Shaun's Sayings: April 2007 Archives

Once again, the issue of race has been re-ignited.

And, once again, women, and certainly black women, are defending their right to "be".

When radio shock jock Don Imus referred to members of the Rutgers Women's Basketball team as "nappy-headed hos", I was disgusted but not surprised.

The first time I was ever called the N-word, it was by a guy in the gym that was angry because I was using a piece of equipment that he wanted to get on. The last time, was 4 years ago.

Both times, (and the 2-3 times in between) I wondered what point they were trying to get across.

The answer was, by virtue of being born with this color, they thought of me as inferior.

As an African-American woman, I have experienced the pains of racism and sexism. They are with me everyday as I make my way through a society that constantly tells women, they are not as worthy as a man, and as a black woman who has been told that her brown skin, her hair, her nose, are not as beautiful and definitely less desirable than her white counterparts.

Don Imus' comments remind me of the time when a news director told me that the audience would never connect with "a black" in a role of authority on a television show.