We, as blacks, have been raised with a strong sense of pride. Whether we used our strengths in the music industry or fighting for civil rights, we have been groomed to express ourselves.
Last Thursday Ken Corley, mayor of Brazoria, Texas, proposed a $500 fine to anyone who said the N-word.
The proposal came because Corley said he felt inspired by the Revs. Al Sharpton’s and Jesse Jackson’s speeches on phasing out the N-word.
In this day and age, many of our elders say they feel the N-word should be prohibited, but why?
The word has been hanging over blacks’ heads for nearly four centuries.
But once a generation finds a way to change the connotation of the word, a mayor comes along and wants to fine people for the usage.
Why weren’t there penalties for the slur once blacks gained their freedom?
Or better yet, why wasn’t there a proposal for fines when Martin Luther King Jr. was called the N-word and stabbed an inch away from his heart?
It is odd that once blacks begin making money off the word and its negative implications have somewhat changed, its usage becomes a problem.
All of this in the name of rewriting the wrongs that were done to blacks. It is beyond that point.
With a word that carries so much history, whether positive or negative you can’t just throw it out of the window.
If it is that serious then we might as well rewrite the other slurs.
As a young generation, we have reached a point where we haven’t accepted the word, but we have accepted life.
It’s not fair, but it’s real.
Dontaye Carter for the Editorial Board.