Greater Egleston High School

Research Project
The N Word Controversy
April 7, 2014
Lynnette Deleon Hernandez
Advance Research Methods
Ms. Sanon








Lynnette Deleon
The N Word Controversy

According to the Websters dictionary, Nigger is defined as: a victim of prejudice similar
to that suffered by African Americans; It is also defined as a person who is economically,
politically, or socially disenfranchised. The N word was a word used to make people of
color feel inferior, to make them feel as if they were less than every single white person in
existence. Although there are many different ways that people use the N word, changing
the er to a then making the word nigga, does not change the root of the initial
definition. I personally do not use the word, and struggle to even write it down; it is
uncomfortable when used in most situations. However, that does not mean people should
stop using it, just because it makes some people feel uncomfortable. The word has never
made its way into my list of vocabulary words, and I do not mind when my friends use it,
perhaps one day the word might actually be reclaimed in a positive way one day even
though it would be wrong.

I dont think a lot of people are informed about the history of the N word. Free man or
slave, white slave masters would call all black people. The N word was used to categorize
people into places in which no human being should be placed. People throw the word around
and do not realize its impact on others. When a person that is not of color uses it, it is
automatically racist, but when an African American or Latino uses it, it is okay. Or is it just
society thinking this way. Many people use it, and sometimes even knowing the history of the
N word, still use it carelessly.
The meaning of the word or at least its use has definitely changed over time. Now,
typically amongst minorities and the younger people it is used in a more friendly way. They use
it to refer to someone that they are close with, or just a friend in general. It is used innocently
and carelessly in todays conversations. Despite the history, many people see it as a friendly
term, although sometimes used to refer to a person of dislike.
Many older people say that the younger generation does not appreciate the history
behind the word, but in reality a lot of them truly are uneducated when it comes to the N
word. Some people may know, and some people might still be facing racism, but there is a lack
of knowledge amongst the youth of society about the N word history. People utter the word
without hesitation, as if they just dont know the hurt and damage a simple word caused for
centuries.
In society the word seems to be popular. You hear the word in everyday conversations,
music and movies. A great example of this is the song My Nigga by YG, where he uses the
term Nigga 106 times. People argued that if the word was changed to my friend/homie the
song would take a whole new route and it would become less likeable. They feel as though
changing the word would make the song sound gay or corny, that if the N word were to
be replaced in the song it just would not sound right. Rappers tend to use it the most, and they
feel as though it is necessary because those are the terms that their intended audience uses.
Many people can also argue that the word does not necessarily need to be used in order to be a
successful rap artist; examples of those artists include Lupe Fiasco and Eminem. I really think
the war on terror is a bunch of bullshit. Just a poor excuse for you to use up all your bullets.
How much money does it take to really make a full clip this is a line from Lupe Fiascos song
Words I Never Said. He uses profanity, but he does not use the N word to get a meaning or
point across in his music. He uses positive words with impact, real world issues and a powerful
message.
A group differing, especially in race, religion, or ethnic background, from the majority
of a population(Dictionary). Typically you would hear a person of color using it. But if they can
use it, should Caucasians be given the right to do so? When a person that is not of color uses it,
it is usually frowned upon and even taken personally and offensively. Why is this okay? People
feel that Caucasians should not use the word because it is racist, because of its background,
but yet it is okay for anyone of color to incorporate the word nigga into their vocabulary.
One great example of racial profiling is the case of Amadou Diallo. Amadou Diallo was a
23 year old immigrant from Guinea. He was a street peddler in New York City who had fallen
victim to mistaken identity. He was sitting on his steps in front of his home until confronted by
police. These 4 policemen were not in uniform, and because Diallo stood up to take his wallet
out of his pocket to show identification, the police men shot at him 41 times. His life was taken
because of his skin color, the police had told the court he was pulling out a gun, which was
really a wallet, and so they shot and killed an innocent man that they had assumed was a
criminal.
This case relates to the N word controversy because the person targeted would have
fallen into the category of a nigger. Because of the color of his skin, he was assumed to be a
criminal, and because of that he had lost his life. All of the cops involved happened to be
Caucasians, and they all got away with the murder of Amadou Diallo.
Race also seems to play a big role when it comes to education.
http://profiles.doe.mass.edu/ shows that the majority of teachers in the state are those of
Caucasian decent. There are 111,323.8 white teachers in the Boston Public School district while
there are only 4161.6 African American educators. More specifically, when looking into
different areas, like Boston and Belmont, you will see the same thing. There are 1963.6 African
American teachers in Boston, while the other 934.8 are white. In Belmont, there are 8.9 African
American teachers and 427.1 white. When it comes to the MCAS, both areas end on both ends
of the grading scale. In Boston where the majority of students are of color, they scored well
above the state percentage of needs improvement and warning/failing, meaning more students
scored low. In the Belmont school district, which the majority of students are white, had had
very few students that had gotten a score of needs improvement or warning/failing. This
information shows that the education in predominantly white areas is taken and taught more
seriously in areas that have more Caucasian students.
As a class, the students in the College Prep Academy had come up with a 14 question
survey to distribute. The questions that were most important were numbers 3,6,7 and 10.
Question 3 asked Do you think it is acceptable for a Caucasian or someone from another
ethnicity to use the N word? 73% of students had answered that it was not okay for a
Caucasian to use the N word. Question 7 asked Do you use the N word? 69% of students
had claimed that the word Nigga was part of their vocabulary. The question that in a way
contradicts with the answers to the previous questions is question 10. Question 10 is Would
you let your children use the N word? and about 75% of students had said they would not
allow their children to use it. These students happen to be okay with the word, and feel as
though it would be the right thing to reclaim the word positively, but would not be okay with
letting their children use it. Although they use it, they were educated enough about the word,
that they would not let their children use it.
Different people share different opinions on the same topics. A person who had shared
a good argument as to why the word should not be reclaimed is Ms. Julie Coles. She had shared
her opinion and some brief history to show why she feels the way she does. Her opinion and
her essay are both convincing and extremely informational.

