Say What't the Word? An Exploration of the Controversy around the "N-words"

Say What‘s the Word? An Exploration of the Controversy around the “N-words”

Joseph Flynn, Northern Illinois University

Abstract: This essay explores the current social context of the n-words and theorizes why engaging in dialogue about them is difficult. Using ideas from African American Language, poststructuralism, and discourse analysis, the author considers why it is difficult to engage in dialogue about these words. Subsequently, it is argued that further consideration of the n-words is crucial to understanding racism and White privilege. To the author, it is fundamental to the development of youth to think more critically about the history and range of usage of these words.

Language is a complicated socially-constructed phenomenon that is dependent upon context and power relations (Delpit, 1996; Foucault, 1980; Gee, 1996; Purcell-Gates, 2002). Essentially, when it comes to language what is considered legitimate or proper is dependent upon the social, cultural, political, and economic relationships within a particular context. In the United States, the notion of what is deemed linguistically appropriate is framed by the demand for many to assimilate to the ways in which White middle class citizens construct linguistic norms (Burns, 2009). As students learn how to employ English, they are constantly bombarded with messages about correct and incorrect ways to speak. As such, power becomes an issue due to the burden placed on students who use a different language code rather than the language of wider communication (Smitherman, 2000). This results in the tendency to marginalize those students that do not fit the normalized expectations (Purcell-Gates, 2002).

Central to any language is its lexicon, or the body of words used to convey that language. Oftentimes listeners are caught off guard by inappropriate grammar, but in light of the wide variations of English dialects, most people do not speak academic English, also known as the English we learn in schools that is principally reflected in written texts (Conference on College Composition and Communication, 1974), or the language of wider communication (Smitherman, 1999). As such, although some people’s ire rises because of poor subject-verb agreement

Copyright © 2012 by Illinois Committee on Black Concerns In Higher Education. All Rights Reserved.

Say What‘s the Word?/Flynn 51

or faulty pronoun-antecedent agreement or improper verb tense, singular words and phrases often court the most controversy and visceral reactions.

Education and popular culture are rife with challenging issues related to language. The battle over bilingual education and English as the national language continues to rage. Lowered expectations and intolerance toward those that do not speak the language of wider communication remain entrenched. Also, there are a number of ways in which lexical issues, specifically words, can create problems in any classroom environment or social space (Miller & Norris, 2007). Several expressions can disrupt a classroom community: spic, faggot, gay, towelhead, fat, retard, and many others (Miller & Norris, 2007). Popularly these words are referred to as slurs, hate speech, or assaultive speech (Matsuda, Lawrence, Delgado, & Crenshaw, 1993). However hurtful these words can be, as alluded to above, language is complicated, and these words are not exempt from complication. Taken out of context, these locutions are largely considered negative and undesirable, but depending on context these words can take on dynamic—and perhaps empowering meaning. This phenomenon can be seen through a racial lens.

Race, despite our best efforts, continues to be a contested issue society and schools perpetually negotiate (Flynn, 2007; Howard, 1999; Pollack, 2005; Tatum, 1992). Educators often feel intimidated or unsure about how to further discussions about racial issues because of their own lack of understanding and the socio-political contexts of schools (Cochran-Smith, 1995; Tatum, 1992). What makes this even more problematic is the idea that words traditionally used to assault and marginalize racial groups can be further manipulated and re-deployed with new meanings and intent. The n-words, or nigger/nigga, are primary examples of this phenomenon.

The words nigger and nigga share a complicated space (Alberti, 1995; Kennedy, 2002; Motley & Craig-Henderson, 2007; Smitherman, 1999). Today, there are frequent pleas to “put the n-word on the shelf” because of the painful and uncomfortable memories that are evoked at their utterance. Simultaneously, the word nigga is often deployed in intricate ways within the African American community, and that complexity is bleeding through our racial boundaries. It is arguable as to whether or not this shift in the use of nigga is a good or bad phenomenon; that is merely the tip of the iceberg. Regardless, the fact of the matter is in spite of repeated pleas to “put them on the shelf,” the

ICBCHE Journal 27(1) 52

words continue to be used in multitudinous ways. For example, as diversity increases, interracial groups of friends use the words among themselves in myriad ways. Additionally, as Hip Hop culture and rap music have permeated all parts of global popular culture, youth groups across races, ethnicities, and social classes employ the terms both as forms of solidarity and terms of marginalization. In effect, it is increasingly difficult to discern whether or not nigger or nigga is being used as a term of hate or a term of solidarity unless the listener is fully cognizant of the context and relationships among those using the words.

The central purpose of this essay is to look more closely at the n-words controversy and theorize the confusion around them. Engaging in a theoretical discussion about the n-words is important in order to help educators consider the terms as complicated social phenomena that deserve continued examination rather than simple censorship. Youths negotiate the n-words for their generation through use within their intercultural spaces and African American youth are disregarding the sting of negative connotations. Simultaneously, youth issue simple and timeless questions: “Why is it alright for Black people to call each other nigger but if I say it I am a racist?” “Where does nigger come from?” “If I do not see myself as a nigger why should I care who uses the word?” “Is there a difference between nigger and nigga?” Today’s youth are connected in ways unlike any previous generation and they have unprecedented access to different cultures and experiences. As the n-words continue to circulate, it is imperative that we continue to consider why this often-confusing, socio-cultural-linguistic phenomenon circulates.

