When the chairman of the Congress of Racial Equality, Roy
Innis, invited me to join him at a luncheon with Dog the Bounty
Hunter, I was slightly puzzled. After all, Mr. Innis was one of
the first to call for the TV network A&E to take Duane
"Dog" Chapman's show off the air after it was reported
that he said the "n" word in a private call to his son.
Had he changed his mind?
Since I had never watched the show, I knew Mr. Chapman only from
the brouhaha that erupted after the National Enquirer disclosed
in late October that his son Tucker had taped him calling
Tucker's girlfriend the "n" word several times. Mr.
Chapman's show was canceled, and he has since made several
television appearances apologizing for his words and seeking to
restore his relationship with the black community.
Because I have such great respect for Mr. Innis and CORE, I was
more eager to hear his opinion on Dog's fall from grace than I
was to meet the man who once starred in A&E's most popular
show. When I arrived at CORE's Broadway office, the entire staff
was posing for photographs with Dog and his wife, Beth Chapman.
None of the predominantly African-American staff members appeared
reluctant to pose with the alleged racist, and that's because Mr.
Chapman isn't one.
"Like many that heard the comments made by Duane 'the Dog'
Chapman without the proper context, I was offended and
outraged," Mr. Innis said. "After meeting with him and
his wife, Beth, and hearing his side of the story, we realized
that the controversy had unjustly spiraled out of control without
context."
Later on at lunch in the Village, I heard the full details of
that infamous call and asked Mr. Chapman why he didn't say more
about the extenuating circumstances when he was on the
"Larry King Live" show. He explained that he wanted to
take responsibility for uttering those hateful words and that he
didn't want to do anything that would hurt Tucker's girlfriend.
Like Mr. Innis, I too realize that Mr. Chapman is not a racist.
Racists do not belong to churches where the pastor is a black
man, nor do they have them as friends. Getting offended by the
"n" word actually depends on who is saying it.
President Clinton's brother Roger was caught on police video
saying that word repeatedly, yet blacks consider Bill Clinton the
first black president. It seems to me that instead of crying foul
over the word, we should point out that the person using it is an
idiot and leave it at that.
Unlike many so-called rights groups that create discord out of
racial incidents, CORE remains an organization that seeks and
creates harmony between the races. That's also probably why
CORE's remarkable accomplishments receive little coverage from
the mainstream press.
I asked Mr. Chapman if he had seen "Mississippi
Burning," and he nodded. Then I asked him if he knew that
those murdered civil rights workers were from CORE. He was
stunned. He had no idea about the history of this great civil
rights organization.
I then told him about what CORE has done for the black community
here in New York, holding health fairs and offering high-tech
cardiac CT scans in conjunction with Cabrini Hospital, to name
just two.
I've reported the strides CORE has made in helping African
farmers use biotechnology to improve agriculture and to fight
hunger on that continent, undoing the damage done to millions of
Africans who are dying from malaria because of the ban on DDT.
Mr. Chapman was fascinated by what he heard, and he seemed
determined to share this information.
"Duane has taken ownership of the damage of his words and
has taken on the responsibility of being a racial healer for our
country," Mr. Innis said. "I have been with this man
several times and had extensive dialogues with him. Niger and I
consider him and his wife good friends. Duane is a changed man
and has a higher purpose. Popular television is a wasteland of
meaningless titillation and degradation. The Dog's potential to
take his celebrity and turn it into something redeeming for our
culture and society is immense. It is for these reasons that we
want his television show back on the air."
Incidentally, CORE (www.coreonline.org) will hold its Martin
Luther King celebration on January 21 at the Sheraton Hotel. A
guest of honor will be Senator McCain; Duane "Dog"
Chapman will be another special guest. This one may be a sellout.