Ms. Julie Coles, author of the essay, The Word in Americas Lexicon That Symbolizes Racial
Oppression, Lynchings, Fear, Hatred and Bigotry.Still, described her personal perspective and
insights about the historical plight of African Americans and why she will never support efforts
to reclaim and permit anyone outside of the African American, and other minority
communities, the right to use the N word. The essay highlights how the N word played a
key role in the oppression of blacks in America for many centuries.

Recent efforts among young African Americans to reclaim the N word in the hopes of
removing any references to past events is stirring up passion and efforts to push back among
older African Americans. Why? Too many of us feel the weight of the sacrifices made by our
black ancestors. The wounds inflicted on our ancestors over the course of centuries of abuse
and oppression run deep. For many the scars of those wounds have not healed and remain too
near the surface. The word nigger uttered by anyone who is white will never find acceptance
among the majority of African Americans who are still recovering from events that occurred
centuries ago. Many African Americans strongly believe if a white person says the N word it
is meant to serve as a reminder of a time when blacks in America were powerless to respond to
the oppressive conditions during, after and since the enslavement of our ancestors.
For many generations of African Americans the N word is taboo because of its origins.
Images of blacks being bound and shackled then forced into slave ships and sent to America to
be separated from their families, sold into slavery and enduring centuries of inhumane
hardships, including death by lynching is our first point of reference with the word nigger.
Being forced into slavery, followed by centuries of our ancestors having to endure deplorable
conditions in America, is synonymous with the N word. Over many centuries whites believed
blacks were inferior to them. Laws and segregationist policies were conceived to affirm and
uphold the status quo of oppression against blacks. During and after slavery blacks were forced
to do physical labor without pay, suffered the indignities of being regarded as animals, were the
property of white owners who bought and sold them at auctions as if they were cattle, and
were separated from family members. On plantations where blacks were forced into slavery
they were punished, maimed, and or murdered if they were even suspected of attempting to
escape.
In 1862, during the American Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln signed the
Emancipation Proclamation. The Emancipation Proclamation declared the freedom of all slaves
in ten Confederate States of America. Slavery was officially abolished in ten but not all states.
Many African Americans think the N word should have been eradicated when slavery was
abolished because the word remains a source of deep offense. The Emancipation Proclamation
did not remove the burdensome stigma of the word nigger for many generations of black
people in America and it seemed to fuel the anger of many whites.
Decades after the abolishment of slavery, blacks continued to be falsely accused of and
incarcerated for crimes fabricated by whites. False accusations against blacks were quite
common and often served to justify the hunger of racist whites to commit many atrocities
towards blacks. Blacks were routinely lynched and had their dead bodies hanging from trees in
open sight. Blacks had crosses burned on their property, were the targets of random killings
and repeatedly subjected to unjustified arrests. Many of the arrests resulted in mysterious
causes of deaths while the black citizens were in the custody of law enforcement officials.
Blacks were subjected to a myriad of other tragic but widely accepted acts of violence.
The emergence of racially motivated hate groups such as the Ku, Klux, Klan escalated the
violence against blacks in the south. The Ku, Klux, Klan, also known as the KKK, became very
popular among other whites, who also harbored anger and bigotry toward blacks. The KKK
stirred up unjust anger against blacks by scaring other whites into believing lies that became
