Rapper Slim Thug has been in the hot seat for comments that he made on Vibe.com. Marc Lamont Hill, Associate Professor of Education at Columbia University, stands up on behalf of black women.
A section from Hill’s “An Open Letter to Slim Thug” reads:
While many people dismissed it as a publicity stunt or the rant of an ignorant rapper, I felt compelled to respond to him.
Slim,
A few days ago, you made comments in Vibe magazine that have caused a great deal of controversy. While I appreciate your willingness to offer your opinion in public, you made several statements that were not only unfair and untrue, but deeply damaging to our community.
As an artist who is respected by millions of fans, particularly young ones, I found your comments to be hurtful and irresponsible. Imagine how a young black girl feels to hear from you, her role model, that her “standards are too high” and that she should “bow down” and “settle for less.”
Of course, you have every right to say things that you think are true. The problem, however, is that there was very little truth in your comments.
In your interview, you talk about how much better white women treat their partners than black women. If what you’re saying is true, why do Whites have the highest divorce rate of any group? Do white men get tired of being treated like kings? In reality, it seems that you are buying into (and selling) a stale but dangerous ideal that constructs White women as ultra-feminine, loving, queens, and Black women as angry, selfish, and untrustworthy [expletives].
