Dwayne "Dog" Chapman Racially Charged Profanity-Laced Tirade

So, here we are again, in a fanning the flames of a climate of racial intolerance in the wake of the Jena Six case and the rash of noose sightings across the United States. Dwayne "Dog" Chapman gave his son an earful on the telephone in a racially-charged tirade using the "N" word. I certainly do not know this man, but I have always heard that "as a man thinketh, so is he." The truth always finds a way to rear its ugly head at the least opportune moment. This leads to a bigger issue. There are many African Americans who use this word loosely as a part of their everyday vocabulary. It saddens me to know that we have certainly not realized how many people fought and died during slavery in the United States and during the Civil Rights Movement. We must always be mindful of the struggles of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Medgar Evers, Malcolm X, Rosa Parks and many others who should tremendous courage, grace and determination in combating racism in America. Racism has left a terrible bloodstain on American history and we, specifically African Americans should stop adding to this by using this derogatory word.

I have read so many books about African American history and the theme throughout was that blacks were held back and maligned for much of their history. The use of the N-word back then did not have positive connotations. It was used to belittle us and to tell us that we were worthless and go for nothing but to serve the "white man," then why is this word an part of the vocabulary of many African Americans and why is rapper Nas, who has claimed that he is a "conscious" brother is using a variation of this word for the title of his new album. Did we suddenly become who our slave masters told us we were? Do we have such little self-esteem that we truly believe that this is our true name? This is simply unacceptable and we must first stop the habit of using this word before we can attack others for using it.

It has been rumored that A&E has suspended production of Chapman's popular series, which is the network's highest rated show. If they have, kudos to them for taking a positive stand against racism. In a statement the 54-year old Chapman has said that he has the "utmost respect and aloha for black people who have suffered so much due to racial discrimination and acts of hatred." He added that he was ashamed of himself and has pledged to do whatever he can to repair this damage that he has caused. He said that the clip was completely taken out of context. How do you take a profanity-laced tirade with repeated uses of the N-word out of context? The fact still remains that he uttered those words and that was unfortunate but completely disrespectful and rude. He, of all people, who was given a second chance to make a real difference to society, is on the verge of going down in history for racial intolerance.

This is symptomatic of the issue that racism is alive and well in the United States. Chapman is not the only prominent American who is seemingly racist. Ann Coulter has made very crude comments about several ethnic groups such as Arabs, who she has said that it is okay to call the whole race camel jockeys. She justified her bigotry by stating that they killed 3,000 Americans. Her books have consistently been bestsellers on the New York Times bestsellers list. I have yet to see one group boycott her publisher or any media that invites her for her opinion. The list goes on and on. Racism affects Jews, Mexicans, Asians, and Native Americans, just about any race, ethnicities or sexual orientation. We must join together to stomp this out. Out of many, we should come together as one people and take a stand against racial intolerance. To recap history, blacks saw a hardening of institutionalized racism and legal discrimination against them in the early years after the abolishment of slavery. Although technically able to vote, acts of terror, often perpetuated by the Ku Klux Klan, poll taxes and discriminatory laws such as grandfather clauses kept us disenfranchised, particularly in the South, but became widespread following the Hayes election at the end of the Reconstruction era in 1877. Groups such as the NAACP, National Association for the Advancement of Colored People emerged during this time to respond to the growing racial unrest. This period in American history was considered the nadir of American race relations because racism was worse during this time than any other time in American history. The result was segregation and overt racial discrimination such as lynching and race riots. There were times in the early years in which slaves were separated from their families and sold like cattle. There were times when men could only watch as their slave masters raped their wives and their daughters. There were times when they were beaten because they did not walk right or look right or even smell right. So, Nas and all the others who choose to use the N-word, open a history book and read what has happened to blacks in American history and you will see how much you have insulted the people who struggled to end racial inequality in the United States.

Nas is not the only person who is guilty of fostering racial intolerance in this country. We must boycott the company that backs his album-Def Jam, Universal Music Group and its parent company Vivendi. They are the ones who will ultimately profit from this racial slur that was used to dehumanize people of color for centuries. It is full time for Nas and other hip-hop artists to take their roles more seriously. Our children listen to their music and they are not the role models they claim to be. Nas has said this particular title was supposed to grace his last album, "Hip Hop Is Dead," but "the climate wasn't right, and 'Hip Hop Is Dead' is also what I was feeling," he explains. "That went first, and now I've got to get this one off my chest." He said that the title of his album N**** is like talking to your child about sex. It can hardly be compared. Poet Saul Williams has announced that his upcoming album title, "The Inevitable Rise and Liberation of N****Tardust," produced by Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails and mixed by Alan Moulder.

Chapman is not the only one to be blamed for racial intolerance. Many African Americans are guilty of using the word as a badge of honor and the word is not seen for what it truly means and has meant throughout history. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. did not fight the struggle for us to be reduced to this. We cannot protest when a white man uses the word and say very little when a black person does. It is just as egregious and hurtful. Dwayne "Dog" Chapman, you have sunk to a new low and we trust that you will learn a valuable lesson from calling someone the N-word, no matter how much you think their character is flawed. Let us boycott A&E, but let us also boycott Def Jam, L.A. Reid, Universal Music Group, Vivendi, BET and all other institutions that promote racial intolerance at the expense of financial gain.