This is not a polemic on who can or cannot, or who should or should not say either of the n-words. Rather, this is an attempt to offer teacher educators, teachers, and the general public a reasoned explanation about nigga and nigger. With respect to educators at all levels, the importance of taking up this controversial issue (and any other controversial language issue for that matter) is crucial for understanding our nation’s youth and the future of race relations in the United States. For if educators are not willing or prepared to engage these issues---not as normative exercises but as a matter of critical thinking and democratic practice with youth---then where will youth be able to have such dialogues?


Is There a Difference: Dissecting the N-words For readers sensitive to the issues of race, be advised that the following (essay) contains marginally gratuitous use of the N word. “And by N word I mean nigger… There, I said it.” Adapted from Chappelle’s Show (2003) “… ’Cause a nigga gotta do what a nigga gotta do to be da nigga dat he tryin’ ta be…” A White corporate executive talking to another White executive from a sketch on Damon Wayan’s “The Underground” (2006) It is key to begin by pointing out that although it is highly contested,

there is a difference between the words nigga and nigger. The quotes above are taken from two popular, edgy television programs that used scathing comedy and satire to explore social “hot lava” topics (Glazier, McVee, Wallace-Cowell, Shellhorn, Florio-Ruane, & Rapheal, 2000). The first quote introduced Dave Chappelle’s now classic skit about a visually impaired, African American, White supremacist. The skit is modeled after the investigative news program Frontline, and the introductory warning informs viewers that nigger is a dangerous word and its use will be offensive. Throughout the skit, nigger is used as a racial epithet of hatred and denigration by Clayton Jenkins, the blind, African American, White supremacist. The sketch points out the absurdity of racism and how racism is just as much about identity as it is about social actions and utterances. Moreover, Chappelle challenges the idea that only White folks can be racist. He brazenly displays that racism is a matter of sentiment and intention. Again, in this example, nigger is detrimental, marginalizing, and hateful.

The second quote, from Damon Wayans, is taken from a skit lampooning White corporate executives trying to show their hipness by adopting popular African American stereotypes and language. Through this sketch, Wayans explored the idea of how something taboo, like the word nigga, can be used in ways that do not intend to be mean-spirited or marginalizing. To be sure, the White executives sound rather silly and it is arguable whether or not they are being racist. However, their interaction is indicative of the ways in which many non-Black youth employ nigga—not necessarily as a slur but as a term that signifies the reality of a struggle, even though that struggle may be unlike the historic


struggle of African Americans. Taken together, the quotes introduce a primary issue when considering the “n-words.” The words are not always negative and are employed in complex ways (Asim, 2007; Larkins, 2004), and youth are constantly exposed to these conflicting messages. Chappelle eventually left his show in part because some understood his racially challenging humor and his use of the n-words while many others did not (Winfrey & Salata, 2006). This begs the question: how are these two terms different?

Nigger has a deeply rooted history in oppression, dehumanization, and violence. As the notions of Whiteness and chattel slavery were created and institutionalized, nigger became a tool to describe the “less-than-human” Black other with growing derision (Asim, 2007;; Kennedy, 2002). Across the history of racial relations in the United States, one would be hard-pressed to find examples in which nigger was employed by a White person toward a Black person where there was not a negative implication. Today, nigger carries the baggage of ignorance, marginalization, and antiquity. Its place in history has a well-carved space, one that is virtually beyond redemption because of the pain it evokes for African Americans and the shame and discomfort it promotes in White Americans.

Nigga, on the other hand, is quite different. It is simultaneously a word of derision, community, and resistance. Largely uttered by African Americans, the word is derived from nigger, but due to linguistic shifts within African American language (AAL), formerly known as Ebonics, nigga became its own entity (Rickford & Rickford, 2000; Smitherman, 1994, Smitherman, 1996; Smitherman, 2006). Since the antebellum period, African Americans have been using nigga self-referentially with positive and negative connotations (Smitherman, 2006). That is why the word is complicated; it was always used in multiple ways within the Black community, through a uniquely African American language.

This is problematized by the notion that AAL is not popularly legitimated as a valid, rule-governed system of language with a distinct historic development, phonology, morphology, and lexicon. AAL has been defined as a rule-governed pattern of speech a majority of African Americans have spoken at some point in their lives (Rickford & Rickford, 2000) and there is voluminous, rigorous research supporting


that idea (Dillard, 1972; Labov, 1972; Smith, 1994; Smitherman, 1981; Turner, 1973; Wolfram, 1969)1. The Linguistic Society of America, a leading professional organization dedicated to the study of linguistics states:

The variety known as “Ebonics,” “African American Vernacular English,” (AAVE), and “Vernacular Black English” and by other names is systematic and rule-governed like all natural speech varieties. In fact, all human linguistic systems—spoken, signed, and written—are fundamentally regular. The systematic and expressive nature of the grammar and pronunciation patterns of the African American vernacular has been established by numerous scientific studies over the past thirty years. Characterizations of Ebonics as "slang," "mutant," "lazy," "defective," "ungrammatical," or "broken English" are incorrect and demeaning (Linguistic Society of American, para 2, 1997).

