On Monday, July 9, 2007 the NAACP held a mock funeral in Detroit to “bury” the infamous “N word” –- nigger.
I have just two words in response: Nigga, PLEASE!!
First of all, did you see who attended that “funeral”?
Yup, mostly people of Afrikan descent.
Now, considering that this word was created by, came into popular use by, was “normalized” by generations of white people in this country, and was given its unique power as a racial epithet and tool by white people, this “funeral” would have been more meaningful had it been conducted and solemnized by white people for white people.
After all, during its generations of use by white people –- and make no mistake, this term was one of the ones that Afrikan descendants heard as they were being lynched, raped, and subjected to all kinds of “domestic terrorism” for which we have yet to receive justice or reparations –- every time the term was used, it served to lift them up and tear us down.
And even today, whether that term is used by white citizens or those of Afrikan descent, it serves to do the same.
And –- because we are here to deconstruct everyday manifestations of racism-white supremacy in popular culture -– how “convenient” that just as white people had to go under white hoods to comfortably use the term, the entertainment industry –- long dominated by white men with decision making authority –- chose to promote, uplift, and foist upon the public that one aspect of popular amerikkkan culture which was publicly forbidden them: a gluttony of usage of that word (in songs, rap and hip hop lyrics, movies, etc.).
With most hip-hop and rap music being consumed by young white men, yet another generation is inculcated in the popular amerikkkan sport of “nigger name calling.” Only this time, they can do it without prohibition, in the form of popular music coming out of the unconscious Black mouthpieces of white suits consciously making musical choices in line with the racial history –- including minstrel entertainment history –- of this country.
People like Quentin Tarantino have long been thought of as “cool” and “edgy” as they make careers of generously sprinkling the word “nigger” throughout their movies like butter over popcorn, and the movie-going audience -- both the Black brainwashed and the white beneficiaries of amerikkka’s racial oppression –- gorge on it like starving men and women at a free all-you-can-eat buffet. . .taking their assigned roles on the 21st Century neo-plantation. Smiling “niggas” and their “racially benign friends”, ready for three. . .two. . .one. . .ACTION!!
And so here we are.
With those of Afrikan descent “burying” a derogatory term that they appropriated from white amerikkka, claiming 100% responsibility for its use as if they had invented, popularized, and given the word its power.
And “colorblind” white amerikkka letting them, disassociating itself from that word and action as if it bears no responsibility at all for it, willing to let Black America do the work and carry their burdens for them. . .just like on the plantation.
A more authentic “burying” of the term would have happened had it been white amerikkka admitting to, expressing contrition, and asking repentance for the creation and multi-generational use of the term as its preferred “weapon of mass destruction” that it so long ago unleashed on both Afrikan and Afrikan descendants.
Of course, that did not happen on July 9th. Nor will it.
But when and if it does, I’ll make sure to be at the “funeral” in the front pew.
Until then however -– and trust me on this! -- we’ll see that this “buried” term is just like a vampire: it will keep coming back no matter how many times Black America symbolically kills and “buries” it.
As long as institutional white amerikkka supports its use in popular media; as long as white beneficiaries of the term continue their passionate love affair with it; and as long as unconscious, brainwashed, cynical, and materialistic Afrikan descendants are willing to act as Black minstrels in the white supremacist traveling show, this term will continue to remain in general use, with its popularity unabated.
Final thought: no matter what the skin color of the mouth releasing that poison, this truth remains the same -- when the term is used, white amerikkka is uplifted, according to generations of tradition and power accorded the term, and Afrikan descendants are diminished and belittled by it.
White amerikkka invented and continues to benefit from this term. Let them take responsibility for it, drive a stake in its vampire heart, and bury it.
And to those of Afrikan descent still using the term:
“‘Nigger’ is a racial curse known around the world
and although we say its good, its not
no matter what you’ve heard
On the one hand we say that we
belong to Kings and Queens
Then we call each other ‘nigger’ like
we can change what ‘nigger’ means
See, I can call you ‘nigger’ or I can call you King
I can call you ‘nigger’ or I can call you Queen
‘Nigger’ is not a word that elevates
so we must collectively eliminate that word
that word, that ugly, ugly word.”
