We the members of United Pastors in Mission condemn in the strongest terms possible the vile caricature of State Senator Nina Turner that appeared in last week’s Call and Post. Despite the fact that UPIM disagreed with Senator Turner over her support of Issue 6 and the reform of county government, we do not believe it is appropriate or principled to attack those with whom we disagree through the use of images like Aunt Jemima that have historically been used to demean, debase, and dehumanize our people; especially black women.
In 1989 the Plain Dealer ran a cartoon that caricatured black woman over their support of a certain mayoral candidate. Within hours dozens of people had gathered in front of the PD to protest that cartoon and to call for a retraction and an apology. That was the case even though that image was much less offensive than the image that appeared in the Call and Post; a newspaper whose role it has always been to uplift the image of black people.
A few years later the Cleveland Museum of Art used some images of black people that were deemed offensive. In response, the museum set aside an entire day where the focus of a community wide event was on the danger of using stereotypical images when depicting human beings. We cannot condemn what the PD or the art museum did and then smile or laugh or do nothing when far worse images are employed by our own black community newspaper.
We must find a way to disagree with one another that does not involve character assassination or the use of demeaning images and the use of “broken English” dialect as was used against Senator Turner. More importantly, those elders among us who have served our community so effectively over the years must find a way to encourage those leaders who are coming behind them who will carry on the work of serving the people we all love so much; that as opposed to doing anything that might serve to discredit or destroy them and hinder their future service. Democracy does not demand uniformed agreement; just an equal opportunity to have one’s views heard and considered when offered up in a civil and respectful manner.
Surely the Call and Post understands this and will continue its good efforts in opening up more and more arenas in which the voice(s) of the black community can be heard. Black leaders have never uniformly agreed on matters of policy or politics, and it was when the differences of opinion were explored that our community grew stronger and more informed. The fact that Senator Turner supported Issue 6 and many within the black community did not may or may not have implications for her political future. That being said, this disagreement should not result in our use of the hated 19th century images of black people that we have fought to remove from our society for the last 100.
The Call and Post needs to retract that caricature and apologize to Senator Turner for its use. Then we all need to move on to address the far more important issues that await us as a community and a country; health care reform, the overcrowding of our prisons, home foreclosures, the escalation of the war in Afghanistan, and the even more frightening escalation of violence on Imperial Ave. and other streets in other cities and towns across this country.
Nina Turner has a right to her opinion and she does not deserve to be reduced to a cartoon image for expressing or sticking to those views. United Pastors in Mission now believes it is time to denounce this sad episode and then shift our focus from an ugly cartoon to a prophetic critique of what is happening in American society today!
We are calling our political and community leaders to meet with us next Tuesday, December 8, 2009 at Mt. Sinai Baptist Church at 75th and Woodland at 10:30 AM to begin a dialogue that can result in reconciliation within our community and greater unity as we address our mutual concerns.
The Rev. Marvin A. McMickle, Ph.D.
Chairman
The Rev. C. Jay Matthews, D. Min.
President
Marvin A. McMickle, Ph.D.
Antioch Baptist Church
8869 Cedar
Cleveland, OH 44106
216-973-8230