From the WaPo:
NAACP Symbolically Buries N-WordDETROIT -- There was no mourning at this funeral. Hundreds of onlookers cheered Monday afternoon as the NAACP put to rest a long-standing expression of racism by holding a public burial for the N-word during its annual convention.
Delegates from across the country marched from downtown Detroit's Cobo Center to Hart Plaza. Two Percheron horses pulled a pine box adorned with a bouquet of fake black roses and a black ribbon printed with a derivation of the word.
The coffin is to be placed at historically black Detroit Memorial Park Cemetery and will have a headstone.
"Today we're not just burying the N-word, we're taking it out of our spirit," said Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick. "We gather burying all the things that go with the N-word. We have to bury the 'pimps' and the 'hos' that go with it." more
I wish it were that easy. I'm also wondering if it'll backfire since making the word even more taboo will only increase its shock value which raises its value to certain comedians and musicians. I'm prone to think that the usage of the word is only a symptom of a larger set of problems that the NAACP, government, and society in general aren't capable of handling until the issues can be discussed in a blunt and open manner and to be honest I don't think America is quite there yet.
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