"http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2007-04-30-n-word-funeral_N.htm?csp=15

DETROIT (AP) — The NAACP held a symbolic funeral in Detroit 63 years ago for Jim Crow.

The civil rights organization will do the same this summer for the "N" word, the Rev. Wendell Anthony said Sunday.

Anthony, president of the civil rights organization's Detroit branch, said members and supporters of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People will conduct services and a "eulogy" for the racial slur. The mock funeral will be held during the NAACP national convention July 7-12 in Detroit, he said.

"We are committed to ending hate — word and talk," Anthony said. "It doesn't do anyone any good, whether it's a journalist on TV or a rapper on the radio."

The announcement comes after a renewed discussion nationally about racial insensitivity, brought on by Don Imus' derogatory comments about black members of the Rutgers University women's basketball team.
FIND MORE STORIES IN: Detroit | Anthony | NAACP | Don Imus | Jim Crow

Imus didn't use the "N" word in those comments, but was fired in early April by CBS Radio and NBC after major companies including General Motors pulled their advertising spots.

"Now that corporate America has caught up, maybe something will happen," Anthony said. "We have to stop investing in stuff that is killing us."


Jim Crow was the systematic, mostly Southern practice of discrimination against and segregation of blacks from the end of post-Civil War reconstruction into the mid-20th century."


I'm guessing this works, some religions make dolls out of victims and pretend that will damage them!

4/30/2007 2:28:15 PM

I'm not saying that it's okay to run up to a black guy and just start screaming the "n-word" to his face, but I fail to see what banning the word is going to do. It's not going to make white people (who don't like black people) magically start liking black people. And let's not forget that there are other slurs that white people can use, such as "coon." Are we going to ban the "c-word" at some point, too?

4/30/2007 2:35:18 PM

does this mean that black people are going to stop using the word as well?

4/30/2007 2:36:30 PM

I think we need to eradicate hypersensitivity. Racism has already been largely eliminated from mainstream society. I stress the word "mainstream".

It's time to move on and stop living in the past. Organizations like the NAACP have outlived their usefulness and are counterproductive at this point.

[Edited on April 30, 2007 at 2:52 PM. Reason : 2]

4/30/2007 2:51:19 PM

Didn't they do a Southpark episode just like this a few weeks ago?

4/30/2007 2:52:16 PM

Let's have a funeral for the Iraq war so it'll go away too.

4/30/2007 4:16:38 PM

next friday im having a baby shower for gumdrops and lollipops and all things nice

4/30/2007 4:26:50 PM

i love it. first people attack the black community for rap music and what looks like a double standard. so the NAACP tries to start addressing and fixing the situation and yall act like they are idiots.

4/30/2007 5:08:59 PM

I'm sure this is gonna fix the situation

[Edited on April 30, 2007 at 5:13 PM. Reason : 2]

4/30/2007 5:12:48 PM

fuck a jim crow law

4/30/2007 5:13:57 PM

funeral?

so does this mean black "artists" will no longer use that word?

4/30/2007 5:15:00 PM

they're burying "nappy" ?

why?

4/30/2007 8:10:52 PM

Quote :

"i love it. first people attack the black community for rap music and what looks like a double standard. so the NAACP tries to start addressing and fixing the situation and yall act like they are idiots. "

4/30/2007 9:04:04 PM

Is it being held at Jimmie Dimmick's house?

5/1/2007 12:35:24 AM

Quote :

"does this mean that black people are going to stop using the word as well?"

5/1/2007 12:37:22 AM

why don't they fix their own name and replace "colored people" with "african americans"? naaaa.

but really, why have a funeral for something that isn't close to being dead?

5/1/2007 12:37:33 AM

^ n-quadruple-a doesn't roll off the tongue as good as n-double-a-c-p.

5/1/2007 12:47:42 AM

I can't wait to hear the eulogy.

"Nappy" was a very important word to all of us...

5/1/2007 1:30:56 PM

Quote :

"so the NAACP tries to start addressing and fixing the situation and yall act like they are idiots."

