'NIGGALODEON:' April Fool's Prank or Racism?
'NIGGALODEON:' April Fool's Prank or Racism?
April 22, 2002 -- How about this for "Must-See TV?"
"Bubba" -- a show about "a black teenager who just got out on parole and must deal with both his low-income family and his crush on the school hottie, Pattie Watermelon," or
"Count Crackula" -- a new series tracking the adventures of an African-American vampire duck who must feed on crack to survive and dies if he sees the lights of police flashlights."
While they may not be listed in this week's TV Guide, both "Bubba" and "Count Crackula" have created more debate in Colorado than the next episode of "Survivor."
A week after The Catalyst, Colorado College's weekly campus newspaper, published its annual April Fools' Day parody issue, two articles made everyone forget finals and other mundane routines of college life.
The first article, "College Student Disappointed at Lack of Hot Asian Babes," heated up discussion on campus, but it was the second article, "Nickalodeon Launches Contraversial New Sister Channel, Niggalodeon," that ignited a full-fledged inferno on the private liberal arts campus and beyond.
"Things have definitely become more intense around here since this started," said Todd Wilson, CC's director of public relations. "TV and newspaper reporters, alumni, parents, and of course students, have all asked, 'Just what is going on up there?'"
Since April 4th, Wilson, CC President Kathryn Morhman and the staff of the Catalyst have all faced that question.
"We had lots of people wanting answers," Wilson said. "Our leadership decided that as fast as we got information, we would definitely share it with our students, faculty and staff first. We would then focus on the 'P.R.' outside of the school. But the CC family, especially our students, were our priority."
Not-so-hot off the presses
The issue of the Catalyst that started the fury lay on racks across campus for almost a week before the controversy erupted.
"I'd actually seen the issue and thumbed through part of it," said Wilson. "I flipped a couple of pages. I read a couple of stories, never even saw the (Niggalodeon) article and went on to the stacks of work on my desk."
But Wilson and others would soon hear plenty.
"When I read the headline, I just dropped the paper," said Vonchon Brackett, co-president of the Black Student Union (BSU). "It took me a couple of minutes to compose myself enough to read the rest of it."
As word about the articles began to spread, reporters and television cameras began to show up on campus, forcing university officials to respond.
"Much of the community -- and the media -- rarely cares about what happens here," Brackett said. "But this got their attention."
In her official statement, President Morhman wrote, "Attempts at humor that come at the expense of others are simply not funny. … Such feeble efforts at satire are hurtful and disappointing, not just to the groups that were targeted, but to all of us."
But few were satisfied with the statement, especially since the president couched her criticism in such phrases as "I believe that our student journalists had no intention of harming anyone" and said the campus response should be limited to "combating hurtful words with positive speech."
"What could she have possibly meant by that?" Brackett asked. "What am I supposed to do, count the number of words the Catalyst printed and write an equal number of sugar-coated things? We expected her to be more decisive, to show that this wasn't just name calling, but university-sanctioned racism."
Brackett wasn't only the one disappointed by the president's response.
Herb Scannell, president of Nickelodeon, expressed "shock and outrage" at the "despicable way" his company's name was used.
"To dismiss this as only a poor attempt at humor would be to provide our tacit acceptance to those who use the veil of satire to perpetuate racist views," he wrote. (Read the complete letter here)
"Blackrats"
Those views were evident in the "Niggalodeon" article, which was a comprehensive checklist of African American stereotypes disguised as highlights of "Niggalodeon's" programming. Aside from the new shows, the article also featured "Boomba Jasha, leader of the New York Black Panthers."
Jasha becomes enraged when he hears about "Niggalodeon." His threats to "be puttin' some caps in whitey's ass" become true when he shoots at nearby white pedestrians.
"It's like the writer did a lot of work, a ton of research," Brackett said. "They said to themselves, 'how can we cram every negative thing we think about blacks into a short column?' And they probably feel like they did a hell of a job at it!"
Just as disturbing for Brackett was a drawing on the page, smack in the center of the article. It was a darkened image of the most popular characters of the Nickelodeon hit cartoon, "Rugrats." The name of this off-color adaptation? "Blackrats."
The Catalyst had painted the stars of "Rugrats" -- little toddlers Tommy and Chucky -- black. (See illustration at top left.)
"You almost wanted to laugh, not because it was funny, but because you didn't want to cry," said Zaid Bokhari, a senior at CC. "It was surreal, stuff you see on television. Are our students really that unaware? It just didn't seem real."
But soon Bokhari, Brackett, President Morhman and everyone else on the quiet campus, which boasts a "so-friendly-that-everyone-says-hi" atmosphere, would understand just how real campus ignorance and cultural incompetence really were.
"Ever since I've been here, you just get the feeling you aren't totally welcome," said Brackett, a mathematical economics major from Denver. "Don't get me wrong, I really, really like CC. I mean it's MY school.
"But there are those who look at me and think that I'm here because of charity or affirmative action. They think the handful of black students here are too many."
Actually, there are more than a handful of black students, but not many more. In fall 2001, 47 African American students were enrolled, the most in recent memory. Among the 1,952 students, there were also 102 Hispanic Americans and 69 Asian Americans.
"We certainly aren't satisfied with those numbers," Wilson said. "But that does reflect some growth -- not enough, but some."