From “That Word” by Adar Ayira © 12.06
Moving Forward,
Adar
Saturday, July 14, 2007
Tuesday, June 19, 2007
The Mugging of Juneteenth: An "Extreme Makeover"
June 19, 1865: Juneteenth “Old School.”
On this same day in 1865, Union soldiers marched into Galveston TX and informed Diasporic Africans (in this context, specifically American Africans) that two and a half years earlier, the Emancipation Proclamation had “freed” those enslaved in other parts of the South.
Of course, there was general rejoicing, all observed under the watchful eyes of both the Union Army and Confederate Southerners.
And the day that became known as “Juneteenth” -- sometimes in vogue and sometimes not -- continued to be carefully acknowledged as both a Day of Celebration and a Day of Mourning by many Diasporic Africans who connected to the day as a true cultural “Fourth of July”, while still continuing, in many cases, to give faux “celebration” to a holiday that -- for Diasporic Africans -– has been more aptly termed the hypocritical “Fourth of You-Lie.”
Since 1865, Juneteenth 19th has been a day in which Diasporic Africans can embrace the history and struggles of Our People in this country. Traditionally ignored by other racial and ethnic groups, Juneteenth has been one of the few days kept sacred by and for those whose Ancestors were birthed through the watery canal of the Middle Passages and raised through enslavement, sharecropping, Black Codes, Jim Crow. Who continue to exist within the current societal structure of “Color Blind Racism/White Supremacy” (i.e. “I’ll pretend not to see your color if you pretend that there is no racism/white supremacy in play.”)
All under the watchful societal eye of “mainstream” amerikkka, who, up to this point, has been content to sit on the sidelines of the day, as long as not too many Negroes gathered together in one place and as long as their “celebrations” were “transparent.”
You know. . .like in the “good ol’ days.”
June 19, 2007: Juneteenth “Extreme Makeover Edition”!
Content to sit on the sidelines no more in a day in which they have absolutely no legitimate presence, “mainstream” amerikkka has now claimed Juneteenth as a day of its own, albeit one in need of an “extreme makeover”.
And “makeover” it is receiving.
“Mainstream” amerikkka is treating Juneteenth like a pair of size 10 feet being stuffed into a pair of size 8 shoes, uncomfortably forcing its morphing into a “multicultural” celebration which obliterates its very meaning.
Content to sit on the sidelines no more in a day in which they have absolutely no legitimate presence, white amerikkka has muscled its way in, proclaimed the heartbeat focus of Juneteenth “divisive” and demanded that its message be made “accessible” to all -- including and especially those who benefit from the very same racial privileges that their racially privileged ancestral fathers and mothers fought so hard to protect.
Now ponder this:
Why is it that it is alright for St. Patrick’s Day to be a celebration of Irish heritage without an extreme makeover of message –- without Diasporic Africans or other racial or ethnic groups morphing the message of the day to promote “inclusion”?
Why can Greek Festivals be celebrated without an extreme makeover of message to accommodate those who do not share that heritage?
Why is this country not threatened by the celebration and “divisive” message of Cinco de Mayo? The celebration of and “exclusionary” and “divisive” message of the Chinese New Year?
Why is it that EVERY TIME Diasporic Africans have mass gatherings to celebrate something –- ANYTHING! –- important to our specific community, heritage, and journey, “mainstream” amerikkka is not content to sit on the sidelines but has to attempt to stuff its size 10 feet into our size 6 shoes?
Observe Juneteenth “celebrations” today. Watch and see if and how the heartbeat focus of the day -– and the message –- has been all but superficially stripped down to make it more “acceptable” and “accessible” to all other ethnic and racial groups.
Juneteenth has been mugged; mugged and morphed, its soul left for dead inside its pretty, superficial “extreme makeover”, prime time ready for its white amerikkka debut.
And now we’re the community sitting on the sidelines, afraid to “snitch” and tell, as the new, “color-blind” socially acceptable Juneteenth parade rolls on right in front of our very eyes.
