The N* Word

Initially, I was very adamant about preserving the rights for Black people to use the all too mystical word nigga. After watching episodes of Oprah confronting Ludacris, Terrence Howard and Don Cheadle, and having intellectual conversations with my aunt and grandmother my viewpoint began to slowly shift. Tracing the history of the n-word leads to the true disgust and demeaning definition of the word. Many have argued that by taking the word, spinning it and making it ours we are taking the power out of it, and now have control. This is indeed a large white lie.

This is the same justification that women use for calling each other bitches. Either way it is unacceptable. Simply put, if a White man calls a Black man the n-word there are all types of problems and repercussions. In the same manner, if a man calls a woman the b-word there are also repercussions, regardless of whether or not she tries to take control of it and identify herself as one. At the end of the day no woman wants to be called a bitch and no true identifying Black man wants to be called a nigga.

I feel that Black people as a collective group are under constant pressure to perform. They are often underestimated, and undermined. People tend to count Black people out before they even show up. With so many different and mostly negative public views of what it means to be Black, many Blacks in an ironic sense feel the need to live up to that. They feel that acting in what ever particular way is what it means to be Black. This is where many regain their false sense of Black pride or street credentials. Referring to each other by the n-word further materializes this issue. The n-word constitutes a whole bunch of dirty connotations. The word is still listed in some dictionaries with an actual definition other than a racial/ethnic slur. If men and women identify with these definitions it is a clear indication of how they view themselves and each other, which is troubling for the future.

The double-edged word aspect of this debate must end. Yes, in many ways I agree that White people have less of a right and it seems more offensive when the word is coming from them. But, I feel even more adamant that the change must start from within. We as Black people cannot point too many fingers at them for using a derogatory word that we continue to keep alive. I would like our sense of Black pride to lie outside and above and beyond referring to each other as niggas. Education has sadly become a dirty word in many of our Black communities. We must instill a sense of pride in true Black culture instead of our often negative, shameful, (dare I say ghetto?) ways.