve on their own.
Whatever the solution, the status quo regarding the use of the word is unacceptable. The University community should stand together and draw more attention to this problem; there should be few higher callings in life than ending injustice, and this is an injustice. While communication and transmission of ideas are central to improving the situation, however, time will ultimately be one of the most important deciding factors in erasing the word from memory.
Erald Kolasi's column usually appears Fridays in the Cavalier Daily. He can be reached at ekolasi@cavalierdaily.com.
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