Page 46 - CLT032221

46 ¦ MARCH 22, 2021 OPINION

Inferring Insult Misses Larger Point About
Police Violence Toward Black Citizens

By Corey Brinson

I Black Lives Matter demonstration, in Ledyard, Connecticut.
wanted to respond to Attorney Aigne Goldsby’s And so you know, the use of the term “good hair”
March 9, 2021, letter to the editor criticizing to describe a Black person’s hair can be offensive
former Connecticut Bar Association President to some Black people.
and former Chief Disciplinary Counsel Mark Du- If you are confused, you should be, because
bois’ use of the word “nappy” to describe his Black Black people still have not agreed on whether
grandson’s hair in an op-ed concerning the shoot- the terms “nappy” or “good hair” are canceled in
ings of unarmed Black men in America. 2021. Whether or not Mark Dubois should be able
There is not enough space in this letter to exam- to use the word “nappy,” considering its negative
ine the complicated history of the use of the word history, to describe his own grandson I will leave
“nappy” and its relationship with Black people and to the cultural warriors to hash out. But the fact
our hair. Suffice it to say that it is a complicated that Mark’s grandson plays football and basket-
word. Within the Black community the use of the ball—a point Attorney Goldsby raised in her letter
word “nappy” is common at Black hair salons and to the editor—does not make it a stereotype about
barbershops in 2021. You can see Chris Rock’s Black youth and sports. It makes Mark’s grandson
movie “Good Hair” to understand the issue better. a typical Black youth in America. There is a reason

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