An open letter to DJ David Lowe...

Sent to David Lowe - a DJ from the UK who was recently asked to resign because he played a song from the 1930's that contained the N-Word on live radio.

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Mr. Lowe:

Admittedly, I have never heard of you or your show prior to coming across this article about your resignation.  While I understand that you have been in the business for thirty-two years, launching into a tirade about being in an era of political correctness does not make me sympathetic to the fact that you are now unemployed.  

As an African-American man who has been called the N-word throughout his life by people who share the same skin color as you, the sound of that word takes on a totally different meaning for me and serves as a present reminder of society's inglorious past.  The N-word packs a punch that very few words can offer, and since you've never had the misfortune to be on the receiving end of it, I find a portion of your "apology" disingenuous and more about displacing the absence of what was your professional responsibility.  There is a reason for political correctness, kind sir.  The goal of it is to change the landscape of our language and purge the vile and hateful rhetoric that used to permeate everyday conversation.  While it cannot police people's morals, it does hold everyone accountable for their actions.  By your own admission, you've played "The Sun Has Got His Hat On" during your show in the past.  While I've never heard it until today, I could clearly hear the N-word the first time I played it.  Just because you were caught THIS TIME didn't mean playing it before wasn't wrong.  Though it was deemed acceptable at the time, Ambrose singing the N-word in 1932 was also wrong.  What I am saying is that you should have been more careful.  Thirty-two years does not mean you can ignore what is no longer acceptable (and should not have been acceptable in the first place).  In fact, given your stature, you have a greater responsibility to maintain a positive and non-threatening environment for those who listen to you.  The only person that can be blamed for that is you.  

I don't wish you any hard feelings, Mr. Lowe.  In fact, I think you should be back on the radio and doing what you love to do.  The sole purpose for me writing to you is to get you to understand that this is not just about political correctness - it's about our world trying to right some wrongdoings one step at a time.  We all have a responsibility to maintain a certain decor in the public sector.  What we do behind closed doors is our own business.  

Be well,

David Boyd

Brooklyn, NY