NAACP Image Awards - Los Angeles, CA
June 20, 2007
On Monday, July 9, 2007, during its 98th Annual National Convention in Detroit, Michigan, the NAACP will conduct a mock funeral to bury the N-Word. Delegates and supporters of America’s largest, most respected, oldest, and most effective civil rights organization will convene at Cobo Hall for a march led by the casket containing the N-Word to Hart Plaza where there will be a funeral service for the most vicious of all racist insults – the N-Word!
Just as in 1944, when Jim Crow was put to rest in the city of Detroit, we’ve come back 63 years later again in Detroit at this time to bury and put to rest once and for all the N-Word. This will be the major kickoff event of our convention.
The mock funeral is a part of the NAACP “STOP” Campaign an initiative of the NAACP Youth & College Division that seeks to “STOP” the demeaning images of African Americans in the media, particularly with respect to the portrayal of African American women. These images are also reflected in songs and music videos that show half-dressed women being objectified by men. The NAACP, through its STOP Campaign calls on those outside and especially those within the Black community to Stop Defaming our Women, Degrading our Community, and Denigrating our History. No word defames, degrades and denigrates like the N-Word and we want to STOP it!
We are inviting artists from the Hip Hop and Rap communities, recording and movie industry executives, and African American community thought leaders to join us in Detroit when we symbolically bury this vile insult to our past, present and future. There is international interest in this powerful and symbolic action and we are calling on others of goodwill to march with us against this word that hurts and diminishes us everyday.
The march begins at 10:00 a.m. in front of Cobo Hall and the funeral program follows at 11:00 a.m. at Hart Plaza. The funeral service will be over at 12:30 p.m. There will be no tears, except tears of joy, as we gather to say goodbye and good riddance to this unwanted and unwelcome interloper in our community. The N-Word is the most well known example of racist language by others and self hatred by African Americans. The NAACP believes the time has come to celebrate the end of its wretched, destructive life, today!
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