common stereotypes. The KKK also murdered blacks with impunity and were rewarded for
their outrageous abuses. The courts ruled in their favor whenever a white man was accused of
murdering a black man. This emboldened the KKK. Their membership grew to include whites
from across many southern states. Their membership also included people from the law
enforcement community; policeman, chiefs of police, lawyers and judges.
This period of lawlessness ultimately triggered a movement of courageous black citizens
and leaders who decided they were not going to continue to endure the double standards of
the separatist Jim Crow polices that segregated blacks from whites and permitted the
inhumane treatment of blacks in America. The birth of the official Civil Rights Movement began
with a belief among blacks that the rights, opportunities and freedoms enjoyed by whites
should also be equally accessible to blacks.
Abolitionists of slavery were among the first to advocate on behalf of blacks in America.
They were the pioneers of what later became known as the Civil Rights Movement in America.
Efforts to abolish slavery in America resulted in a Civil War. Eventually blacks in America did
win many victories. Our ancestors won the right to an education, employment, improved living
conditions, access to health care and the right to sit and stay wherever we want on buses, in
restaurants and hotels. After many years of bloodshed, legal battles fought, and a commitment
to never stop fighting, the laws did eventually change. But change came at the expense of so
many of our prominent and respected messengers, leaders and ordinary black citizens.
In spite of those victories, today the majority of African Americans still lives at or below
the poverty line, is performing below proficiency in school, is among the highest rate of low-
skilled laborers in the job market, have the lowest number of college educated adults and
occupy the lowest level positions in the labor market. African Americans also have the highest
rate of unemployment. African Americans have always had the highest number of unemployed
citizens. That trend continues today. As of April 2, 2010 the recessions unemployment rate for
African Americans is 16.5%. The unemployment rate among Latinos is 12.5% and among whites
is 8.8 %. (Statistics _______)
Even in current times when jobs that we are qualified for are denied to us, many blacks
cannot help but wonder if one of the reasons we were found to be unqualified might be linked
to the N word. Even if accusations of our being too sensitive and always quick to use the race
card are correct, it also affirms that the wounds inflicted by the events endured by our African
American ancestors have not healed. That is why many generations of African Americans never
want to hear the word nigger uttered by anyone (J. Coles, 2010).
This quote written by Ms. Julie Coles shows that she feels as though the word is
negative all around, and that there is no reclaiming it. People still feel and remember the
hardships that our ancestors had lived and experienced, therefore it would be wrong to even
use the word, especially when said by an African American. Although African Americans had
earned themselves the rights to education, employment and many other things, there was a
struggle to get those, and today it still is not right. Using facts to show that there is a struggle,
she goes on to prove that the minorities are still suffering. Many minorities are still living under
the poverty line, living with high unemployment rates, and there are low amounts of educated
adults. There still somehow is still a battle to get what belongs to the people. She is trying to
convince people to have the same view as her; that reclaiming such a word to take a positive
meaning would be wrong.
Appendix























Bibliography
http://profiles.doe.mass.edu/
http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/lupefiasco/wordsineversaid.html
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/nigger
www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=nigga
The Word in Americas Lexicon That Symbolizes Racial Oppression, Lynchings, Fear, Hatred and
Bigotry Ms. Julie Coles
GEHS N Word Survey + Results
The N Word by Jabari Asim
Divided We Stand; HBO Documentary