Silke Jasso
Louisiana school officials are looking into an incident involving a white substitute teacher and an African-American student arguing over the use of the n-word after a video of the exchange went viral online. The footage, which was shared on Twitter Thursday, features the teacher “Coach Ryan” attempting to tell the student that using the n-word isn’t racist.
Videos by Rare
“That’s racist as shit,” the student can be heard responding. “Why can you not understand that it’s racist for a white man to say ‘n****r’ to a black man? It’s fucking racist.”
The student then rhetorically asks his white classmates if they would ever use the word, adding that “fuck no” they wouldn’t. Coach Ryan, however, insisted that the word has taken on a new, non-offensive meaning over time and that it’s overuse caused it to lose its original meaning.
https://twitter.com/ellienick2/status/860144095582445568
“Do you know what a commoditized word is?” he asks. “The word has been commoditized so that anyone can use it, and it’s not a negative connotation.”
“For you to say it to me is negative,” the student counters.
Coach Ryan then pointed out that music artists often use the word in their songs, but the student quickly reminded him that it’s typically only used “by black men.”
“If you say a word, it means friend. If I say a word, it means something different,” Coach Ryan continued, adding “That’s not true” when the student exclaimed, “Yes!”
Eventually, another African-American student came to his fellow classmate’s defense, explaining, “When you’re black, it changes the whole way people perceive you and people look at you. Realize that it’s not just a word when you say stuff like that. Realize all the charges and all the connotations it has in it. And just make responsible choices. If you’re a teacher and you don’t want to get fired, maybe you don’t want to say this.”
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Benjamin Franklin High School in New Orleans confirmed that “Coach Ryan” is in fact one of their teachers and that a probe has been opened in regard to the incident. The superintendent of the Orleans Parish School Board, Henderson Lewis Jr. weighed in on the situation, saying, “I condemn the use of language of a derogatory or inflammatory nature. As educators we must strive to instill respect and sensitivity to others in our students and hold all adults and students to this standard.”
Principal Patrick Windham added, “The school has a strong, diverse population but like society today, we’re still coming to grips with how we do that in a way that is empowering for everyone. These are students who want to be part of a better school, a better society.”