If you really consider this "addressing" the situation then there's no helping you.

And does anyone else think its funny that they refer to themselves as Colored People?

5/1/2007 1:39:54 PM

I hear they will next try unicorn tears, to see if that cures it.

They should also "deal" with teen pregnancy, rape, and murder by having a funeral for those too, no doubt it will be effective.

5/1/2007 1:45:32 PM

^ what about n-double-a-double-a? kinda works...

Quote :

"It doesn't do anyone any good, whether it's a journalist on TV or a rapper on the radio"

I think that's the first intelligent thing I've heard said by the NAACP in a looooooooooooong time.

btw, I, for one, am glad that we will no longer be saying "nigger guy." that's just so wrong.

5/1/2007 1:45:51 PM

so is it okay to call people of african descent "colored"?

5/2/2007 12:06:38 AM

by all means, cracker.

5/2/2007 1:18:24 AM

Oh well, at least I will no longer have to feel hurt and belittled by being called a "nagger."

5/2/2007 7:12:39 AM

it didnt work the first time right? jim crow laws are still in place and ....oh fuck.

of course this wont solve the issue. its a fucking public step taken by a group that still holds a lot of sway in the AA community. Im glad so many of you continue to prove that you dont actually care about any of these issues, you just want to hate on black people.

5/2/2007 10:36:37 AM

good god, this is moronic.

5/3/2007 1:07:30 PM

Quote :

"Im glad so many of you continue to prove that you dont actually care about any of these issues, you just want to hate on black people."

Nobody is reserving the right to continue to "hate on black people." What we are doing is pointing how silly and impractical it is to ban/boycott a word. "Getting rid of" the n-word isn't going to magically make people stop being racist against blacks, and it's certainly not going to stop all people from using the n-word, whether it be a KKK member or a rapper. This whole thing is stupid because it's not going to do anything useful or productive. That's what people in this thread are arguing, not your strawman about people not caring about blacks.

5/3/2007 1:27:39 PM

Quote :

""Getting rid of" the n-word isn't going to magically make people stop being racist against blacks,"

Way to completely miss the point. It's not meant to end racism, it's meant to end embarrassment. They mean to stop the hypocrisy of getting mad when non-blacks say nigger but not when blacks say nigger.

Quote :

"and it's certainly not going to stop all people from using the n-word, whether it be a KKK member or a rapper."

Speaking of straw men -- It's completely unreasonable to think that it will stop all people from saying nigger, especially avowed racists. (Must be hard work for you to defeat such a feeble argument. ) However, it is reasonable to believe that it will get most other blacks to stop saying it, especially when it gets recognized for the embarrassment that it is.

Quote :

"This whole thing is stupid because it's not going to do anything useful or productive. That's what people in this thread are arguing, not your strawman about people not caring about blacks."

People often criticize blacks for a culture that glorifies mediocrity or "nigger" behavior (Bill Cosby got a lot of praises from whites when he did this, I seem to recall). A logical first step in getting rid of "nigger" behavior is to convince blacks to respect each other enough not to call each other "niggers." It is a symbolic gesture, but symbolic gestures still have power. After all, that's one effective tool that blacks used to win their civil rights.

[Edited on May 4, 2007 at 2:52 AM. Reason : df]

5/4/2007 2:51:14 AM

Racism towards blacks will begin to go away when you can say nigger and no one is offended by it. It's deep, I know, but if you think about it, it makes sense.

5/4/2007 4:38:25 AM

Quote :

""We are committed to ending hate — word and talk," Anthony said. "It doesn't do anyone any good, whether it's a journalist on TV or a rapper on the radio." "

then fucking go after the entertainment industry (not just rappers, though primarily) and stop worrying about these stupid fucking show-boat events like a "funeral for the nigger word"

5/4/2007 7:01:46 AM

nigga is still ok, right?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_jEBh1VtdT0

5/4/2007 7:38:59 PM

yeah.

but no more nappiness.

5/6/2007 12:32:54 AM