We Gotta Do Betta; Keepin' It Real
By Abubakarr Bangura
Editor-in-Chief
Black History Month, a month many students perceive as a month of more work, research, and studying. Many of these students are oblivious to its real meaning, significance, and the tribute to the sacrifices of African-Americans.
We all know that black history is mindlessly shoved at us year after year. Most of the time, all of the information is repetitive and recited over and over. But was it all for nothing? We were all taught of the notorious 'N' word, its degrading meaning, and the severity of its use, yet people of our generation throw around the world so loosely, as if it were a magical word necessary to take each breath. Heck, I wouldn't be surprised if it ended up on greeting cards. With phrases such as "wat up my nig--" "dats my ni---" and "ni--- please!" is it too far off to see a card saying "Get well soon ni---"? But I digress.
What was it all for--slavery, the rallies, the fights, protests, suffering, sacrifice, the lives, and freedom--if we are to go around abusing opportunities and throwing away our lives frivolously by skipping classes? By doing this we throw away the opportunity for an education that our predecessors worked so hard to obtain. Daily, students of DuVal, many talented and gifted, skip class and roam the hallways aimlessly; spending most of the time dodging administrators. And to this, I ask why? Because it's cool? Cool to end up a bum on the street, begging for change? Many of us fail to realize our potential and find that we need to open our eyes to the real world. Well this is the wake up call. Straighten your lives and go to class; even if you aren't skipping, by not talking to your peers you become part of the problem. Why throw away everything when you live in a country of prosperity and opportunity, a place described in the words of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. as the sacred "promise land"?
On that note I return to the 'N' word and its use today. People like King fought so hard to eliminate this word from the vocabulary of all because of its hateful meaning and tragic history, and 40 years after his death it has reentered our lexicons and become second nature. Now I may be wrong; are we using the word because we just don't care and don't value the struggle of those before us, or is there a deeper meaning? Do we utter the word so much in order to strip it of its degrading meaning and leave it within graceful terms? Is it an elaborate scheme, using the word in greetings and to describe comrades to in fact change the meaning of the word entirely? Ponder on this for a moment.
Now, not to reiterate what may have been said countless times by parents and teachers alike about children and people around the world not having and killing for opportunities placed in your lap, but it's true. Education is key to success, and chances or succeeding without it are slim to none. I hope you finish reading this not only with a new perspective on life and its outcomes, but with a choice. To the drifters, find a good place to fit in. Life's full of choices. I advise you to make the right one.
By Jennifer Partridge |
February 5, 2008; 4:16 PM ET
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Posted by: Michael Betts | April 29, 2008 12:20 PM
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I'll begin with the frank admission that I was DuVal Class of '64. Yep, I'm a geezer, so what I'm about to post may not be overflowing with wisdom, but it does reflect a lot of experience.
I was raised in Prince George's County in the 1950's, an era of prosperity and growth in the county and a time when we seldom locked our house and would usually leave the keys in the car on the street. Imagine if you will a county with no Baltimore-Washington Parkway, Rt. 50, the Beltway, and Rt. 450 and Good Luck Road little more than country roads. There wasn't even a McDonald's. Remember also that segregation of the races was the order of the day and if you saw an African-American face on your street, he'd better have a trash can in his hands or you'd be dialing the county police. The "N" word was thrown around as casually as any other without a thought as to what it really meant or the history behind it. With segregated neighborhoods, there were few African-Americans in the Class of '64, and one of the few who was had the "N" word thrown at him as he accepted his varsity letter at an assembly. The lout who hurled it was dealt with by the fearsome Merle Duval, a WWII paratrooper and DuVal's head disciplinarian at the time.
I went straight into the Marine Corps after graduation and there was where I had my first close contact with African-Americans, people whom I had been raised to view as inferior. Imagine my surprise when I learned they were no different from I, just young men facing a difficult situation at Parris Island and doing the best they could in a demanding pressure cooker of screamed insults, unremitting mental and physical strain, and the constant requirement to do our best at everything we did. On the day we graduated, standing tall in his dress blues was an African-American Marine, the Outstanding Man of our recruit platoon. I learned much more at Parris Island than just military subjects and how to push myself farther than what I thought my limits were. I learned that African-Americans were in no way inferior to me and in fact could surpass me.
After I went to my first duty station, I worked with African-American Marines and several became my friends. Imagine the horror with which my Old South mother greeted her son when he brought some buddies home for weekend liberty and their faces were black and how pleased I was that even she admitted by the time we left that they were awfully nice guys.
The times were indeed changing as America went through the dreadful turmoil of the late 60's with protests against the war in Vietnam and the emergence of the Black Power movement in the wake of the assassination of Dr. King. After my stint in the Corps, including a tour in Vietnam, I had a few jobs and then decided to become a police officer in the county where I was raised and called home. My academy class had not a single black face and there were very few black officers on the department at the time. The racism which pervaded my youth was prevalent not only in the blue ranks but also with those we policed. The "N" word and "Uncle Tom" were among the more polite epithets spat at African-American officers, who shrugged them off and did their jobs as well as anyone and some better than most. By the time I retired from the department, African-American officers had gained acceptance by their competence and they were no longer a rarity.
I apologize for taking so long to get to my point, which is quite simply that the "N" word should no longer be a part of anyone's vocabulary. Raised at a time when its use was common, my own experience and the friendships I have made have taught me that it should go into the dustbin of history, as for me to use it is to treat people every bit as good as I am with disrespect. Worse than that, for anyone of African-American descent to use it is to treat themselves and those they consider their friends with disrespect.
Forget the word exists. Respect yourself and others and you will likely find that they will respect you in turn.