Phase 3: The N Word. Use it or Lose it?
For a long time, there has been a lot of controversy concerning the use of the “N” word. Black people believe that only other black people should be able to use the term as if holding some kind of “right” to use it. As an adolescent, I looked at the N word as an aggressive term of endearment compared to labels such as “bro”, “sis” or “bestie”. This was because I often heard black people address one another in the streets with “Wassup Nigga.” But after learning about the origin of the “N” word, the usage of it just doesn’t sit right with me. We know it originated during slavery times and it was used as a derogatory term to identify black people. However, currently, people seem to have separated “nigger” as a derogatory term and “nigga” as a form of slang. My issue with the use of this word is that term “Nigga” is derived from “Nigger” therefore still linked to a history of trauma and disrespect. In this essay, I will be addressing the history of the N word and providing argumentation for my belief that the N word shouldn’t be used by any one black or non-black because the term still has a derogatory meaning attached to it.
American Law Professor and author, Randall L. Kennedy, in his 2000 article, “Who can say “Nigger”?… and Other Considerations”, published in The JBHE Foundation, INC, addresses the topic of Who can say Nigger and argues that “nigger” has served as a way of referring derogatorily, contemptuously and often menacingly to blacks. He supports this claim by referencing sp
ecific situations in life where the word nigger being used caused a negative result, then he explains that “Nigger” is and has long been the outstanding racial insult on the American social landscape and finally argues that word Nigger to colored people is like a red rag to a bull. Kennedy’s purpose is to clarify who should use the N word and who shouldn’t as he takes a pretty neutral stance when he says, “There is no compelling justification for presuming that black usage or nigger is permissible while white usage is objectionable.” He adopts a rather compassionate tone for his audience, the readers of The JBHE Foundation, INC and others interested in the topic of who should be allowed to say the N word.
2003 Bowery Poetry Club Co-Grand Slam Champion, Julian Curry, in his poem “Niggaz” addresses how offensive it is that the word “nigga” is being thrown around casually as a means of communications considering its traumatic origin and questions whether our ancestors would react negatively or neutrally upon hearing it today. He supports this claim by informing us how Wall Street received its name, then explaining how disrespectful it is that the word “nigga” is used so commonly when it was once how blacks were addressed by their slave masters and argues that the fault lies with whoever created the myth that it was okay to use such a term so casually. Curry’s purpose is to remind us of the history of the N word and infer how our ancestors may feel today in order to dissuade us from continuing to address one another with such a word. He adopts an assertive yet powerful tone for his audience; black people and others interested in the topic of the N word and its usage.
Doctoral Candidate of Clinical Psychology, Chaiku Hanson, in her 2016 article “Nigger vs Nigga” published by The HuffPost attacks all usage of the N word and argues that no one should be allowed to use it whether they’re black or non-black. She supports this claim by summarizing the history of the N word, then criticizes those who believe that when black people use it, it’s not being used in a derogatory sense and she counterargues by reminding her readers that the term “Nigga” has been used as an insult from blacks to blacks as well, not just “nigger”. Hanson’s purpose is to persuade her audience to stop justifying the use of the N word in order to bring awareness to how using the N word casually opens the doors for other races to do the same when addressing black people. She adopts a straightforward tone for her audience, the readers of The HuffPost and others interested in the topic of halting justification for the usage of the N word.
