One person’s comment is NOT a reflection of an entire nation or that person’s race. It’s truly racist to base a view of the whole on the statement of the one.

I wonder how black people would react if someone made Gilbert Arenas’ behavior typical for blacks. Everyone here would cry foul. If you can’t take it, don’t dish it out…

Dr, can you honestly say you dont know what speaking in “negro dialect” means? What a lie. This whole article is BS.

The thing that most fascinates me about this whole conversation is that people speak of negro dialect as if it were a disease. Black people speak in this native tongue and hold true to it’s existence. The most degrading thing in some black circles is to talk like “White People”. I can remember the first time my brother came to my job and heard me speak clear and concise in a conversation; the expression on his face said it all (You think you white don’t you?…lol). The truth of the matter is that it’s beneficial to blacks and white’s to speak and understand languages across all racial boundaries.

I had a interview today, I had to change my whole demeanor, voice cadence and inflection. In other words I made myself sound un negro like, I was talking like a white boy.

Why is this shyt even news, black folks know damm well what Harry Reid was talking about thats why there is no uproar most black circles over this.

HARRY REID IS A RACIST AND HE IS JUST REFLECTING THE ATTITUDES OF THE MAJORITY POPULATION IN THIS COUNTRY. THIS IS WHY WE HAVE SO MUCH TROUBLE ADVANCING IN THIS COUNTRY. ITS IMPROPER FOR WHITE PEOPLE DOWN SOUTH TO SPEAK COUNTRY AND BLACKS CANT SPEAK AS BLACK AMERICANS DO WITHOUT SEEMING IMPROPER. THIS IS WHY WE DEAL WITH SO MUCH RACIAL PROFILING AND DISCRIMINATION AROUND HERE. TO BE HONEST, HE IS RIGHT. I HOPE RIED NOR OBAMA GETS RE-ELECTED TO OFFICE.

@LastManStandingTall come on now IDK of to many black people let alone white people that would do what Gilbert did.

I DON’T BELIEVE IN GIVING WHITE PEOPLE SO MUCH EMPOWERMENT FOR OUR STRUGGLES 2 DAY. WHEN WE CONTINUE TO GRANT THIS PURVEYOR, OF RACIST,SEXUALLY UNCONTROLLED, TRUE LOW SELF ESTEEMED INDIVIDUALS THAT KIND OF PSYCHOLOGICAL EMPOWERMENT..IT IS THEN THAT WE AS A PEOPLE REMAIN ENSLAVED. WHAT WE MUST DO IS MAINTAIN OUR RELATIONSHIPS WITH THE LORD AND OUR FAMILIES. IT IS THIS COMBINATION THAT KEEPS US WHOLE. IT HAS BEEN SHOWN PROOF POSITIVE THAT BEING PRESIDENT OR JANITOR. OR WHATEVER.. THAT WE WILL ALWAYS BE VIEWED AS INFERIOR TO SOME.. WHAT MUST HAPPEN IS THAT WE MUST CHANGE OUR VIEW(OF OURSELVES) INTERNALLY, FOR MY FOLKS TAUGHT ME THAT REALITY IS 90 PERCENT OF WHAT WE BELIEVE IT IS, AND THAT THE WORD N****R..BY DICTIONARY MEANING.. MEANS IGNORANT AND SO THIS WORD CAN BE APPLIED TO ANYONE. IN SHORT LET THOSE PEOPLE HAVE THEIR CRUTCH..AND WE WILL CONTINUE TO BELIEVE IN OUR OWN REALITY..LIKE I SAID BEFORE IT IS ONLY WHAT WE BELIEVE IT IS. PEOPLE LIKE THAT ONLY HAVE AS MUCH POWER AS WE GRANT THEM.

A-M-E-N

Senator Reids comments were “controversial” because he told the truth. End of story

SMFH. Each day Whitey gets bolder and bolder since President Obama has been elected. The truth will always be revealed in due time.

