Trails in the Sand by Peter Traceit, the Street Detective
Ol Pete has been circling the sand like a shark circle blood-filled water. It seems there are reports that Pete’s namesake may be calling people names, a particular person who he works for, I might add. Ol Pete is thinking, “Where they do that at?”
No one is revealing the name that Super Pete used to describe Black Board member, Torey Alston, but Pete understands that it is a word used during slavery that was swirled from massah’s mouth with the intent of dehumanizing a grown Black man in a similar way as the n-word. It’s a little word, only three letters, but it leaves a punch to the gut of Black men that is emasculating.
Old Pete spent the last week researching this little three-letter word and found some interesting but unsettling facts about the history of this word when used by Whites, particularly White men to address Black men. During slavery, it was even common for a 5-year-old White boy to refer to a Black man using the same term used to describe himself. White Supremacy gave White slave owners permission to treat Black men in a perjorative manner because they had societal, legal, and economic power over them. After the abolishment of slavery and throughout the Jim Crow era, adult Black men continued to be dehumanized and emasculated by Whites referring to them with this little three letter word. This little word inflicted harm that would sustain for over a hundred years.
Detective Traceit wouldn’t trace it if it wasn’t important. The Detective has long felt a certain way about this word but researching and reading the historical significance of the word brought new meaning. Like Trick Daddy, Ol Pete gots ta teach ya!
Pete dug up a lawsuit against the Tyson Chicken company where a Black MAN sued for workplace discrimination after he had been passed up for multiple promotions. The lawsuit by this Black MAN alleged that his White supervisor referred to him countless times using this three-letter word. This case went all the way to the Supreme Court and the nine high court justices ruled that the use of this three-letter word could be racist based on the context of which the word is used.
Ol Pete needs to next dissect the context. The Detective’s sources tell of an angry Super who went to confront Alston during a recess that the Board chair called. While no one knows exactly why Chair Lori Alhadeff called the unscheduled recess, reports have it that she recognized Super Pete’s temperature had risen, and she believed he needed to take a long walk in the sand to calm himself down. In lieu of taking that sand stroll, several sources have reached out to Pete to describe the angry way Super Pete approached the Black MAN he works for. Super Pete had to be coaxed away and calmed down by his Chief of Staff, Dr. Valerie Wanza, and the gentleman he brought from Palm Beach County, Dr. Howard Hepburn.
Buzzes from a reliable source tell Ol Pete that Super Pete’s short fuse was still blazing in the sand. He then approached one of his more favored Board members and demanded that he better get his – – -“”.
Say what?
If this is true, it sho nuf’ sounds like a threat to Ol Pete. Not only is it alleged that Super Pete used the three-letter word, but it is also rumored he used it in a threatening way.
The dirt gets better and it ain’t looking too clean for Super Pete. The Detective excavated a file from the sand where Super Pete is named in a lawsuit alongside the Palm Beach County school district. A “partial” Black teacher alleged Super Pete “excessed” him from his position at a school and hired a White male replacement. The “partial” Black teacher moved to another school and about two years later Pete Licata was transferred to that school. The teacher alleged that while at the new school, Licata made several racially charged remarks to him and treated him less favorably than white female and male teachers. Licata informed the “partial” Black teacher for a second time that he would be “excessed”. The “partial” Black teacher then filed a discrimination complaint against Licata. Licata obviously didn’t care about the lawsuit because the teacher alleged that Licata then terminated his employment altogether. Records reflect that four counts of the case were dismissed based upon legal technicalities but not necessarily substance. Another count of the case was granted so that the teacher could file an amended complaint.
What a tangled, dirty mess!!!
Rome wasn’t built in a day, and neither will this story be completed in a day. All Ol Pete will tell you as he goes back to the sands to uncover dirt is this. “I told you so!” And Pete will tell you what was told once coming back up from the sand next week. Until then, get your popcorn ready cause the sand is getting coarser.
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