In his book “Nigger: The Strange Career of a Troublesome Word” published by Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group & Google Books in 2008, Randall Kennedy speaks of a saying that some of his family lived by which was “Never give up your right to act like a nigger” which meant Negroes should be unafraid to speak up loudly and act out militantly on behalf of their interests. He also speaks on his father who proudly declared himself a “Stone Nigger” which was a black man without pretensions who was unafraid to enjoy himself openly and loudly despite the objections of condescending whites or 
insecure blacks (Kennedy, pg. vxii). He goes on to explain how his father did so through intuiting what Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes once observed which was “a word is not a crystal, transparent and unchanged,” but is instead “the skin of a living thought that may vary greatly in color and content according to the circumstances and time in which it is used” (Kennedy, page 1). Kennedy also mentions the same quote in the previously mentioned article “Who can say Nigger…” and from my understanding, it wants to persuade us that yes, even though Nigger has a past of being used in a derogatory fashion for a long time, it’s not something transparent and unchanged like a crystal, but rather a living thought, it’s something you give meaning to. It explains why people can take pride in calling themselves a nigger/nigga because they have taken a traumatic identity and found empowerment from it. While I find this truly commendable, I still believe the N word shouldn’t be used in such a fashion, unless identifying self with self. When trying to refer to self as a nigga to others, there can be mixed reactions. Some blacks may take pride in hearing other blacks refer to themselves as such. Some blacks may find it offensive and claim they are disrespecting themselves. Then doing it around nonblacks may give nonblacks permission to address other blacks the same way and who knows what response will concur from that? This to me shows why there’s such controversy between black people on the use of the N word because a lot of people see it as a term of endearment and empowerment and some still see it in a derogatory sense and I’m not sure if both sides are even trying to convince one another, or trying to come to a mutual understanding of what it means then vs what it means now, but it takes work for one to change their view on something and it doesn’t help that there’s such a traumatic history attached to it.
In their article summary “The Word Nigger as Racialized and Non-Racialized” published in The Journal of Undergraduate Ethnic Minority Psychology, Bukun F. Adegbembo & Colleen MacQuarrie mentions how Galinsky et al., (2003) defined reappropriation as “taking possession for oneself that which was once possessed by another” (par. 5). This finding may indicate how Randall Kennedys’ father found pride in calling himself a “Stone Nigger”. He took repossession of the term and found empowerment in it. The article goes on to explain how Reappropriation happens in 3 steps; 1. Self-identification with the term, 2. Collective identification with the term and 3. A positive meaning of the word is formed (par. 5). However, in their next section they speak on Internalized Oppression. They speak on the topic of self-labelling and how it may be a manifestation of the ideologies of White supremacy instead (par. 7). So, this helps me to conclude that while some blacks may find pride in calling themselves the N word, others may find it disrespectful to self-label with the term that was once used to label our very race as inferior and beneath whites.
What is important to notice here is how blacks and non-blacks identify and separate themselves from the past. There are many blacks who feel that because the black heroes before us took a stand for our rights, it’s now our responsibility to make sure those rights are enforced, and I agree wholeheartedly. But this study has shown me there’s non-blacks who disassociate from past historical events where it’s mentioned in a discourse a respondent wrote “I’m white too and I’m not ashamed of my ancestors. After all I didn’t do anything” (par. 38 “Isolating racism”). There were many other comments such as “It should have been changed years ago. The word is unacceptable and racist now and was so in the past” (par. 23) and “I think we are too sensitive as a society and people are just looking for something to bitch about” (par. 25) showing how controversial the usage of the N word still remains and maybe both statements are perhaps true. I do believe the N word is unacceptable and racist depending on its context because I won’t act like I don’t use the word myself despite it being on rare occasion. I myself tend to use it as a term of endearment when speaking to my own black friends I’d say something like “You my nigga”, essentially meaning this is someone dear to me, someone close and relatable to. I’ve never called someone that in exchange for their name such as “Wassup nigga” or “Thank you nigga” because now I feel it’s addressing one via a label rather than using their name. But then there are non-blacks who said very awful things about black people using the N word. Circling back to Kennedy’s “Nigger: The Stranger Career of a Troublesome word” on (page 6)
he speaks of internet sites such as KKKomedy Center that make awful racist jokes such as “What do you call a nigger boy riding a bike? A thief” and “Why do decent white folk shop at nigger yard sales? To get all their stuff back, of course!” What a vulgar and nasty thing to say about one’s race! I literally cringed reading these awful insults being passed off as jokes.
