Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal believes that it’s appropriate to call Black people “colored” in 2016. During a speech in which he continued to push the Amendment 1 bill that would allow the state of Georgia to takeover failing schools, Deal said, “The irony of some of the groups who are opposing doing something to help these minority children is beyond my logic. If you want to advance the state of ‘colored people,’ start with their children.”
Deal later said that he was referring to the NAACP who have opposed the bill. He hinted that he was using a pun on the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. But the use of language by Deal was wrong and offensive on many levels.
As governor of a state, he should know that it’s racist and an insult to refer to Black people as “colored.” Even if he didn’t agree with the NAACP’s stance, he must have the wherewithal to not use that word. Furthermore, his use of “these minority children” and “their children” creates a sense of separatism instead of inclusion. The problem becomes based off of race instead of it being a state issue.
But the NAACP and other Black leaders in Atlanta understand why the Amendment 1 bill is flawed. Because public schools are given funds from the U.S. government, state officials aren’t allowed to have access to the money. But if Gov. Deal and the state of Georgia can take over the public schools, they would be able to have access to the funds provided by the government. There isn’t proof that the state of Georgia would misuse the funds, but it’s not in the good interest of the community for state politicians to dictate how the funds are spent. Especially in a state where the governor has a history of fraud.
Overall, Gov. Deal is out of touch with Blacks in his state and he proved it by the language that he used. He’s also attempting to implement a flawed bill that will not drastically improve “failing” schools.