Language is a key element of any culture (Nieto, 2009), but the popular consideration of AAL as legitimate has been difficult (Perry & Delpit, 1998) and further displays the privileging of White culture and epistemologies. The peak of this debate occurred in 1996, when the Oakland, California public school board passed a resolution that required all its schools to participate in the Standard English Proficiency Program (SEP). The SEP acknowledged that AAL is in fact a rule-governed system of language and recognizing that could be a first step in creating a bridge to assist students in mastering the language of wider communication (Perry & Delpit, 1998). However, the resolution drew sharp criticism from the media and popular culture to the extent that AAL was reduced to slang and indicative of a pathology among people (African Americans) who speak it and struggle with mastering the language of wider communication. This backlash continues today and eclipses a larger issue.

Academic English is aligned with formality, and nonacademic English and other languages are aligned with informality, leading to a

1 The linguistic history of African American Language is long, complicated, and fascinating. It is believed that AAL has roots in the combination of English, west African languages, and other pidgin and Creole languages from the southern United States. This is an important history but the specifics are beyond the scope of this essay.


linguistic hierarchy in which certain English dialects are treated as correct while others are, at best, deemed inappropriate for use in school. If we accept that all American English dialects are linguistically systematic and constantly evolving, then they are all, by definition, correct (Bauer & Trudgill, 1998; Gee, 1996; Wolfram and Schilling-Estes, 2005)2. Through AAL, a real and subtle shift in language created a new word—nigga--and opened a range of definitions that had not been represented through nigger. The use of nigga has been an ongoing negotiation within the African American community since the antebellum era (Smitherman, 2006).

In the African American community there are several ways to use nigga that range from the affectionate (such as, “Oh, that’s my nigga!”) to the pejorative (as in, “Why niggas gotta fight every time we come up in here?”) to the romantically affectionate label of a woman about her male lover/boyfriend/husband (as in “My nigga would do anything for me”). According to Smitherman (1994) there are at least nine different uses for nigga in the African American community that display a range of feelings, emotions, and relationships, each of which is contextually and relationally bound. On the other hand, as pointed out above, nigger has been utilized solely as a dehumanizing slur meant to marginalize or dehumanize African Americans (Kennedy, 2002). However, those sharp lines of ownership and license to use nigga have been blurred. Noted linguist and expert on AAL, Geneva Smitherman (1994), noted:

The frequent use of nigga in rap music, on “Def Comedy Jam,” and throughout Black culture generally, where the word takes on meanings other than the historical negative, has created a linguistic dilemma in the crossover world and in the African American community. Widespread controversy rages about the use of nigga among Blacks—especially the pervasive public use of the term—and about whether or not Whites can have license to use the N-word with the many different meanings Blacks have attached to it. (p. 168)

2 This phenomenon of linguistic privilege is not unique to the United States and English; it is similarly evident in Chinese (Cantonese vs. Mandarin), French (Parisian French vs. Langue d’Oc, Wallon, and other dialects, and Spanish (European vs. Central and South American dialects) just to name a few.


Essentially, what causes the most controversy and misunderstanding is not recognizing that there is a linguistic difference between nigga and nigger. In effect, when a White youth intends a positive connotation but misspeaks and says nigger all good will is lost. It is important to reiterate this controversy, as Alvin Poussaint, a noted African American psychologist, called the differentiation between nigger and nigga “silly” (Larkin, 2004), perpetuating a discourse that continues to marginalize Blackness and Black culture. Blindly following popular edicts and discourses, which encourage censorship of the words and define them as flatly offensive and wrong, inhibits critical conversations, while AAL continues to be delegitimized and White privilege remains unchallenged. It is difficult to engage these terms because they challenge structuralist notions of certainty, wherein definitions are affixed to some notion of truth, a transcendental signifier (Eagleton, 1983). In this case the assumed truth is that only African Americans (or those perceived as African American) can be niggas or niggers. When traditional definitions of these words are challenged we quickly see that meanings of words are not fixed; they are shaped by political, economic, social, and cultural factors in the contexts of their use (Cherryholmes, 1988; Eagleton, 1983).

Nigga and Nigger: An Alternate Construction Derrida (1978) pointed out that in language there is a great amount

of play and definitions of words can and do shift. Nothing is sacred in language. Because of the notion that definitions are social constructions mediated by context, politics, and power, the meanings and usage of words may change with time and place. Cherryholmes (1988) explained, “Discourses dominant in a historical period and geographic location determine what counts as true, important, or relevant, what gets spoken, what remains unsaid” (p. 35). As pointed out throughout this essay, the popular discourses around race have defined nigger and nigga as controversial, taboo, equivocal, and out of bounds. Due to changes in social mores about race relations over the past few decades, it has become increasingly inappropriate for non-African Americans to use the n-words, while controversy about the words rages within the larger African American community as well.

