Jesse Jackson Calls for "N-word" Ban

http://www.wnbc.com/entertainment/10406971/detail.html

Jackson Calls For Entertainment Industry N-Word Ban
Initiative Spurred By Michael Richards' Racial Rant

POSTED: 4:07 pm EST November 27, 2006

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LOS ANGELES -- The Rev. Jesse Jackson is calling on the entertainment industry to stop using the racial slur that Michael Richards used against hecklers in a Los Angeles comedy club.

Jackson and others told reporters Monday that they'll meet with television networks, film companies and musicians to talk about the n-word.

Jackson is also asking the public not to buy a DVD box set of the seventh season of "Seinfeld." The set was released last week, the same week that former Seinfeld star Richards was videotaped unleashing a racist rant against the black hecklers.


Richards had made several apologies, including one Sunday on Jackson's syndicated radio show. He has said he's not a racist, and that he was motivated by anger.

A comedian attending Monday's news conference, Paul Mooney, said he's used the n-word numerous times during stand-up performances, but that he'll no longer do so after watching Richards' rant.

"He's my Dr. Phil," the black comedian said. "He's cured me."

Asked about free-speech issues, Jackson said the word is "unprotected."