csua.org/u/c87 -> www.blackamericaweb.com/site.aspx/sayitloud/weathersbee525
com I hope that by now, Robert Richards has been reamed out royally by his mo ther, Jacqueline Nobles. The Boynton Beach, Florida teenager was elected by his classmates for a y earbook superlative entitled Most Whipped. In the photo that appears in the Boynton Beach High 2005 yearbook, Robert wears a leash around his neck. The leash is held by his former girlfrie nd, who is white. Of course, the superlative was meant to portray Robert in the modern sens e of the meaning of whipped, as someone who is obsessed with or domina ted by their partner. But the implication that her son might have, at on e time, been sex-obsessed with this girl wasnt what caused Nobles to hi t the ceiling. Nobles told The Palm Beach Post that the photo reminded her of an adverti sement for the 1977 miniseries Roots, in which the slave, Kunta Kinte, is shackled by his neck. She called the photo offensive, and wants the school to recall the yearbooks. He told the Post that slavery and Kun ta Kinte happened too long ago for him to worry about. Said that none of the black kids who saw it had a problem with it, and that if it were a black girl holding the leash, no one would have said anything. Im glad that Nobles sees the problem here -- even if her son doesnt. Disturbing not only for the shallown ess they reveal about his understanding of the struggles that black peo ple have endured in this country during slavery and segregation, but als o for the lack of respect for the pain of his ancestors who came here bo und by their necks and feet. And unfortunately, attitudes such as his ar e exploited by racists who are finding denial to be their biggest weapon when it comes to refusing to own up to the injustices that dogged us. He is, after all, a 19- year-old brother who is headed to college, so there still may be hope fo r him. So what Ill do here is give him -- and any other black people wh o are okay with photos of blacks being pulled on a leash by whites -- th e lessons they missed. Its true that slavery happened hundreds of years ago -- though that does nt make the notion of being bound or leashed for fun any less offensive . But even after it ended in1864, that still didnt mark an end to black people being tied up, beaten and hung by the neck by way of lynching. T he Rosewood massacre happened right in Florida in 1923 -- where scores o f blacks were lynched after a white woman, Fannie Taylor, lied about bei ng raped by a black man. Florida, in fact, had more lynchings per capita than any other state from 1900 to 1930. Theres even a yearbook twist -- complete with a white girl and all -- in the horrific history of lynchings in Florida. According to the Universi ty of Floridas Documentary Institute film, Freedom Never Dies: The Leg acy of Harry T Moore, a black 15-year-old named Willie James Howard wa s killed by two white men in 1944. Moore, a Florida NAACP leader, had wr itten letters demanding that Howards killers be brought to justice. The men bound Howard by his hands and feet -- a practice known as hogtyin g -- and drowned him in the Suwannee River for sending a Christmas card to the daughter of one of the men. When the girl, Cynthia Goff, graduated from high school that year, her se nior yearbook quote read: Dont take life too seriously. Perhaps thats what Robert was doing when he allowed himself to be bound up for that offensive picture -- trying not to take life too seriously. But he should always take his history and heritage seriously. Im sure t hat if Robert checks around, hell never catch Jewish teenagers doing an ything funny or satirical with swastikas, or posing in front of a huge o ven for a yearbook superlative. And just as Jewish people dont make lig ht of the Holocaust, we shouldnt be making light of being leashed or la shed. Of course, Robert also told the Post that he and his friends arent race conscious. But what he needs to understand is that he doesnt have to dw ell on race to be respectful to the memory of those who suffered atrocit ies because of their race. Too many of those same people died for him to be able to go to an integrated school and to get opportunities that wer e denied to them for him to turn around and pooh-pooh actions that make light of the horrors they had to live with. Now I believe that part of the reason a superlative such as Most Whipped , made it into Roberts high school yearbook has to do with the times i n which were living; times in which everything is funny and nothing is sacred. But as black people, we should never allow the times, nor the no rms, of the larger society to dictate what ought to be sacred to us. So I hope that Robert learns from all of the hoopla surrounding his yearb ook pose. Judging from his mothers outrage, I have a feeling that she w ill see to it that he does.
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Commentary: Lack of Respect for Our Past Arms Racists With Their Best Weapon -- Denial I hope -- and assume -- that by now, 19-year-old Robert Richards has been reamed out royally by his outraged mother, Jacqueline Nobles.
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