Further Cherryholmes’ (1988) noted that theorizing language use as static and temporal removes individuals from the center of meaning; in other words, language dictates us rather than we dictate language. Individuals or cultural groups have the capacity to debate, reframe, and


reappropriate language. Although the source of much unease, the n-words do not operate renegade outside human thought and action. As Cherryholmes stated, “We have internalized appropriate rules and ideologies, have accommodated ourselves to dominant power relationships, and are more concerned with performing expected actions than with analyzing them” (p. 6).

Considering these issues through the discursive tools of situated meanings and cultural models can help get to the heart of the matter. Gee (1999) states, “Both of these involve ways of looking at how speakers and writers give language specific meanings within specific situations” (p. 40). A situated meaning is “an image or pattern that we assemble ‘on the spot’ as we communicate in a given context based on our construal of that context and on our past experiences” (p. 47). Humans have the tendency to observe and recognize patterns of behavior and usage of ideas or words in the social and physical world. Across anyone’s life span, differences among words like shoes, pants, weather, love, or broken remind of us of certain patterns and our minds accept general trends of meaning that emerge from those patterns and interactions with others’ patterns.

For many, nigger’s situated meaning emerges through patterns that reflect the pervasive negative use of the word and social chastisement for its use—i.e., it cannot escape its history. Parents, teachers, and others tell youth it is a “bad word.” The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People hosts funeral processionals through the streets in a faux burial of the word. The Ku Klux Klan and other White supremacy groups’ use of nigger reflects a certain pattern that has grown increasingly undesirable as we have moved through the Civil Rights Movement and developed more interracial friendships and relationships. In short, society’s tolerance for the word—and its variant, nigga—has grown thin, even though some continue to use nigger privately (Picca & Feagin, 2007). As a result, the situated meaning of the words have been recast to reflect our society’s realignment of social, political, and cultural norms that now largely attempt to silence the words rather than critique or reappropriate them.

Parallel to that phenomenon, cultural models add to the negation while also issuing a challenge. Cultural models can be thought of as “explanations” (Gee, 1999, p. 42) of the patterns gleaned from situated meanings. These explanations are guided by sociocultural interactions and are also largely unconscious to the individual. Gee (1999) offers a powerful analogy for helping to clarify how cultural models function:


Cultural models are rather like “movies” or “videotapes” in the mind, tapes of experiences we have had, seen, read about, or imagined. We all have a vast store of these tapes, the edited (and, thus, transformed) records of our experiences in the world or with texts and media… Cultural models can become emblematic visions of an idealized, “normal,” “typical” reality, in much the way that, say, a Bogart movie is emblematic of the world of the “tough guy”… (They) are also variable, differing across different cultural groups, including different cultural groups in a society speaking the same language. They change with time and other changes in society, as well as with new experience. But we are usually quite unaware we are using them and of their full implications, unless challenged by someone or by a new experience where our cultural models clearly don’t “fit” (p. 60). Gee’s (1999) notion of cultural models is especially relevant to

understanding nigga as something other than a pejorative. It is a use that does not reflect most previous encounters. These “videotapes” can look quite different across cultural lines and can be edited, reassembled, and reframed to fit the needs and experiences of that culture (Gee, 1999). When youths attempt to engage nigga with a positive connotation, the utterance becomes a device that shatters a dominant cultural model since it embraces much more than derogation. Hence, we are witnessing the resistance and confusion of one cultural model of nigga compared to another cultural model. We are in the throes of a paradigm shift (Kuhn, 1996) that all cultural groups in our contemporary context are exposed, regardless of race, ethnicity, or subculture.

Tim Wise (Front Row, 2006), a noted anti-racist educator, intoned that the use of nigger and nigga is a conversation for African Americans and White Americans need to stay out of it. Although his sentiment is well intentioned and maybe even just, it is not practical. The assumption being made is that nigger and nigga are the domain of African Americans, but that does not recognize the reality of our social, cultural, and linguistic world. Words and language do not belong to one group; language, like culture, is a dynamic, dialogic, multifaceted phenomenon that is constantly in flux and is constantly negotiated. Although White Americans, as a group, may have had a dangerous and denigrating history with nigger, they are no less responsible for understanding that history and no less engaged with its current manifestations. As Bahktin (1981) stated, “Language, even at the level of individual words, serves as


an arena where ideologies of identity and exclusion play themselves out” (p. 18). Hence, it becomes increasingly necessary to encourage these discussions rather than stifle and extinguish them by issuing demands of censorship or bracketing who can legitimately talk about the issue and who cannot.

The Contemporary Context of the “N-words” African Americans have a powerful impact on popular culture and

have often challenged dominant discourses around identity and culture (Flynn, 2011). Imagine, if you will, you are at a concert, and from the stage the performer encourages the crowd to say nigga. What would you do? What would you think? Would that event have an impact on how you think of the word?

