Miss Doodle Mae: “When the going gets tough, storms are rough and tolerance tested, a good leader will use experience, wit and understanding to calm those who are distressed. After hearing the news about a racist rant from Donald Sterling, owner of the Los Angeles Clippers basketball team, Jojo called for an emergency meeting with the Jojo Discount Dollar Store staff. He also addressed a recent racial conflict between two senior citizens in isle 5.”
Jojo: “When it rains, it pours. Immediately after getting the news about Donald Sterling’s sounding off about his mixed-race mistress socializing with black people, a store clerk heard an old white woman say to an old black woman: ‘Had I known this was one of those ‘N-word’ stores, I would have gone someplace else.’
“Suddenly, two elderly women shouted to each other the lyrics from an old Sly and the Family Stone song. Don’t call me n*gger, whitey.
Don’t call me whitey, n*gger.
“The quick acting store clerk separated the two women and cooled off the possible racial tension.
“Sometimes, the best way to avoid distress is to avoid distress. Don’t start anything, won’t be anything. It is what it is: the ugly head of racism, bigotry and prejudice.
“I think Sly Stone said it best:
Well, I went down across the country,
and I heard some voices rang.
They was talkin’ softly to each other,
and not a word could change a thing.
“Moral of the story: just be careful out there.”
Recent Immigration Stories
The Mississippi Free Press produced this story through the MFP Solutions Lab, supported by the Solutions Journalism Network. This series digs into Mississippi’s systemic issues and sheds light on responses to them in other communities. Beyond just reporting on problems, these stories interrogate their causes and inspect potential solutions.