As for the previous comment that speaks on how we as a society and people are too sensitive and look for things to bitch about, I believe this can be the case sometimes. I remember meeting with my sister at a motorcycle accident her friend had been in and there was a black woman on the phone with 911. Shortly after, the ambulance came to get the black boy who had been in the accident, however the woman was still calling 911 because she wanted to make a police report it seemed. I was there with my sister who knew the boy and was waiting to see how things turned out considering his bike was still at the scene of the accident. I remember hearing the black woman make comments about how the police were taking so long to come because the boy had been black, that if she had got on the phone and said a white boy was in an accident the police would have come running. I’m not sure how true or not that statement is but I felt like it was a very prejudice thing to say, it sounded like victimhood to me. Shortly after she begins to argue with a white woman as well who was on the scene and was picking up piece from the bike that flew off. The black woman now shouts at her telling her to leave everything where it is as to not tamper with the scene. The white woman exclaims she was just moving the mirror closer to the bike. The black lady walks off mumbling to herself making comments about the woman’s race and I no longer felt comfortable so I asked my sister if we could go.
In conclusion, I doubt people will ever stop using the N word, the most we can hope for is that it’ll no longer be used with intentions to disrespect but rather to uplift oneself. I’ve shared the idea of the N word being used as a means to address self and a few of my friends didn’t seem to understand what I meant so I’ll try to explain further. When I first started this letter, I was very adamant about the N word being used in general. It still holds a derogatory sense in my mind after being exposed to the history and trauma of it. However, some of the sources mentioned in this letter have persuaded me to take self-pride in being a nigga. Whether that be a stone nigger who lives without pretensions and is unafraid to enjoy himself openly and loudly despite the objections of condescending whites or insecure blacks such as Kennedy’s father stated, or just a nigga in general who takes pride in being black. I do believe one can find pride in self without using that word, however everyone should be able to self-identify as they so choose. The confusion comes in when other people are involved because they may or may not understand why you choose to label yourself a nigga. Then identifying other blacks openly in that way in the presence of non-blacks could possibly open a door that allows non-blacks to feel comfortable referring to other blacks as such, but not every black person is in agreement on referring to themselves as a nigga to begin with so imagine how they’ll react to it. For now, it’s still a very sensitive word for many and an encouraging word for many and while I still believe no one should use the N word, I do believe in freedom of speech and that there’s no harm in blacks taking pride in labeling themselves as such.
Works Cited:
Who Can Say “Nigger”? And Other Considerations on JSTOR (cuny.edu)
Kennedy, Randall L. “Who Can Say ‘Nigger’? And Other Considerations.” The Journal of Blacks in Higher Education, no. 26, 1999, pp. 86–96. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/2999172. Accessed 13 Apr. 2021.
Def Poetry – Julian Curry – Niggers Niggas & Niggaz – YouTube
MisterMo. Def Poetry – Julian Curry – Niggers Niggas & Niggaz. Performance by Julian Curry, YouTube, YouTube, 28 Jan. 2007, www.youtube.com/watch?v=wD-UpHlB9no.
Nigger: The Strange Career of a Troublesome Word – Randall Kennedy – Google Books
Kennedy, Randall. “Nigger: The Strange Career of a Troublesome Word” Google Books, Google, 2008, books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=VgVzXgUxFB4C&oi=fnd&pg=PR11&dq=the%2Borigin%2Bof%2Bnigger&ots=ZT0xFGvMi_&sig=x58ilLh2V-lq1fwT5od1QNtMHmQ#v=onepage&q=the%20origin%20of%20nigger&f=false.
Hanson, Chiaku. “Nigger vs Nigga.” HuffPost, HuffPost, 22 June 2017, www.huffpost.com/entry/nigger-vs-nigga_b_10602798.
Adegbembo, Bukun F, and Colleen MacQuarrie. “The Word Nigger as Racialized and Non-Racialized: A Foucauldian Discourse Analysis on the N-Word in a Canadian Society.” Journal of Undergraduate Ethnic Minority Psychology, 2017. (juempsychology.com)