SenorCafeDa2nd- “I had a interview today, I had to change my whole demeanor, voice cadence and inflection. In other words I made myself sound un negro like, I was talking like a white boy”…

See comments like this you made are the reason why Reid made his comment in the first place. Why is it when a black person dresses well, speaks APPROPRIATELY and professionally, everyone deems it as “talking/acting like a white person?” As if the ONLY way we can be discerned as black is by talking like ‘Chicken George’ or 50 pennies. We will NEVER get the credit for being productive upstanding people if we dont give ourselves the credit FIRST. I dont know about any of you, but as I was growing up my parents constantly corrected our english/pronounciation because its the proper way to speak..period, not just for an interview. IF you only revert to propriety for an interview then that means you are ‘doing a dance’ for the white people as opposed to presenting YOURSELF. And by the way…there are TONS of white people I come across in my line of work (medical) that dont have a grasp of the proper way to speak english at all, they don’t understand half of the words I use when I speak to them and I have to most times explain things to these grown white people like they are 2 year olds. So I’ll be damned if I consider me being professional as ‘acting like a white woman’. To Senorcafe…dude, when youre looking good and being a professional, you should see that as you have good sense and know how to respresent yourself well…NOT acting like a white guy…

“Ever since slavery, most of us have known that “light skind-ed” black people get treated better than everyone else. Also, many of us grew up in some school where there was a white teacher telling us to “speak proper English.””.

Ok wait, had to touch on this…once again Boyce Watkins is such a fukkin idiot it hurts my inner brain to indulge his stupidity at times. He is such a bootlicker! He 99% of the time SAYS WHAT HE THINKS BLACK PEOPLE WANT TO HEAR. And I suppose because this azzhole has ‘Dr.’ pinned to his name..unfortunately black folks listen…SMH. This ‘Dr.’ picks anything to have black people ready to set fire! Ofcourse we ALL grew up in a school where there were white, black, middle eastern, asian, hispanic etc..teachers telling ALL OF US to speak properly. THATS THEIR DAMN JOBS!! People dont become teachers to NOT pass on some form of knowledge and if they didnt try to correct us in grammar then what the hell were they there for? Be them white or black or whatever. I’m glad Boyce doesnt have shyt else to do but attempt to rally the troops in such an ill faceted manner.

Honestly I run into more people from OTHER races that TRY so very hard to speak ebonics or this ‘negro dialect’ everyone is talking about. I hear more ‘fa shizzles’ and ‘what it do’s’ from my white co workers than the black ones. OTHER races try their best to assimilate US no matter how ignorant they come out looking…But maybe the good Dr is right…if they dont try to assimilate to US then I suppose that does make them inferior…

[...] original post here: Harry Reid Is Not a Racist, But America is: Dr. Boyce Watkins … Share and [...]

@califemme

Thank you, i dont need to say anything since you conveyed everyting that i wanted to express.I believe what Dr. Watkins is just doing his job as part of the talented 10th to act like they care, and more knowledgeable than most of us.

THANK YOU @CaliFemme23 you hit the nail on the head. Being an English and education major I’ve learned to speak correctly. I mean how would I look walking into a classroom to teach students ENGLISH when I don’t even speak it properly myself. There is nothing wrong with acting like you have good sense and presenting yourself well.

Ditto 2 jazzpast post

and kudo’s beautiful

We are the descendants of those that are the origin of Dialect…any language that is present in these times is that of the ORIGINAL PHILOSOPHERS!!

Be proud of your race 2day as our fathers were in the days of yore
We have a beautiful history, and we shall create another in the future that will astonish the world

Marcus Mosiah Garvey

I agree with you CaliFemme23-”high 5″

Glad for health care reform. Thank God for Obama. http://www.moderndayblackmomma.com
Gen Eyes Wide.

[...] OPINION: Reid’s “Negro Dialect” Comments Tell Us About America [...]

[...] OPINION: Reid’s “Negro Dialect” Comments Tell Us About America [...]