Juneteenth, 1865. Juneteenth, 2007.
Behold the difference.
Moving Forward (or maybe not. . .),
Adar
On this same day in 1865, Union soldiers marched into Galveston TX and informed Diasporic Africans (in this context, specifically American Africans) that two and a half years earlier, the Emancipation Proclamation had “freed” those enslaved in other parts of the South.
Of course, there was general rejoicing, all observed under the watchful eyes of both the Union Army and Confederate Southerners.
And the day that became known as “Juneteenth” -- sometimes in vogue and sometimes not -- continued to be carefully acknowledged as both a Day of Celebration and a Day of Mourning by many Diasporic Africans who connected to the day as a true cultural “Fourth of July”, while still continuing, in many cases, to give faux “celebration” to a holiday that -- for Diasporic Africans -– has been more aptly termed the hypocritical “Fourth of You-Lie.”
Since 1865, Juneteenth 19th has been a day in which Diasporic Africans can embrace the history and struggles of Our People in this country. Traditionally ignored by other racial and ethnic groups, Juneteenth has been one of the few days kept sacred by and for those whose Ancestors were birthed through the watery canal of the Middle Passages and raised through enslavement, sharecropping, Black Codes, Jim Crow. Who continue to exist within the current societal structure of “Color Blind Racism/White Supremacy” (i.e. “I’ll pretend not to see your color if you pretend that there is no racism/white supremacy in play.”)
All under the watchful societal eye of “mainstream” amerikkka, who, up to this point, has been content to sit on the sidelines of the day, as long as not too many Negroes gathered together in one place and as long as their “celebrations” were “transparent.”
You know. . .like in the “good ol’ days.”
June 19, 2007: Juneteenth “Extreme Makeover Edition”!
Content to sit on the sidelines no more in a day in which they have absolutely no legitimate presence, “mainstream” amerikkka has now claimed Juneteenth as a day of its own, albeit one in need of an “extreme makeover”.
And “makeover” it is receiving.
“Mainstream” amerikkka is treating Juneteenth like a pair of size 10 feet being stuffed into a pair of size 8 shoes, uncomfortably forcing its morphing into a “multicultural” celebration which obliterates its very meaning.
Content to sit on the sidelines no more in a day in which they have absolutely no legitimate presence, white amerikkka has muscled its way in, proclaimed the heartbeat focus of Juneteenth “divisive” and demanded that its message be made “accessible” to all -- including and especially those who benefit from the very same racial privileges that their racially privileged ancestral fathers and mothers fought so hard to protect.
Now ponder this:
Why is it that it is alright for St. Patrick’s Day to be a celebration of Irish heritage without an extreme makeover of message –- without Diasporic Africans or other racial or ethnic groups morphing the message of the day to promote “inclusion”?
Why can Greek Festivals be celebrated without an extreme makeover of message to accommodate those who do not share that heritage?
Why is this country not threatened by the celebration and “divisive” message of Cinco de Mayo? The celebration of and “exclusionary” and “divisive” message of the Chinese New Year?
Why is it that EVERY TIME Diasporic Africans have mass gatherings to celebrate something –- ANYTHING! –- important to our specific community, heritage, and journey, “mainstream” amerikkka is not content to sit on the sidelines but has to attempt to stuff its size 10 feet into our size 6 shoes?
Observe Juneteenth “celebrations” today. Watch and see if and how the heartbeat focus of the day -– and the message –- has been all but superficially stripped down to make it more “acceptable” and “accessible” to all other ethnic and racial groups.
Juneteenth has been mugged; mugged and morphed, its soul left for dead inside its pretty, superficial “extreme makeover”, prime time ready for its white amerikkka debut.
And now we’re the community sitting on the sidelines, afraid to “snitch” and tell, as the new, “color-blind” socially acceptable Juneteenth parade rolls on right in front of our very eyes.
Juneteenth, 1865. Juneteenth, 2007.
Behold the difference.
Moving Forward (or maybe not. . .),
Adar
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