Last week Hip Hop commentator Chuck “Jigsaw” Creekmur of AllHipHop.com was calling for Hip Hop to apologise to Black women for it’s misogyny and sexism. This week an American sports commentator was openly dissing Black women “nappy head ho” – how bad can it get? Where did this white man get to speak this language – well he got some of it from this same Black Hip Hop and street language. So before we rush and condemn the white man and hey on that side I have learned to have little expectations but lets speak the truth – and the truth is that this is Black man talk. Not just in US but also in Britain and here in Africa as local youth get off on using this same kind of misogynist language.
Writing in Black Commentator, Jasmyne Cannick, writes
And while I am joining the chorus of Blacks calling for the immediate firing of Imus from MSNBC, I am also turning a critical eye on us. On any given day of week, million of Blacks condone the use of the word ho being used to refer to the Black woman. Rappers commonly refer to the women in their songs and videos as hos and bitches. In fact, it’s celebrated in rap music.
The reality is that what Imus said was despicable, and downright deplorable and yes he should be fired for it…..But the door was opened a long time ago for the degrading of Black women, and it was opened by us…..When Black men began to make a living, and a good one at that, from calling us hos, bitches and other derogatory terms, sooner or later it was going to become OK for others to do it.
And I am not blaming us for Imus’ racism and stupidity, but I am pointing out the fact that many Blacks, including Black women, support rap artists who degrade them and in fact refer to themselves as “hos” and “bitches”, much in the way that a large number of Blacks refer to themselves as “nigga”.
Recently there has been much discussion in the African blogosphere around slavery, abolition, apologies and reparations. I raise this here because the abuse and put down of black women is borne out of the the same mentality (albeit a baser version), that feels it can belittle slavery, trivialise the notion of apology and reparations and promote the idea of the ascendency of some black people over our brothers and sisters in the Diaspora. We belittle ourselves – - call ourselves nigga, laugh and joke about slavery and diss black women. Jasmyne asks what is worse being called a ho by a white man or a black man – if we are honest we all know what the answer is. As long as we continue with the “us and them” mentality of superiority and arrogance between each other then we are always going to be walking uphill against ourselves how much more against racism.