Thank you all…glad I represented US very well…and oh my! I wasnt even acting like a white person when I typed all of it either! ;-)

[...] OPINION: Reid’s “Negro Dialect” Comments Tell Us About America [...]

why does it take for a white politician to say something about race for everybody to get in a uproar about? what he said was true, light skinned african americans are seen more positive then dark skinned african americans (can i still use african american??)! i have seen more blacks on tv as far as cnn and other news networks in the last 24 hours than i have seen since the last time race was an issue with the college proffesor that was arrested at his own house that is the real issue. think about it, if somebody like senator reed can make such a statement regarding skin color what about employers? they see dark skinned males as treatning, this under the surface racism has contributed to economic restraint for a lot of our black brothers and sisters. american needs to have this conversation about race, but not just when a politician says something true that other might fine innaproriate, we need to have this conversation alot more ofter i fear that after a week or so this will die out, and in another 6 months something will trigger it again, we need to figure this thing out now so we can progress and come up with real solutions instead of the blame game.

spoken in true negro dialect!!!

I think this statement is inaccurate…” if you don’t do what others tell you to do, they consider you to be inferior. Period.” I think the “others” consider you insubordinate, disrespecting ‘their’ authority or superiority..if you don’t follow their directives. The inferiority concept kicks in when they see you coming.

[...] OPINION: Reid’s “Negro Dialect” Comments Tell Us About America [...]

To be perfectly honest, America is regressing rather than progressing. It seems to me since they don’t want us in the mainstream of everyday life. Our neighborhoods are occupied by the Police gestapo, our schools are decimated by ignorance lack of equipment and basic operational facility, we are denied basics healthcare that could be lifesaving, we are prevented and denied the right to vote, our unemployment rate among Black (Moorish) men is probably 30-40%, we have a prison idustrial complex that is operated by private corporations thus need subjects to incarcerate and products to produce so they can show a profit to its shareholders and many programs meant for Black people because of the blood of our ancestors sacrifice is given away to people who doesn’t give a damn about us. Hey wait, are not these the very same reasons why people get political asylum and are allowed to come to America in the first place. So, lets get political then lets ask for asylum to France or some other country and lets see what they say. Because who ever gets the American Black and allow him to manifest unimpeded will be the Worlds Superpower. We damn near invented the modern way of life with shackles on. So, what they were ever released one day what would our contributions be then? Give them (White) Obama back all he has become is a distraction for Black people in this country. He is a patsy! I better not hear him utter Lincoln name as if he is another Lincoln! F**k Obama! Plus, his wife has a law license and acting like Betty Crocker! They both get the gas face.

Firstly, let’s remember that Reid is being quoted from a book which uses un-named sources and uses quotes taken out of any context …. I happen to agree 100% with Reid but “political reality” and the racemongers in the GOP, make an apology mandatory.

“speaking with a negro dialect” is code for being able to identify the person as black without a visual image. Just as anyone could identify my friend as being Italian American.

President Obama (like Denzil W) speaks “like your average White” and not like a Rapper! He avoids the racial stereotype and is “comfortable” to mass America.

Frankly, I don’t see that light skin, vs dark skin, has any significance whatsoever Barack Obama is designated African American by the rest of the world. Only in the USA is he referred to, by racists, as “Only 1/2 Black” A smear against his mixed race origin.

Just like the Henry Gates incident, we see real proof that Racism in America was aggravated, not relieved, by the election of a Black Man to the WH.

It is amazing how Black people are defending Harry Reid. Al Sharpton looked like an idiot on O’Reilly last night. Ann Coulter was ripping him to shreds. The Democrats are always so quick to call the Republicans racist when it is the Democrats that are racist and sexist. It is like the pot calling the kettle black, no pun intended.

The fact is that it doesn’t matter whether you speak with any dialect. White people simply hate black people. There are only two kinds, those who hate blacks in their face and those who hate blacks behind their backs. If they are not upfront with their racism they will hide behind euphemisms and innuendos.

I am black and educated. I don’t speak with a so called “Negro dialect”. I also don’t seek the approval of white people about anything about me. The black man is the original man. Why the hell should I care what some little white dude thinks? Harry Reid has a small p***s and he is going to lose his Senate seat. Screw him. Obama and most light skinned people are gratified when white people color code us. They love taking white people’s table scraps.