Now, however, CC leadership is grappling not only with the college's need to increase diversity, but also the need to improve the racial climate on campus.
"I just couldn't believe that many, if not most, of the white students didn't see what we were upset about," Brackett said. "Come on, Count Crackula, Pattie Watermelon? Give me a break!"
Wilson said, "This made us realize that either we weren't doing enough, or we weren't doing it well enough."
Protecting white interests, exposing racism
Through letters to the editors in subsequent copies of the Catalyst, white students on campus tried to place responsibility for the incident on students of color and to protect their right to racist humor.
Teran Martin charged that "angered students intentionally stabbed their own student-run newspaper in the back by turning a very serious issue into a publicity stunt…"
Candice Erdman wrote, "Practical jokes often hurt people… and yet we find them funny. I don't know who won't laugh at a good Irish joke, Pollack (sic) joke, etc. Yet jokes about peoples with higher melanin concentrations are labeled as 'racist' and are tabooed." She mused that she may be "just a Dumb Blonde who doesn't understand the true nature of stereotyping."
Recent alum Ryan Olson called black student response "hateful" and argued that a lack of a black editor is to blame. He asks, "Where were the minority student applications when it came time for editor applications to be taken?" He demanded too that he be shielded from retaliatory attacks: "Don't turn your rampant pack of attack dogs on me, either: 'He is defending her (the editor)! He must be racist too!'…Come on people, wake up."
"For the first time, they (white students) had the chance to say out loud what they thought," Brackett said.
However, at least some students and alumni held an opposing, anti-racist view:
Molly Odell wrote, "Although I am not black, gay or Asian, I was disgusted and offended" and she encouraged the Catalyst to print the names of the authors of the articles.
Alum Shawn Luby, who is white, read the article "in absolute horror, but not shock," insinuating that racist attitudes have always existed at CC. He also said CC teaches "tolerance for the racism and white supremacy of white students on campus."
Sophomore Brennan Galloway called CC President Morhman's initial statement "very weak," and went on to challenge the college's commitment to its stated mission of "making a special effort to ensure that all persons… value one another and learn from each other."
Brackett and about 70 other students met with Audrey Thompson, the Catalyst editor-in-chief.
"She apologized, and she was sincere," Brackett said. "But it couldn't take back what was permanently printed on those pages."
Not only did Thompson apologize verbally, she put her regret in writing as well: "I cannot imagine the life of a minority student on this campus. I do know, though, that you are underrepresented, treated unfairly, and discriminated against, and I am so sorry that I have contributed to this ticking time bomb of racial hatred."
Perhaps recognizing that an apology was not enough, Thompson and John Traub, the managing editor, submitted their resignations -- an action Brackett and other anti-racist student leaders had solicited.
"Although she didn't write the article and wasn't immediately responsible for it, she was the editor and ultimately responsible for it," said Brackett. "And I wasn't the only one who felt that way."
Not just black and white
Brackett and BSU co-president Leonard Teague recruited student leaders who supported their stance.
They created "The Council," a leadership group made up of representatives from Asian, Latino, South Asian, Native American, and gay and lesbian student organizations. Several straight white students stepped forward to join the effort as well.
"It felt great to have the support of some white students," Brackett said. "Despite the way everything began, we didn't want it to seem black and white. The Council is a direct result of that."
The Council, it seems, may also be the key to finding common ground at CC. Together, it's members developed a list of seven initiatives they urged the president to adopt.
"The students were actually pretty mature," Wilson said. "They never made demands or threats. They came to the table with their list, and President Morhman was able to agree to six of the seven."
The initiatives they requested were:
A formal apology
The resignation of the Catalyst editors
Institution of required professional training for all Catalyst editors
Creation of a minority recruitment task force in the college's Admissions Office
Increased campus-wide diversity efforts
Promotion of the Glass House, a multicultural residence house, into a permanent living facility
President Morhman, however, refused to fulfill the final initiative: the creation of a course requirement on U.S. racial or gender-related issues.
"She doesn't have that power," Wilson said, "but she has already begun talking about it with the people who do –- the faculty."
In some ways, Morhman's effectiveness may be limited by the perception that she is a lame duck. She announced her retirement last year, well before the current crisis, and CC has already begun a search for her replacement.
She noted this when outlining her plans to push diversity. Her formal strategy included the name and title of the person responsible for implementing each step.
Brian Williamson, the only black member of CC's 30-person Board of Trustees, believes Morhman, her replacement and the greater campus have their work cut out for them.
"We've never defined what diversity means," Williamson said. "We've said that diversity –- whatever it is -- is a priority. Now let's translate that into action.
"While this has temporarily cast a dark light on us, it also puts us in a position where we have to say, 'If we want to get to the next level, and I know we do, we must discover diversity's meaning and decide whether or not we are committed to doing and being better. And I think we will come out of this stronger."
Brackett, for one, doesn't share that optimism.
"I don't know if CC really takes prejudice seriously," he said. "At least half of the students think nothing, including the article, is wrong. The administration's response was weak at best.
"If the students had not brought a plan forward, would anyone else have? There was no real leadership. What does that say about where we are, and where we are headed?"
__________________
I am a woman, I make mistakes. I make them often. God has given me a talent and that's it. ~ Jill Scott
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