Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

Editorial: No excuse for use of N-word

What in the world did Carlos Garcia think he was doing when he recently used the N-word? Whatever his intent -- and he says it was to instruct, not to hurt -- the effect was to offend every resident of Clark County. From the context of his unfortunate remark, there is no reason to believe that Garcia is a racist, but it shows such poor judgment that it gets his tenure as superintendent of the diverse Clark County School District off to an unnecessarily rocky start.

During an interview with high school interns from radio station KCEP 88.1-FM, Garcia was asked about racism. The new superintendent started off by saying that bigotry was unacceptable. "I never see colors. To me, people are people," Garcia said. So far so good. But Garcia didn't stop there, opting to add the following: "I always say this, and it sounds strange. Niggers come in all colors, and a nigger is someone who doesn't respect themselves or any others. Everybody has them."

He's right about one thing -- it does sound strange. It goes without saying that someone who is in charge of our public schools, and who is supposed to set a high standard for all teachers and students to follow, should be very careful about how he discusses sensitive subjects. Race is about as sensitive a subject as there is, as Garcia, who is Hispanic, knows.

Ironically, in the same interview, Garcia told the high school students that racism had no place in education. "If anybody who works for the Clark County School District makes those overtones, that's unacceptable," Garcia said. If there is any good to come out of Garcia's remarks, for which he has apologized, it is that they might raise awareness that words do matter and can cause harm when used so carelessly.

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