By: Daria Granison

Key Questions

• Does it make it ok to say the N-Word?• Should Africans Americans only address each

other with the N-Word?• Did the music industry expose the word more?

Definition

• Nigger: it is a victim or prejudice similar to that suffered by blacks

• Nigga: Nigger; Negro. (Streets. Nicca is pronounciation and/ or spelling variant. Restricted to black to black use. White to black use is provocative.) : Hey, my nigga!

Background

• Background: The term was originally a Latin word that meant black. During slavery, whites used the word to degrade blacks and were viewed as unworthy creatures; they were forced to do house hold duties and beaten on a daily basis. As time went on black slaves obtained other racial nicknames such as coon, tom, savage, picanny, mammy, buck, sambo, and jigaboo.

Should we use the word or Not?

• For instance in Imanicau’s Blog it brought up the fact that “It was as if the only goal for the white men were to keep the African American race beneath them, whether they were freedmen with the same amount of intelligence” (Imanicau’s Blog).

Cont.

• Saying Nigger is disrectful because our ancestors carried that name on their backs in hopes that someday the name will be banished from the world. The white superiority race had no feelings or remorse of what they imposed on the society, and how it would affect the generations to come.

It’s Becoming More Offensive !

• “Uses of the word by African American typically aren’t offensive, so called appropriated uses whereas uses by others (with some exceptions) generally are offensive” (African American English).

Cont.

• This article also talks about how in the Rush Hour movie, how Jackie Chan used the phrase “What’s sup my nigga?” trying to address a bartender who was African American man. By Jackie Chan trying to mimic Chris Tucker the bartender quickly became offended. Should Africans Americans only address each other with the word Nigga?

Video Clip

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oN2LJTCBPtg

It’s Wrong to Use the Word !

• It is wrong to use the term Nigger or Nigga being an African American because it condones others to use it, others who are African American and others who aren’t. It humiliates our own people as well as keeping the word alive. Then us African-Americans dropped the 'ER' and added an 'A' thus forming a new word nigga. This word has been accepted and approved because the word now has a new meaning, “we mean it a different way” is the obnoxious excuse.

Is there a Difference Between Nigger and Nigga?

• To me there is no difference between Nigger and Nigga because it still has the same meaning, but to others they feel as though they can change the meaning to not make it so brutal. I read in an article about rapper Nas that there was a big controversy not in the African American community but all of society when rapper Nas released a title of his album “Nigger”. Jesses Jackson was appalled by the album that he called Nas a Nigger. In Nas’ response he stated, "If Cornel West was making an album called Nigger, they would know he's got something intellectual to say,"

Nas Album

Shedding Light on the Word

• As for rapper Tupac, his approach was different than Nas’; Tupac tried to make positivity out of the word Nigga by making and acronym for it which stands for “Never Ignorant Getting Goals Accomplished” (Dews).

• The author also stated: “Consider those of us who are ‘getting goals accomplished’ minus the ignorance, do we define or refer to ourselves as nigga’s? Or how about those who are ‘getting goals accomplished’ from selling drugs, hustling or living a particular lifestyle that leaves them uniformed, unaware and uneducated about the world, would they consider themselves “never ignorant”? (Dews)

Cont.

• Tupac’s new meaning is good to a certain extent as he tries to shed light and somewhat change the word to make it a better meaning behind it. Regardless to say that even though Tupac wanted to change the meaning of the word Nigga; Nigger will still have that pain behind it.

How Can We Make A Change?

• So how can we make a change and correct others who use the words Nigger or Nigga? How can we reeducate people of the words being used on the daily basis? The message needs to be spread, one should not respond to the name used to bring shame. Friends need to acknowledge their friends with positivity instead of that word, to show respect.

Conclusion

• From doing my research I’ve come to the conclusion that this word does not and cannot have a positive meaning to it regardless of how rappers may try and change it. It is a word that’s spelling can be changed, but meaning cannot. It was used to degrade my ancestors, me using it, is an insult to myself.