IMUS Sides 2:

"I think I get it, but how can I?"

You are a compassionate person. You believe that the injustices of racism continue to this day. Where there is a call to action, you give money; you march.

You understand that, for many people of color, as in any gymnastics or skating events, many achievements merit an even higher total score, because of the degree of difficulty created by our society. It’s not just how much you achieve—it’s what you had to go through to achieve it.

So, when Don Imus says those three words, being a person of compassion, you feel qualified to gauge their impact, to think of what a measured and proportional response to those words might be.

But, like me, you are wrong. “Nappy-headed” is a loaded term, a term that reaches back before rap, before “gangsta,” to the days of humans owning other humans, and appraising their value on the auction block, the way you’d judge livestock.

So, in trying to understand, there’s always this cultural/historical chasm that’s impossible to traverse.

It’s amazing that, with such an economy of words, Imus has put so many of us in a position where we feel unqualified to grasp or measure the impact on our brothers and sisters of color.