The celebrated Chicano writer posted the work Aug. 1 on his Facebook page as a tribute to educator and author Roberto "Cintli" Rodriguez, who died the day before.
In a statement, San Antonio’s Department of Arts & Culture said it aims to foster a "just, inclusive and equitable city," adding that the poem is incompatible with De León's responsibilities as poet laureate.
"The City of San Antonio’s Poet Laureate is to uphold these values, which include denouncing racism among other oppressive barriers, while using creative poetic expressions to unite our community," the statement continued. "Nephtalí De León recently posted a poem contrary to the City’s values and the role of City Poet Laureate. As a result, Mr. De León’s contract with the City of San Antonio has been terminated."
The city ended his contract four months into what was to have been a three-year term.
City officials learned about the poem from a pair of letters, one signed by city and state poets laureate and another by a group of poets and educators, according to an Express-News report.
The poem also sparked discussion on De León's Facebook page, where some questioned or blasted his use of the term usually considered a racial slur. Others, however, defended its use, saying it's part of the poet's right to free expression.
In a lengthy post, De León, 78, said he intended no "malignancy or racism" in his use of the slang, saying Chicano forms of expression are young compared to other languages, meaning they're still evolving and their words are open to multiple interpretations.
"In comparison to the centuries that these other sources of language had to develop and establish their identities, and modes of speech and writing, in regards to our Chicano people and language, we are not even an infant," he wrote. "Our language is becoming. As such, it is fresh, experimental, spontaneous, picaresque, and certainly not in a dictionary. Established institutions frown on it, misunderstand it, or don’t understand it all."
In a post on De León's page, Andrea "Vocab" Sanderson — the city's previous poet laureate — thanked people who commented on the poem "to course correct the usage of this word and address our brother Nephtali in love." She added that she had never been called the term out of love or endearment.
"It is the highest and lowest insult/slur/derogatory term for [B]lack people used to insult us and reduce us behind our back or to our faces," Sanderson said. "It is steeped in racism, classism, and all the other negative 'isms.' It's not worth trying to 'reclaim' if that was the intention in this poem. It's not showing us 'endearment' either. It is a familiarizing insult. Surely in your vast lexicon there had to have been another term better suited when referring to African American people from community."
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