The Tone Police’s Greatest Hits - You Can’t Use the Word Profiled - and other favorites from the album series RhetComp: The Academy Years

Oct 15, 2026

A creative nonfiction account examines misgynoiracist experiences and inequitable dynamics within RhetComp, arguing that truth and reconciliation are necessary for any possibility of equity in the academy. It traces a student’s rhetorical training from undergraduate essay feedback to a near–HR denial of permission to use the word “profiled” for a problematic workplace interaction. The narrative critiques how civility, professionalism, and branding can prioritize the optics of diversity over substantive justice.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryLiterature

FormatPDF

Pages17

Reading Time26 min

AccessFree to download

The Tone Police’s Greatest Hits

Confession, denial, and reconciliation

RhetComp: The Academy Years as compilation

Review of “Black Nationalist Type”

No Respect from the Album Macro, Not Micro

The Tone Police’s Greatest Hits Kathleen Tarr “You Can’t Use the Word Profiled” and other favorites from the album series RhetComp: The Academy Years Ibram X. Kendi has said,“Indeed, the heartbeat of being antiracist is confession. The heartbeat of being racist is denial.” What solidarity gestures and diversity may deny, equity confesses. This creative approach to nonfiction account of misgynoiracist experiences within RhetComp calls for truth and reconciliation as necessary conditions if there is to be any possibility of equity within the academy. This piece journeys—through a humorous, absurdist—through a humorous, absurdist approach—Black women's experiences in the discipline from receiving essay feedback during a student’s undergraduate years as a rhetoric major to quasi-HR’s denial of permission to an instructor seeking to use the word “profiled” to describe a problematic workplace interaction. The pretext of civility and professionalism that serves to surveil and discipline BIPOC scholars in the academy generally is just as common in the field of RhetComp. This text explores inequitable dynamics within the context of individual and institutional branding that seem to prioritize merely the optics of diversity. RhetComp: The Academy Years is a roller coaster of tunes, some that will no doubt make your top ten catchy and uplifting playlist, including “Philosophy Isn’t the Only Doctorate”(music and lyrics by Dr. Jill Biden; Treisman, producer1) and the groundbreaking “FINALLY Student Evaluations of Teaching Aren’t Used in Employment Decisions” (music by lead singer FedUp of the rap group You’ve Been Served; lyrics by Discrimination Lawyers ‘R’Us; Yetter, producer) . However, The Tone Police’s contributions to this compilation are so dispiriting that the album series is transformed into the worst of the rhetoric and composition genre by far. Each song is its own earworm yet lacks rhyme or reason. No, you can’t easily vanquish these tracks from memory. As such, The Tone Police can certainly boast that their greatest hits make a deep impression. Still, the overall mood is a whole lot of teeth sucking. Here is my review of some of the so-called favorites. 2 “Black Nationalist Type” from the Album Major This song, first released in the late 1980s, begins with a strong electronica groove but then turns to garbage. The song tells the story of a young Black woman, Brianna, during her undergraduate years at a public four-year uniComposition Studies 49.2 (2021): 79–95 versity. As listeners, we eavesdrop on her inner voice as she experiences a racist incident during a required course for her chosen major, rhetoric. Brianna enters the class; she is eager and excited to focus on persuasion, and she is confident that an emphasis on legal philosophy is the perfect preparation for law school. For the essay assignment, Brianna writes a paper arguing that tort law intersects with hate speech (recommended listening: “LGBT Tort” by Love). Brianna is proud of both the work that went into it, the logos, and the originality of her claim. Before she gets her grade back, Brianna reviews a text written by one of the only two other Black students in the class, an analysis of the rhetoric of graffiti. She thinks it is wonderfully written and insightful, and she never looks at graffiti the same again. Even a simple “Happy Birthday, Erik!” spray painted on a wall in an Oslo ghetto sparks a future conversation she instigates about context, kairos. (She concludes,“Really, the most dangerous folks in Norway right now are us Americans.”) Brianna expands her mind—an aspirational goal in every strong liberal institution’s mission—and buys into the value of diversity by observing,“What would a girl from the North Shore otherwise know about graffiti?” She thereby moves toward the lie that inclusion is diversity’s synonym. In this moment, she is grateful simply to be in the company of brilliance asthe music swells into what she will soon experienc

FAQs

What core argument does the text make about antiracism and denial?

It frames antiracist life as rooted in confession, while racism is driven by denial. It then links this to solidarity gestures and how equity can remain blocked when truth is refused.

How does the piece describe misgynoiracist experience in RhetComp?

It follows a progression from racist incidents tied to required rhetoric courses to institutional denial of permission regarding the term “profiled.” The story emphasizes how surveillance and discipline can be carried out under the cover of civility and professionalism.

Why does the author critique diversity within the academy?

The text argues that many efforts prioritize “the optics of diversity” through individual and institutional branding. Inclusion is portrayed as being treated as a synonym for diversity rather than addressing deeper inequitable dynamics.

Oct 15, 2026

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