During a 2012 concert in Camden, New Jersey, Hip Hop icon Lil Wayne, a multi-platinum selling African American artist, told the largely White youth crowd, “If you came to have a hell of a motherfucking time tonight, say, ‘Hell! Yeah! Nigga!’” (Weiner, 2012). This reiterates Smitherman’s (1994) point that powerful social and cultural forces like Hip Hop are changing the ways in which youth across racial lines are renegotiating and reappropriating nigga. Through the power and voice of Hip Hop luminaries, largely White youth audiences are being challenged by their idols to reconstruct a word. This is not unique to Lil Wayne. At a 2012 Kanye West and Jay-Z concert in Paris, during their popular song “Niggaz in Paris,” White actress Gwyneth Paltrow “tweeted” from the stage “Ni**as in Paris for real,” (the asterisks were in the original tweet). Her tweet drew considerable controversy (Weiner, 2012). This is where the issue gets complicated. First, Paltrow, Jay-Z, and West are all close friends and as such have personal rapport—they know each other. Second, the song they were performing is called “Niggaz in Paris” and she claimed that she was reiterating the reality of the situation and not arbitrarily saying nigga. Third, the song deals with a couple of Black men reflecting and boasting that they have transcended poverty and marginalization to the heights of power and popularity. Jay-Z raps:


The Nets3 could go 0-82 and I look at you like this shit gravy Ball so hard, this shit weird We ain’t even s’posed to be here (italics added for emphasis and

refers to Paris) It’s only right that we be fair (West & Carter, 2011) Fourth, this too was in front of a largely White audience (albeit in

France). And finally, both West and Jay-Z had no problem with Paltrow’s electronic utterance. What is most fascinating is not necessarily the story itself, rather the comments that followed Weiner’s (2012) article. Comments ranged from reiteration of outrage to fatigue over the debate to a plea for nuance and understanding of contexts. At the writing of this essay, 498 people had posted comments to Weiner’s article (Weiner, 2012). In this instance, it is clear, this debate is not going to die anytime soon. Nothing is wrong with a spirited debate about social and cultural phenomenon, including reframing the situated meanings and cultural models of nigga and nigger, but this discourse is something that should be encouraged rather than simply, or conveniently, expurgated. Lisa Coffman (2012), an African American blogger for Jack and Jill Politics, commented about the controversy:

I look at the world through a mom lens and this whole Gwyneth controversy struck me as the classic ‘Do as I say, not as I do’ situation. Black folks can call each other niggas all day. We can do it in song, on the ball field, in traffic, at the house, no problems. But the rule is while I can say it (so long as I’m black) you can’t. It’s hard to justify that ‘Do as I say, not as I do’… It’s just hard for me to balance the who can use it, versus who can’t. If it’s painful and demoralizing, then no one should use it. If it’s just another word, another slang, a tool for certain artists to use to express themselves, we can’t get too mad at the folks who repeat it if we don’t get mad at the folks who say it first. (para 2 and 5)

3 Jay-Z (also known as Shawn Carter) is part owner of the New Jersey Nets, a professional basketball team in the National Basketball Association.


The policing of the boundaries of these words stretches logic and further highlights the social, cultural, and political challenges of reframing or validating alternative situated meanings related to the n-words. This notion is greatly challenged in the popular culture arena of stand-up comedy.

Groundbreaking comedians like Richard Pryor, Paul Mooney, Chris Rock, George Carlin, and Dick Gregory have displayed the unique complexity of nigga in their monologues. Consider the juxtaposition of the following quotes from Richard Pryor and Chris Rock. Pryor (1971, 2001) once said, “I’m a nigga. I quit being a Negro a long time ago. No room for advancement”. He stated this with pride and defiance, a challenge to those who may have attempted to dehumanize him, while also serving as a blistering critique of the Civil Rights era Negro (sic) and the ethic of patiently going along to get along. On the other hand, Chris Rock’s classic Black people v. Niggas routine is a lambasting:

Everything white people don't like about black people, black people really don't like about black people, and there's two sides. There's black people, and there’s niggas. The niggas have got to go! ... Niggas always want credit for some shit they supposed to do… A nigga will say some shit like, "I take care of my kids." You're supposed to, you dumb motherf***er! What kind of ignorant shit is that? (Rock, 1996) These two examples point to the complexity of the words and

challenges our sensibility about what is a racial slur and what is a term of solidarity. As pointed out above, in these two examples we can see variations in employing nigga—Pryor’s use is defiant and liberating while Rock’s use is marginalizing and chastising. That complexity is largely substituted for censorship due to the conflation of nigga with nigger. Take for example the cases of Michael Richards and Mel Gibson.

In 2006, Michael Richards, formerly Kramer on the popular situation comedy Seinfeld, shouted at a group of African American hecklers at a comedy show:

Shut up! Fifty years ago we’d have you upside down with a fork up your ass! You can talk! You can talk! You can talk! You’re brave now motherf***er! Throw his ass out! He’s a nigger! He’s a nigger! He’s a nigger! A nigger! Look there’s a nigger! Ooooh. Oooh. Alright. You see? This shocks you? This shocks you to see what’s buried beneath you stupid motherf***ers! … (TMZ Staff, 2006)


Similarly, in 2010, Mel Gibson was recorded by his ex-girlfriend saying, “You look like a f***ing pig in heat, and if you get raped by a pack of niggers, it will be your fault” (Contee, 2010). In the public’s vigilance to chastise Richards and Gibson, an unfortunate unintended consequence occurred. In both instances the word nigger was immediately and largely labeled as undesirable speech. There was little critical discussion about nigger or nigga. Granted, Richards’ and Gibson’s use of nigger was derogatory and inflammatory, but conversations in the “infotainment” media thinly offered credence to the notion that nigger and nigga, although often conflated, have multiple and divergent meanings (Asim, 2007; Kennedy, 1999; Smitherman, 2006). But those are not the only high-profile incidents in which either of the n- words were put before the firing line, and White Americans are not always the object of public ire.

