By Judge Greg Mathis

The NAACP recently buried the ‘n’ word, a word that has, for centuries, been used - first by whites, then by people of color - to insult and degrade Black people. I am in full support of the burial. By burying the word, the NAACP hopes to bury the pain the word cause. It’s a start. But with the ‘n’ word, we also need to lay to rest the ‘b’ word and the ‘h’ word. We need to say good-bye to the self-hate that causes our young people - entertainers and regular folk alike - to use such words as weapons against their own. Most importantly, we need to bury the social conditions that breed such loathing.

Slavery and, later, American apartheid, has taken its toll on the Black American psyche. Restricted access to basic human rights - education, jobs, voting - severely limited the progress Black folks in this country were able to make. Despite the obstacles, many of us persevered. Even with success, however, we are all affected by the traumas of slavery and generations of oppression.

For example: slavery destroyed Black families. Many of our men still don’t know how to stand up and be fathers. Slaves were divided according to complexion. Intra-race color divisions are still alive and well in the Black community. The attitudes of many of our people towards education were shaped - negatively - by the restrictions placed upon us. Because of the injustices carried out against our ancestors, many Blacks remain a step behind economically. Carrying around such pain has led many of us to hate who we are. Sadly, most of don’t know where this self-hatred, this anger, stems from.

The ‘n’ word got lots of attention last fall, after comedian Michael Richards used it repeatedly in a rant against a Black heckler. Most recently, radio host Don Imus, used the ‘h’ word to refer to black female basketball players. The actions of these two men - both white - were unacceptable. It is just as unacceptable, perhaps even more so, when our men use the ‘b’ word and ‘h’ word to refer to our women on the streets or in music. It is unthinkable that our young people can’t find a better term of endearment than the ‘n’ word when referring to one another.

It is time for Blacks to boost their collective self-esteem. Acknowledging and then releasing first the history that brought us here and then the subculture of hate and violence we let it create is one way to do this. Each community in America should hold its own symbolic funeral, laying to rest the mental shackles too many of us still wear. By saying good-bye to these psychological burdens, we can learn to love ourselves and our brothers and sisters. With love, we can grow as a people.

Editor’s note: Judge Greg Mathis is national vice president of Rainbow PUSH and a national board member of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference.

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