|
I wonder what Ray Wood, president of the NAACP, and the
leadership of the Toledo Community Coalition (TCC) felt when
they read The Blade’s “apology” to the black community for
inviting controversial rocker Ted Nugent to head the
Northwest Ohio 2014 Rib Off at Lucas County Fairgrounds in
August.
I know that I am reading between the lines, but after weeks
of negotiations between The Blade and the NAACP and TCC, the
apology was just plain sorry – not as in useless,
ineffective or inadequate. Rather, the message to Toledo’s
black community and leadership was akin to that of a pimp
slap and a “Hoe, Sit Down and Shut Up!” That is the trifling
kind of sorry treatment that is dismissive, condescending
and insulting.
After reading the “Sorry for the Ted Nugent Invitation”
comments in
The Blade’s July 27, 2014 Letters To The Editor, that is
exactly what I heard and felt – all of the racism, misogyny,
paternalism, patriarchy, supremacy, heteronormism, privilege
and arrogance surrounding Ted Nugent and the decision to
bring his act to northwest Ohio.
Other than a short regret given perhaps out of political
correctness, only seven of the letter’s 198 words
acknowledged remorse or wrong. The remaining 191 words
amounted to an exculpatory defense of The Blade’s decision
to support and/or not disinvite Nugent - “It doesn’t rise to
the level of disinviting, Nugent’s been here before, they
called President Abe Lincoln names also, Obama ought to get
used to being called names and, oh by the way, I’m sorry.”
What level of insult will it take for the community to
finally say, “Enough is Enough!” or “I’m sick and tired of
being sick and tired!”?
Let’s applaud the TCC for putting race on the front burner
of Toledo’s agenda. Yet obtaining racial outcomes beyond
this sorry non-apology remains a daunting task.
The fight, evidenced by the local Nugent controversy, is
against a racism that is protected and perpetuated by
structural or institutional resources, which possess the
power to mediate public discourse and shape opinion through
media, movies, cultural representations and advertising.
These institutions are, for the most part, run by those who
have been racially insulated by privilege and status from
the everyday authentic experiences of racism felt by “people
of color.”
Perhaps The Blade just does not comprehend the concept of
racism, a complex phenomenon which most whites have a
limited understanding - not only because it benefits them
not to do so, but also because they have not studied or been
taught/trained to think complexly about the issue and
because it is absent in mainstream discourse. The Blade, in
their apology, despite having a truly informed perspective
on race, trivialized the intelligence and expertise of black
leadership and did not have the humility to acknowledge the
black community’s experiences.
These are issues that the TCC is trying to address through
its Changing Minds campaign.
However, the greatest challenge to a meaningful response to
The Blade’s disrespect may lie in the black community
leaders’ knowledge of how racism itself, often responds to
the threat of any change in the relationship between power
and its subordinated groups.
Both history and experience have taught us that resistance
to power is often the catalyst for a counter-offensive that
includes retaliation, penalization, ostracism and isolation
in order to punish those who break the unwritten codes of
racial power relationships.
Does black leadership have the courage to move from merely
talking about racism to actually “Take it to the Streets” or
at least the Lucas County Rec Center?
That remains to be seen.
It’s not so much about militant methods as it is about
obtaining meaningful results. So far, the results
have been nothing more than a sorry non-apology.
Contact Rev. Donald Perryman, D.Min, at
drdlperryman@centerofhopebaptist.org |