Cartoonist Aaron McGruder and his Peabody Award winning cartoon The Boondocks, African American comics Dave Chappelle, Damon Wayans, and Eddie Griffin, Hip Hop artists Nas, Tupac, Jay-Z, NWA (Niggaz Wit Attitude), and Ludacris, and filmmaker Quentin Tarantino have all come under fire for using either nigga or nigger in their works. There is little challenge or exploration to the contexts of use, intention of meaning, relationship to or nature of audience, or other cues essential to understanding meaning.

This controversy around nigger and nigga also has significant ramifications for education. Recently, the editor of New South Press, Randall Williams, substituted slave for nigger in the classic Mark Twain text The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. In a 60 Minutes expose that aired March 20, 2011, Williams argued that he chose to edit nigger from the text because it distracts the reader from the larger issues and themes of the text, and because schools have banned the book primarily for its use of the incendiary word. Removing the word opens the text for adoption. On one hand that seems like a benign and thoughtful proposition, but as David Bradley, a professor of creative writing at the University of Oregon counter-argued,

“There is a reality there that you cannot avoid… 'Slave' is a condition. I mean, anybody can be a slave. And it's nothin' for anybody to be ashamed of. But 'nigger' has to do with shame. 'Nigger' has to do with calling somebody something. 'Nigger' was what made slavery possible.” (Schnieder, 2011)


The controversy around the n-words is fascinating and allows one to observe the intersection of language, power, and identity. As pointed out previously, this intersection challenges popular conventions with alternative constructions of meaning and further challenges how cultural groups and individuals negotiate situated meanings (Gee, 1999) and the hegemonic boundaries around language that continue to be largely unchallenged (Cherryholmes, 1988). Likewise, it is an intriguing challenge for educators to help mediate critical engagement and discussion for classroom communities but can come at a cost.

In 2012, a White Chicago teacher, Lincoln Brown, was suspended for using the word nigger in class. To his credit, he used the term in the context of teaching The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. After intercepting a letter a student wrote that included rap lyrics using nigga. Mr. Brown challenged his predominantly Black class about the meaning and utility of the word, but his principal walked by the room and heard part of the discussion out of context, which resulted in Brown’s suspension. Subsequently, Brown filed a lawsuit against Chicago Public Schools for his suspension and succinctly expressed the issue, “It’s so sad — if we can’t discuss these issues, we’ll never be able to resolve them” (Janssen & Korecki, 2012). There is a reality to the political dangers of taking up conversations about nigga and nigger in schools. It is uncomfortable;; a quintessential “hot lava” topic (Glazier et al., 2000) that can result in a suspension. This makes it difficult to engage youth in meaningful discussions that reveal the complexity of these issues so that they can consider the historic underpinnings of the words and make informed decisions for themselves—even if that means they only say it in certain company!

There are calls to eradicate nigger and nigga from all sectors of popular culture in the United States, especially by African Americans. People ranging from Bill Cosby to Oprah Winfrey have said very openly that the words need to be “stopped.” But as Kennedy (1999) pointed out:

What (those) who wish to eradicate nigger fail adequately to recognize is the term's linguistic richness and the extraordinary extent to which it has insinuated itself – for bad but also for good – across the wide expanse of the American cultural landscape. To eliminate nigger from the American language would require erasing too much from too many valuable pages, including those found in such classics of Afro-American literature as Richard Wright's Native Son and Autobiography of Malcolm X (p. 91).


Perhaps, Kennedy points out the heart of the matter. Our discourses around the n-words continue to foster a false binary of good or bad (Derrida, 1978; Eagleton, 1983). What is considered bad is largely dictated by hegemonic forces that privilege the tastes and cultural models of Whites.

The reality is that despite proscribed meaning, African Americans have managed to deconstruct and reconstruct an ugly word (nigger), transforming it into one of great complexity, and dare I say, community (nigga). The singular construction of nigger or nigga as a racist slur or assaultive speech that is beyond redemption is a technology of racial domination and the privileging of Whiteness. One must question the role of White guilt and discomfort with nigger and nigga and the rampant feeling that these words are beyond redemption. By not recognizing the brilliance and uniqueness of African American Language, and by extension the agency of African American culture to recreate what was once dehumanizing, the roots of racism remain intact. If nigger—and by extension nigga—are vestiges of racism then the power of racism rest in the singular derision toward the words and adhering to the notion that the words occupy an unapproachable space. It is not words that are racist; rather proscription and employment of definitions by individuals and groups that are racist.

A Final Personal Note: Implications Through Hip Hop and other arenas of popular culture, an invitation

is being made to all with eyes and ears to reconsider and reengage nigga and nigger. Is this right or wrong? Again, that is beyond the scope of this essay. I chafe at being an arbiter of social and cultural appropriateness. What is most important is that we continue to encourage further discussion in schools, media, and society, and we continue to interrogate the power of language, the building of culture, and the dynamics of community. As we participate in the discourse about the n-words in popular culture, we find that often the nuances and motivations of those that utter the terms are not always effectively borne out. As stated earlier, the general trend in the cultural context of the United States is to encourage censorship over nuance and complexity. As pointed out above, youth of all races are attending powerful popular cultural functions, like concerts, in which these words are being challenged. But to what effect is unknown.

