Brownfingaz The N Word Analysis

The word ‘ni**er’ is a pejorative directed to people of whom have a black skin tone. It was used very widely and was prevalent in the United States during the 18th and 19th centuries. The term was mainly used by white plantation and slave owners and was directed towards said slaves. In today’s day and age, there is still an abundance of racism and the n-word is still used.

In the essay “Nigger: the meaning of a word” Gloria Naylor discusses the essence of a word and how it can mean different things to different people in a myriad of situations. Depending on race, gender, societal status and age Naylor outlines how a word like ‘nigger’ can have different meanings within one’s own environment. Naylor discusses how a word can go from having a positive to a negative connotation merely due to how it is spoken and by whom. Naylor shares a personal experience with her audience as she describes the first time she really “heard” the word ‘nigger’. A young white boy in her third grade class spit it in her

The N word has been around for a long time. Through slavery, the industrial revolution, both World War eras, and the modern era all the way up to right now. It has gone from meaning many different things ranging from burning or charring off, being a black person and exhausting land to a term that is racist, describes ignorant, uneducated, foolish individuals, to an endearing term between two people to describe their friendship.

Terry is a twenty-two year old African American male living in Cleveland, Ohio. He is driving his 2009 Lexus home from his Nursing job at Metro Hospital. As he is turning right on Clark Avenue a Cleveland Police officer stops him, because of failure to hit his turn signal. While he is waiting for his information to go through the officer is harassing him. One of the words that come out of the officer’s mouth is the N-word.

The n-word is considered one of the most vicious racial slurs in the English language today. True that the n-word is closely associated with slavery and the oppression of blacks. Even after the abolition of slavery the word still haunted African Americans, especially in more segregated areas; where blacks were viewed as inferior to whites. In recent years the n-word has become less of a malicious slur in parts of our country. Public figures who use the n-word run the risk of losing their jobs. However, since the 1960s African Americans have coined the term “nigga”, when addressing one another. The rise of hip hop culture also enhanced the use of the word-they felt as though they are using the word as a term of endearment. Critics of the

Kennedy proclaims a similar argument for using the word nigger. He argues that everyone (including whites) can use nigger, as long as the context of its use is clear and appropriate.

In Season 1, Episode 5 of the The Netflix Original Series: Dear White People released on April 28, 2017, Reggie, a black college student and the leader of Winchester University’s Black Student Union is seen at a fraternity party surrounded by mostly white students. All is well until Reggie’s white friend, Addison, repeatedly utters the N-word while singing along to a hip-hop song. Reggie asks him not to say it anymore however, Addison questions him and attempts to justify his use of the word which leads to a debate. The creator of Dear White People uses characterization and setting to convey how non-Black people-especially white people- who use the N-word regardless of whether or not they understand its historical context, reinforce the notion that Black people are inferior which helps to maintain white supremacy.

Use of the “N” word In America, racial slurs are used, frequently at that. The word “nigger” is a common derogatory word, and that's when the discussion on whether or not the word should be freed come in. To put it another way, some people see it as they mean no harm in saying it, and if it’s in a popular rap song why not sing along; while others see it as, the word was used by past opressores, and the word was used to talk down upon African Americans, so there’s no good intention in the use of the word. Ultimately, the word nigger is and always will be a derogatory word, adolescents say it while talking about the weather in society, the word just needs to be used at the bare minimum, there’s absolutely no reason for it and it shouldn’t be

As I sit and hear them say nigga this and nigga that I begin to wonder why they feel the need to use such a disrespectful word.

     Does this artist use the word nigger in the same way that racists have and still are? The answer to this question is a simple one- no. Today’s urban society have changed, not only the definition, but also the spelling of this word, which was once used to belittle those of African-American decent. Now, the definition as proved through today’s urban youth holds many denotations- positive and negative. But has the definition really changed? Or are today’s urban society just being ignorant and socially blinded

After reading the responses, I took note that for many people in the city, the word "nigger" is a regular saying. In the responses I've read from Data Collection 1, there were many narrators that resided in the big city area that claim the word is perfectly safe to use by any race. In passage eight a narrators writes "the word can be heard anywhere around New York City." "In New York City the word is used so much, but in a positive way" (Passage nine). This was a continuous pattern in the responses. But why do so many people of different races use the word so frequently in New York City? In Passage Seven, the narrator wrote "people in New York City along with myself has transformed the whole meaning." Once again, because it is not used destructively it is an acceptable term. New York City is a place where many different cultures come together. The usage of this word by people of different races is common. Age is also a component of the usage of the "n" word. Most of the people using the word "nigger" are young, mainly because older people are more accustomed to its former meaning which, as we know, was used to demean black people. "People in New York City, along with myself have transformed the whole meaning". This provides an explanation of why the word appears to be used so much and by so many people. Author Randal Kennedy explained in his book entitled nigger that young people

When some think about the word nigger they immediately think about negativity and some might even venture to say that it is a "bad" word. It takes you back to a time when blacks were oppressed and demoralized. When blacks were looked at as inferior and not worthy to obtain equal rights in America. But that was decades ago and it is now the 21st century. Not only have we changed the spelling of the word, by dropping the er and adding a, but the definition has changed also. According to Gloria Naylor, we have took our "past history of struggle and present survival against the odds" and transcended the word nigger into a "victorious statement of being". So a word that was used to depict

Make no mistake that slave owners came up with the word Nigger and it was only supposed to mean an individual, who is lazy, unwise, and good for nothing, but somewhere along the history lines of slavery the N word began to be used more as racial insult against the non-white Americans

What is the problem with the n-word in the first place? This word has a racist history starting during the 17th century when it was used to insult slaves (Asim, 2007, as cited in McClure, 2015). The writer states that no matter what race, the word is a powerful symbol of the history of anti-black oppression in the United States. In the essay, the author explains that some people believe that the use of the word in rap music has stripped it away of its original racist meaning, but others say that the term should be forbidden. Reading the essay, it shows a lot of proof of the inconsistency between the usage and meaning behind the n-word in society. For example, rappers would use the word in their lyrics referring the term to themselves and their friends, but hateful people would use the term to yell at others or write it out as threats. The way the term is used and who decides to use it determines how people will interpret the

In the English language, the word "nigger" is an ethnic slur, usually directed at black people. The word originated as a neutral term referring to people with black skin, as a variation of the Spanish and Portuguese noun negro, a descendant of the Latin adjective niger . It was often used disparagingly, and by the mid-twentieth century, particularly in the United States, its usage became unambiguously pejorative, a racist insult. Accordingly, it began to disappear from popular culture, and its continued inclusion in classic works of literature has sparked controversy. In the contemporary United States and United Kingdom, using the word is taboo, and it is often replaced with the euphemism "the N-word". "Nigga" is sometimes used among African Americans in a non-derogatory sense or as a term of endearment. Etymology and history