The Afro American Experience

UNM sophomore Jo Ann Smith sang for President Obama in New York once, which is pretty cool by anyone’s standards.
And she doesn’t like the N-word.

Jo Ann Smith: Nigga is not a good term. I mean I can understand you saying “negro.” That’s black in Spanish. It’s literal. But saying “nigga,” saying “oh my nigga, my homie” — that was used to demean us. We were hung from trees and dragged and beaten and called that constantly. And being belittled. That’s used as a belittlement to even call your friend a nigga. Like, no!
Daily Lobo: So what do you think about rappers throwing that word around?

JAS: I don’t know if they really know what they’re talking about. Not only are they belittling their own selves and their own race, they’re belittling their own people. Not only that, they’re belittling women. My mom always says this: “You’re going to be really scrutinized and belittled because not only are you black, but you’re a woman.” We’re, like, very last on the food chain. Before we were even allowed to vote, we still weren’t allowed to vote because we were black, you know? Rappers nowadays these days, they don’t know what they’re talking about. I don’t think it’s cool at all.

Smith said racial tensions exist on campus, but they’re subtle, and while the school may look diverse, the attitude is not diverse. She hails from Los Angeles and wasn’t prepared for the small-town mentality she finds all over New Mexico, she said. One blue-eyed, blond-haired guy called her “Blackie Chan” and she went off on him.

JAS: I was like, “You can’t just say that stuff because you know me. If you were around any other black person saying that, you would’ve got jumped. I’m just telling you this to save your butt.” You know how they say, “A drunk mind speaks a sober heart?” Well, I was just going off, rattling, rattling, about everything that bothered me in the past. I was calling him racist and stuff. He says the N-word, clearly blond-haired, blue-eyed. I don’t think it’s OK for anybody to say the N-word. I don’t even say the N-word. And I was saying “Cracker!” like loud and I was pretty drunk, but I didn’t care. I was like, “You like that? You like that?”
…
And then there are the other classes where you talk about racism or slavery or whatever. I remember being in a lecture hall, and we were discussing slavery, and I’m like one of the three black people in class talking about slavery in front of like a whole classroom — about a good 50-60 people of just white people.

DL: Did that make you feel weird?
JAS: Yeah, they were making it seem like slavery wasn’t so bad. We were talking about the compensation they’re giving African-Americans in the U.S. — $5,000.

DL: They’re giving who, exactly, $5,000?
JAS: African-Americans. Blacks.

DL: When?
JAS: I don’t know. There’s a rumor going around from the government. And they were talking about how we shouldn’t really deserve it ’cause it doesn’t really affect the new generation, and I’m like “Well, I get your point right there. You know, cause I didn’t go through slavery.” But because of slavery, I can’t go back to my great-great grandmother because I don’t know who they are because they got sold off, you know? I don’t know completely who my family is. I can’t go back and trace my roots. You can clearly go up to your family and go back to Europe or Asia and clearly see your family’s past. We were supposed to get three acres and a mule when we got emancipated from slavery, and we still didn’t get that! So, it’s like you think $5,000 is going to count? That’s kind of like an insult but…

After performing for Obama, she decided to stop singing and focus on being a pre-med student. Then she took Kristen Loree’s performance art class at UNM and realized her true self, so she decided to go into pre-law and minor in entertainment communications. She sang naked onstage for her end-of-the-semester performance.
“When I did that performance arts class, that really opened up my eyes,” Smith said. “Not a lot of people know during that time, that was a really hard time for me. I was going through a break up. It was for me showing the purification of myself to people. Showing that side of myself that nobody knows on campus. Nobody knew that I sang. That’s one reason why I performed it nude. What better way to show your true self to people than just being pure? Who you are? And being nude, you know? So, I mean, that really opened up my eyes to just free myself and become more open.”