DETROIT (TDB)-- Of course, it was a publicity stunt. But the NAACP said good riddance to the N-word at a staged funeral during its national convention in the Motor City today. Here's hoping the vile racial slur never returns to haunt the English language, and a stake has been pounded into the its six vowels and consonants.
NAACP Chief Operating Officer Nelson B. Rivers III said the funeral was planned to send a message that neither whites nor blacks should use the N-word.
"The N-word is the most vicious of all racial insults and the most well known example of racist language and self-hatred by African Americans. The NAACP believes the time has come to celebrate the end of its wretched, destructive life. There is international interest in this powerful and symbolic action and we are calling on others to march with us against this word that hurts and diminishes us everyday."
NAACP officials pointed out that C. Delores Tucker, a trustee of the organization, led marches and sued to challenge sexually explicit lyrics in rap music during the 1990s. She said the words were anti-female, or misogynistic, and threatened to undermine the black society moral foundations.
Staging a burial that would put the N-word six feet under in Ohio would be a nice symbolic act. State officials should consider organizing such an event. Gov. Ted Strickland could throw the first shovelful of dirt. The NAACP's presser talks about the organization's battle against the N-word.
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