At the 2011 Annual White Privilege Conference, founder and program director Dr. Eddie Moore, Jr. hosted a screening of a


documentary he produced, The N!gga (er) Word. The documentary explores the various arguments around and usages of the words. Moore posed a powerful question: If the use of nigga is bleeding across racial and ethnic boundaries, then what is the effect it has on youth and society in general? Furthermore, he led a powerful activity in which he had session participants close their eyes and he asked, “A nigga just walked through the door. Describe what you see.” Many of the participants offered stereotypical descriptions of an African American youth. Moore further questioned that if more people are using the word then why isn’t the definition or our image of a nigga changing? This powerful activity illustrates the need to continue this discussion in schools, colleges, the media, and our own personal spaces.

I believe that “putting a word on the shelf” is an impractical idea, a genuine sentiment but impractical nonetheless. I also have my own reservations about the use of both n-words. Although I do use nigga in certain company it is not something I use in daily practice; I am aware of how off-putting it can be. Alongside this I am equally concerned with our social derision against nigga and how that further marginalizes the power, brilliance, and resilience of African American culture. This essay is an attempt to consider why there is so much confusion and disdain around these words. As I have drafted this document I have challenged myself with more questions. For example, what is the social impact of the use of nigga? How do we have a national discussion about ideas that are actually very complicated? Are schools a safe space to have these discussions? Since the teaching force is overwhelmingly White (Boser, 2011), what role do White teachers play in navigating students through these discussions? What are the hurdles to opening these discussions in schools and other social spaces and how can we address the fears and hurdles that surround the dialogue? What do youth across racial and ethnic groups feel about the future of these words and their role in racial America?

Perhaps one day, in the future, nigga and nigger will transcend their troubled past. Or, perhaps, our cultures will become more understanding and savvy about how language functions and recognize ideas like context and intention. Perhaps not. Regardless, at this point in our history, nigger and nigga share a controversial and contested space that is in flux. As long as Kanye West and Jay-Z can rap “Niggaz in Paris” to thousands of adoring and engaged White, Latino, Asian, Middle Eastern, and Indigenous youth, we must continue to consider and debate this phenomenon.


References Alberti, J. (1995). The nigger Huck: Race, identity, and the teaching of

Huckleberry Finn. College English. 57(8), 919-937. Asim, J. (2007). The N word: Who can say it, who shouldn’t, and why.

Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin. Bahktin, M. (1981). The dialogic imagination. Austin, TX: University of

Texas Press. Boser, U. (2011). Teacher diversity matters: A state-by-state analysis of

teachers of color. Washington, D.C.: Center for American Progress. Burns, L. D. (2010). Language education and social justice in English

education policy. In S. J. Miller & D. E. Kirkland (Eds.), Change matters: Critical essays on moving social justice research from theory to practice (pp.189-196). New York, NY: Peter Lang.

Chappelle, D. (Executive producer/Writer). (2003). Chappelle Show [Television series]. New York, NY: Comedy Central.

Cherryholmes, C. (1988). Power and criticism: Poststructural investigation in education. New York, NY: Teachers College Press.

Coffman, L. (2012, June 6). 99 problems but the N word ain’t one. Jack & Jill politics: A Black bourgeoisie perspective on U.S. politics. Retrieved from http://www.jackandjillpolitics.com/2012/06/99-problems-but-the-n-word-aint-one/

Conference on College Composition and Communication (1974/2003). Students' Right to Their Own Language. Retrieved from http://www.ncte.org/library/NCTEFiles/Groups/CCCC/NewSRTOL.pdf

Contee, C. (2010, July 2). Mel Gibson’s non-reality-based raping niggers. Retrieved from http://www.jackandjillpolitics.com/2010/07/mel-gibsons-non-reality-based-rapingniggers/

Derrida, J. (1978). Structure, sign and play in the discourse of the human sciences. Writing and Difference (pp. 278-294) [Trans. Alan Bass]. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.

Dillard, J. L. (1972). Black English: Its history and usage in the United States. New York, NY: Vintage Press.

Eagleton, T. (1983). Literary theory: An introduction. Minneapolis, MN: University of Minnesota Press.

Flynn, J. E. (2011). Afterthought: Who leads this dance: Reflecting on the influence of African Americans on popular culture. Black History Bulletin, 74(1), 32-33.


Flynn, J. (2007). Reel dialogues: Using film to discuss race and Whiteness with teachers (Doctoral dissertation). Retrieved from ProQuest. (AAT 3282099).

Front Row (Producer). (2006, February 8). ‘Nigga’ it’s just a word or is it? Implications of‘nigger/nigga’ as used in mass media. Boston College Front Row [Video podcast].Retrieved from http://frontrow.bc.edu/program/jawpanel/

Foucault, M. (1980). Power-knowledge: Selected interviews and other writings, 1972-1977. New York, NY: Pantheon Books.

