Nic Joins National Discrimination Conversation Power Of Offensive Words Underlined At Events

B.J. Johnson, an African American man, was working recently at a Coeur d’Alene home improvement store when a little boy pointed at him.

The boy asked his mother if Johnson was an “n,” Johnson said Wednesday, refusing to say the racist word the little boy used.

“Kids are these cute little floppy disks. And we’re filling them up with garbage,” Johnson said. “This kid couldn’t have been more than 3 or 4.”

Johnson, a student at North Idaho College, shared that experience Wednesday during one of several events planned by the college to spur conversations about racism.

NIC is participating in “Initiative for One America,” a nationwide program developed by the Clinton administration to encourage college campuses to have conversations about discrimination. NIC had events Monday through Wednesday, from a film on tolerance to a presentation on the meaning of race relations.

Johnson, who is president of the college’s human equality club, said one of the first steps toward cultural sensitivity is learning what words are offensive to people.

“Whether you want to believe it or not, you do need to watch what comes out of your mouth,” Johnson said.

Josh Buehner, a former NIC student, said public schools are partly to blame for misconceptions people have about race. The schools only teach the history of Caucasian people, he said.

Johnson agreed, saying, “Black history month? Month? I’m black all year round.”

Dan Sheckler, NIC’s student body president, defended the college’s history classes, citing two courses that he felt offered a complete view of history.

But racism wasn’t the only topic discussed at the meeting. An advertisement for a women’s soccer meeting on campus sparked a conversation about sexism.

The hand-drawn flier posted outside the student union building showed a big-busted woman in a tank top and said simply, “Womens soccer - 4 p.m.”

“It was quite a cleavage shot. If they put that for the women, what do they put for the men?” asked Buehner, who was president of the Human Equality Club when he attended NIC.

“It’s objectifying women,” said Marian Ackerman, a faculty member. “It’s done so often that we accept it.”