A Black author who wrote the book “You Might Be A Nigger” is getting support from the American Civil Liberties Union in battling a citation for violating a Louisiana town’s obscenity laws. The Louisiana chapter of the rights group signed up last week to represent Johnny Duncan in the case he filed last year in U.S. District Court against the city of Amite, its police department and several city officials and police officers. Duncan was parked outside a restaurant in Amite, about 75 miles north of New Orleans, in August 2007 when police officers confronted him about a sign on his car advertising his book. They issued him a obscenity, but the ticket was later dismissed. The ACLU contends that Duncan’s book is a political and social commentary, and argues that while the title may be offensive, it certainly isn’t obscene. “The facts of this case show that Mr. Duncan was detained for no reason other than that the police in Amite didn’t like what he had to say,” ACLU of Louisiana Executive Director Marjorie Esman said in a statement. City lawyer Christopher Moody has asked a New Orleans federal judge to dismiss the case, which he says is one of several frivolous lawsuits Duncan has filed against government officials. “This particular incident was blown way out of proportion and mischaracterized by Mr. Duncan,” he added. “This is not a matter that ought to be in the federal court system. It just doesn’t reach that level of damage or harm.” An Amite resident, Duncan, 56, is seeking $15 million in damages for “anxiety, defamation, fear, mental anguish” and “a host of other intangibles.” He said, “This is about their history of disregarding the law and the Constitution and of depriving me of my rights.” This isn’t his first lawsuit, either, He has filed a libel suit against the Tangipahoa Parish Council, a negligence suit against the Army, a copyright-infringement case against the Nike Inc. athletic shoe company and a civil rights case against the city of Hammond, La.

A 22-year-old college student in a Kansas City neighborhood discovered that a department store had printed “dumb ni**er” on his receipt after he returned a pair of shoes. Keith Slater Jr. of Overland Park had made his purchase at Journey’s shoe store but saw the identical pair for less at another store, so he returned the pricier pair. Later that night, KMBC-TV reports, as he was reviewing the receipt, he noticed the racial slur under the customer category. “When he showed me that receipt, I couldn’t believe it; he couldn’t believe it; none of us could get any sleep,” said Keith’s mother, Linda Slater. Said Keith Slater Sr., “The first thing the store should do is fire that employee.” KBMC said that store officials were unwilling to discuss how the matter was handled. Keith Slater Jr. had returned to college and was unavailable for comment, the TV station said.

7^th-Grade teacher to students: Obama is a ‘N’-word. Angry parents in the northwest Florida community of Marianna want a middle school teacher fired after he put the “N”-word on the board to describe Democratic presidential nominee Sen. Barack Obama. The Marianna Middle School teacher, Greg Howard, is now serving a 10-day suspension after writing an acronym on the dry-erase board on Sept. 26: “C.H.A.N.G.E. – Come Help A N*gg*r Get Elected.” But many parents want the 17-year teacher fired. The seventh-grade social studies teacher’s class has 17 White students, six Black students and one Asian student. Initially he was suspended for the day without pay, but that was elevated to the 10-day punishment. He must also write a letter of apology to students. “We feel like the punishment is sufficient,” Larry Moore, superintendent of the Jackson County School District, told The Detroit Free Press. “We did not feel he had to be fired.” NAACP officials say they will reserve their actions in the case until their investigation is complete. Audrey Wad, who has nieces and nephews at the school, didn’t need any more information before expressing her outrage. “To me, it’s hurtful,” she told the Free Press. “The idea that he would impose his political opinion on the children is wrong to me. That’s where he crossed the line.”

Some say it seems a little more than just a coincidence

Is it a matter of racism or oversensitivity by those offended? Officials with the Arkansas Department of Motor Vehicles have pulled license plates out of circulation with the letter combo of “NGR,” following complaints that it seemed too much like the “N”-word. “Some folks might think its OK, others find it offensive,” said Roger Duren of the Office of Motor Vehicles. “So, if anyone does, anything offensive we try not to issue.” Arkansas does not have someone assigned to screen license plates and filter out any offensive letter combinations.