IJnrtlanh (©bseruer
Page A2
A p ril 11,2007
Comments called ‘racist, sexist despicable’ Neighborhood
co n tin u ed
Members o f the Rutgers women's basketball team hold a news
conference on campus in Piscataway, NJ., Tuesday to react to
derogatory remarks directed at their team made on air by radio
personality Don Imus. (AP photo)
fr o m F ront
their gifts and talents, you know, to
bring the smiles and the pride within
this state in so many people, we had
to experience racist and sexist re­
marks that are deplorable, despi­
cable, and abom inable and uncon­
scionable. It hurts me.”
Imus started the firestorm after
R utgers lost the ch am p io n sh ip
game. He was speaking with pro­
ducer Bernard McGuirk and said
" th a t’s som e rough girls from
Rutgers. Man, they got tattoos ...”
"Som e hardcore hos,” M cGuirk
said.
"T h a t’s som e nappy-headed hos
there. I’m going to tell you that,”
Imus said.
Im u s ' c o m m e n ts a b o u t th e
Rutgers players struck a chord, in
part, because it was ai med at a group
o f young w om en enjoying athletic
su ccess.
"W hat 1 did was make a stupid,
idiotic m istake in a com edy co n ­
text," Imus said on his show T ues­
day m orning, the final week before
his suspension starts.
The Rev. Al Sharpton called the
suspension "not nearly enough. I
think it is too little, too late.” He said
presidential candidates and other
politicians should refrain from g o ­
ing on Im us’ show in the future.
M S N B C , w hich te lec asts the
radio show , said Im u s’ e x p re s­
sions o f regret and e m b a rra ss­
m ent, co u p led w ith his stated
d e d i c a t i o n to c h a n g in g th e
sh o w ’sd isc o u rse , m ade it b elieve
su sp en sio n w as the ap p ro p riate
re sp o n se .
"O u r fu tu re rela tio n sh ip w ith
Im us is co n tin g en t on his ab ility
to live up to his w o rd ,” the n e t­
w ork said late M onday.
K id s to
D ance
It U p
Kids from the Blazer Boys
and Girls Club prepare to
dance it up for a Saturday
8 p.m. performance at the
Matt Dishman Community
Center, 77 N.E. Knott St.
The hip hop troupe has
been working since
October with chorographer
TiAnna McDaniel, also
known as Ms. T. Tickets
are $5 for adults and $3
for students and available
only in advance by calling
Mr. T at 503-351-0887.
M ark W ashington /
T he P ortland O bserver
photo by
Obama
Rakes in
$25 Million
(A P ) -- D e m o c ra t B a ra c k
O bam a raked in $25 m illion for his
presidential bid in the first three
m onths o f 2007, p lacin g him on a
p a r w ith f ro n t-ru n n e r H illa ry
R odham C linton and d ash in g her
im age as the p arty 's in ev itab le
nom inee.
The donations cam e from an eye­
popping I (X),(XX) donors.
The figure was the latest evi­
dence that O bam a, a political new ­
com er who has served ju st two
years in the Senate, has em erged as
the most powerful new force in presi­
dential politics this year.
P E R S O N A L A T T E N T IO N
W h a t’s yo u r reaction to radio
h o st D on Im u s c a llin g the
R utgers U niversity W om en's
B a s k e tb a ll T ea m “N a p p y ­
headed h o s? "
I t’s u n b e lie v ­
able that a per­
son would say
such things. It
seems to be a
racial com m ent
tow ards blacks and that’s not a
good w ork ethic. -- H ea th er
D eW a lt
It’s ridiculous.
He sh o u ld be
fired and not al­
low ed on TV.
He shouldn't be
allow ed to influence us through
mass media. —A b ra h a m Pearce
I t ’s n ot g o o d
b ut you c a n ’t
blame him. Rap­
pers use nega­
tive w ords to­
w a rd s b la c k
w om en all the time. It sends a
m essage to people like Imus that
it’s okay to talk about black
women like that. --G ilda M offett
I d o n 't support
him .H e’sstereo-
ty p in g p eo p le
and it’s bad to
u se
th o se
w ords against women. He came
from a w oman so w hy would he
do that? — Z aira B arnett
N icole R onal H ooper
M ark W ashington /
T he P ortland O bserver
by
and
Jefferson Principal Replaced
co n tin u ed
fr o m F ro n t
w as placed on leave, w hether it is
paid or if he will return to Jefferson
next fall.
D udley has been mired in co n ­
troversy since jo in in g the district
last A ugust, after being recruited
by Superintendent Vickie Phillips.
He most recently left his posi­
tion as principal o f a large and d i­
verse school d istrict in D allas,
Texas, w here he was investigated
for m isuse o f school funds. Before
that, D udley led a middle school in
Salem, w here teachers took a vote
o f no confidence regarding his lead­
ership.
B efore the en d o f his first se ­
m ester lead in g Jefferso n , D udley
had been criticiz ed for frequent
and long ab sen ces and w as the
su b ject o f a sexual and racial h a­
rassm ent com plaint by a Jefferson
sta ff m em ber.
In March students booed Dudley
during a black history assem bly
and earlier this m onth students
staged a walk out to protest their
principal.
HAS A S H A P E .
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C reative S ervices
O utreach E vent
L earn
about creative services projects a n d meet the project managers !
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2 to 4 P.M.
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