My opinion about the n-word is known here.

I have decided not to comment on the specifics of the Richards situation. Nor do I choose to comment about any larger meaning it may have.

However, I would like to share a possible explanation for why some members of the Letterman show audience may have laughed when Richards used the group referent "Afro American" during his taped interview on that show.

"Afro-American" is a formal group referent for Black Americans which was retired by us about 30 years ago. "Afro American" was replaced with the referent "African American".

It's possible that some Black and/or non-Black members of the Letterman audience thought that Richards was trying too hard to be polite and careful in what he called us since he had gotten in trouble because of his use of the n word.

Be that as any of this may or may not be, I don't think that anything about the Richard rant or the taped apology is a laughing matter.

I think that this occurance and other recent public occurances-such as the taped incident with the then Virginia Senator Allen- shows how deep seated and pervasive racism is in the United States.   

And I think it shows us how much work we have to do to reach a time when a person's race is merely a descriptor that never has any negative or any positive valuation.


Azizi