Gee, J. P. (1996). Social linguistics and literacies: Ideology in discourses. London, UK: Routledge-Falmer.

Gee, J. (1999). An introduction to discourse analysis: Theory and method. New York, NY: Routledge.

Glazier, J., McVee, M., Wallace-Cowell, S., Shellhorn, B., Florio-Ruane, S., & Raphael, T. (2000). Teacher learning in response to autobiographical literature. In N. Karolides (Ed.), Reader response in secondary and college classrooms (2nd ed., pp. 287-310). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

Howard, G. R. (1999). We can't teach what we don't know: White teachers, multiracial schools. New York, NY: Teachers College Press.

Janssen, K., & Korecki, N. (2012, February 17). Teacher sues CPS after suspension for slur during ‘teachable moment.’ Chicago Sun Times. Retrieved from http://www.suntimes.com/news/metro/10688120-418/teacher-sues-cps-after-suspension-for-slur-during-teachable-moment.html

Kennedy, R. (2002). Nigger: The strange career of a troublesome word. New York, NY: Pantheon Books.

Kennedy, R. (1999). Who can say nigger? And other considerations. Journal of Blacks in Higher Education, 26(4), 86-96.

Kuhn, T. (1996). The structure of scientific revolutions. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.

Linguistic Society of America. (1997). Resolution on the Oakland “Ebonics” issue unanimously adopted at the annual meeting of the Linguistic Society of America. Retrieved from http://www-personal.umich.edu/~jlawler/ebonics.lsa.html

Matsuda, M., Lawrence, C., Delgado, R., & Crenshaw, K. (1993). Words that wound: Critical race theory, assaultive speech, and the First Amendment. Denver, CO: Westview Press.


Miller, S. J., & Norris, L. (2007). Unpacking the loaded teacher matrix: Negotiating space and time between university and secondary English classrooms. New York, NY: Peter Lang.

Motley, C. M., & Craig-Henderson, K. M. (2007). Epithet or endearment? Examining reactions among those of the African Diaspora to an ethnic epithet. Journal of Black Studies, 37, 944-963.

Labov, W. (1972). Language in the inner city: Studies in Black Vernacular English. Philadelphia, PA: University of Pennsylvania Press.

Larkins, T. (Writer/Director) (2004). The N word: divided we stand [Motion Picture]. United States: Urban Works Entertainment.

Nieto, S. (2009). The light in their eyes (10th Anniversary Ed.). New York, NY: Teachers College Press.

Perry, T., & Delpit, L. (Eds.). (1998). The real Ebonics debate: Power, language, and the education of African American children. New York, NY: Beacon Press.

Picca, L., & Feagin, J. (2007). Two-faced racism: Whites in the backstage and frontstage. New York, NY: Routledge.

Pryor, R. [Writer]. (1971/2001). Richard Pryor: Live and smokin’ [Motion Picture]. United States: MPI Home Video Entertainment.

Purcell-Gates, V. (2008). “… As soon as she opened her mouth!: Issues of language, literacy, and power. In L. Delpit & J. K. Dowdy (Eds.), The skin that we speak: Thoughts on language and culture in the classroom (pp. 121-144). New York, NY: The New Press.

Rickford, J. R., & Rickford, R. J. (2000). Spoken soul: The story of Black English. New York, NY: Wiley Publishing.

Rock, C. [Writer]. (1996). Chris Rock: Bring the pain [Television Documentary]. United States: Home Box Office Entertainment.

Schneider, D. (Producer). (2011, March 20). Huckleberry Finn and the N-word. 60 Minutes. CBS News. Retrieved from http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=7360250n&tag=mncol;lst;6

Smith, E. (1994). The historical development of African American language. Los Angeles, CA: Watts College Press.

Smitherman, G. (Ed.). (1981). Black English and the education of Black children and youth. Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin.

Smitherman, G. (1994). Black talk: Words and phrases from the hood to the amen corner. Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin.

Smitherman, G. (1999). Talkin that talk: African American language and culture. New York, NY: Routledge.


Smitherman, G. (2006). Word from the mother: Language and African Americans. New York, NY: Routledge.

TMZ Staff. (2006, November 20). “Kramer’s” racist tirade—caught on tape. Retrieved from http://www.tmz.com/2006/11/20/kramers-racist-tirade-caught-on-tape/

Turner, L.D. (1973). Africanisms in the Gullah dialect. Ann Arbor, MI: University of Michigan Press.

Wayans, D. (Director/Writer). (2006). The underground [Television series]. United States: Amara Production Films & Showtime Networks.

Weiner, J. (2012, June 12). “Niggas,” in practice. Slate. Retrieved from http://www.slate.com/articles/arts/music_box/2012/06/gwyneth_paltrow_and_niggas_inparis_is_it_ever_ok_for_white_people_to_use_the_word_.single.html#

Winfrey, O., & Salata, S. [Producers]. (2006, February 3). The Oprah Winfrey show. United States: Harpo Entertainment.

Wolfram, W. (1969). A linguistic description of Detroit Negro speech. Washington, DC: Center for Applied Linguistics.

Say What't the Word? An Exploration of the Controversy around the "N-words"

Documents

Transcript of Say What't the Word? An Exploration of the Controversy around the "N-words"