So Dr Boyce Watkins “was offended by Reid’s remarks”. He is offended because a white man says a black man speaks English well and also knows how to speak the black dialect (black dialect being whatever identifies the speaker as black- you know it when you hear it).

Black immigrants come to this country everyday and quickly learn to speak the “King’s proper English” as well as the dialect from the hood. Meanwhile, the folks in the hood don’t learn the King’s proper English because they are lazy, disinterested or just not motivated to assimilate. Not learning both dialects has consequences. Not learning math has consequences. Math is truth.

Here is the math. Black folks are 15% of the population in the United States and are not even the largest minority. Hence when you are outnumbered 85 to15 by other groups you don’t get to dictate policy on what language is spoken for the majority.

You have the absolute right not to learn proper english as well as hood dialect but in many instances your ability to communicate will be hindered when you don’t know it.

Not knowing the King’s English will cause you not to be considered for many things because you can’t communicate on a level the majority of folks consider basic. Ooopps there is that math thing again.

if you notice the american pronounciation of words is not calmly said but with more tension of muscle than the english ppl when speaking sentences,amercans are more uptight speaking with more verbal tongue muscle trying to be proper to separate them self from the english for many c**turies english uses more diaphram muscle,plus wat is english==slangs and broken words from latin and italians languages

now because blacks separating them self from their(proper pronounciation)it should’ve surprisethem.when they had done it and the children of england which is australia but not the same blacks did for self devinity and for survival to stand own there own.

Harry Reid maded a racist comment and my question is why did he want to make this comment now because we have a black president? I didn’t hear him make the comment on the black lady that worked for Bush and ALL the black congress and democratic nor did I hear him make any statement of Bush having the mind set of the KKK and leadership of them either. Just another a$$hole who speak out in a disrespectful way toward the president and getting away with it. I have never heard in mylife time of such action on people in Congress nor Democratic parties acting out in such a DISRESPECTFUL way…they need to fire his a$$.

@CAROLINA-im feeling you on this 1 too. I notice all the free fly words from all the white people to the president,too. Its a damn shame.(JMO)

We are the descendants of those that are the origin of Dialect…any language that is present in these times is that of the ORIGINAL PHILOSOPHERS!!

Be proud of your race 2day as our fathers were in the days of yore
We have a beautiful history, and we shall create another in the future that will astonish the world
-Marcus Mosiah Garvey

That ‘negro dialect’ is something that was forced on enslaved Africans, who were considered to be so inferior, they were considered unable to speak properly. They were therefore made to say “gwine” where the European master (who spoke a bastard form of English himself) said “going”. No African came here speaking English this way, it is the way he was taught to speak to his new white master.

Smiling faces tell LIES,beware of the hand shake it hides a fake.Don’t let the hand shake and the smile fool you,beware of the pat on the back, they just might hold you back….(Undisputed Truth)Smiling Faces Tell Lies.
Although the lynchings,water-hosing,dog attacks,cross burning,bombings and segregated places may be no more,there’s a more subtle overt and covert form of racism,that’s very much alive and thriving.
Dr. King’s Dream, is still a Dream….

The second paragraph of this article makes no sense to me at all.
There is absolutely nothing wrong with a teacher telling a student to speak proper english in school. It’s what the student is there for. To learn to read, write, spell and count properly. Additionally, english is still the official language of the U.S. My definition of forced assimilation is when one dominant culture forces another to replace its cultural practices and identity with that of the dominant culture. Bad language is not part of African-American culture.
I think Harry Reid made a racial comment, but not a racist one. he made an observation based on his knowledge and experience with he is not necessarily saying that he himself would not vote for a black man with negro dialect . He is saying from what he understands of the white voters they wouldn’t vote for such a person.

Now, for the author to claim that she has no clue what negro dialect means is disingenuous on her part especially after her comment about the teacher telling the student to speak proper english.

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