American Voices: Listening to Fiction, Poetry, and Prose

Point of View: Using the N-WORD!!!

In today's Hip-Hop culture the word nigger is used frequently and many African American scholars and parents are outraged at the usage of the term.

Most inner city teenagers feel that the modern use of the word is hip(cool) because hearing it in music validates its coolness. Suburban teens listen to hip-hop music and are under the impression that using the word is acceptable, therefore they repeat it and even use it when referring to each other. "I Ain't going to fight in Vietnam, no Vietnamese ever called me a "Nigger"²¹

Boxing legend Muhammed Ali

"Nigga, niggoo, niggu, negreaux, negrette, niggrum." According to Wikipedia sources the word "Nigger" is a derogatory term used to refer to dark-skinned people, mainly those of black African ancestry."²² Contemporary usage of the term "nigga" in the Hip-Hop as a synonym, meaning my brotha or hommie(friend). In the United States the word was freely used by most whites until the Civil Rights Movement and the Black and I'm Proud Movement of the Black Panther Party of the 1960's. Globally, today the use of the term implies racism and usage in most public places is socially forbidden.

When holding a discussion about the use of the word "Nigger" in everyday language, many of my students admitted that they never paused to consider when or how they use the word. Students say they hear it being used all day long in the streets, some hear it at home and support the use of it's usage in Hip Hop Music.

I went from old school Chevy's

To drop top Porsches

Couldn't walk a mile off in my airforces

You ain't seen what I've seen

I can get 100,000 in these Sean John Jeans

Everybody already know Jeez a real street 'nigga'

Every time you see me all around street 'niggaz'²³

Young Jeezy"Airforces" (2005)

Excerpt from "Incident" by Countee Cullen

Now I was eight and very small,

And he was no whit bigger

And so I smiled, but he poked out

His tongue and called me, "NIGGER" -

Countee Cullen, "Incident" (1925)²⁴

Looking at the point of view Young Jeezy to that of Countee Cullen will help students compare and contrast perspectives of the usage of the word usage. The hip-hop artist Young Jeezy he explains how working hard in the inner city, paying his dues to society validates his claim of being a person that people in the hood should look up to as a role model. Being a street "nigga" means he has earned material wealth but he'll never turn his back on his upbringing.

Countee Cullen shares an incident he experienced being called a "nigger" in this titled poem. Cullen was eight years old and encountered a white boy around the same age and size. At eight years old most children are innocent and prejudice free and in his innocence Cullen smiles at the boy expected a similar exchange but instead he is greeted with a poked out tongue and was called a "Nigger". The word are used from varying generational perspectives and we'll discuss this factor as well as the social divergence.

Examining the point of view from which the following stories and events are told helps students understand various perspectives.

James Weldon Johnson asked his mother in 1912: "Tell me mother, am I a nigger?

There were tears in her eyes and I could see that she was suffering for me. I could see that her skin was darker than mine and that her hair was not as soft as mine. She must have felt that I was examining her, for she hid her face in my hair and said with difficulty; "No, my darling, you are not a nigger. You are as good as anybody, if anyone calls you a nigger don't notice them." In Johnson's reflection he stated that "he never thought about the power of words such as nigger that could maim the soul and spirit of a youngster." Johnson goes on to state that the effects of abusive language are very painful and life-destroying. "Demeaning words and disparaging labels create a cancer that kills us all. We must all be mindful of the words we use to label ourselves and our people. The self-esteem of our race is at stake."²⁵

Analyzing and comparing the point of view of both speaker and mother can help students understand how voice changes or remains the same from person to person or generation to generation. What does Johnson's mean when he states "I see that she was suffering for me"? What does Mama want Johnson to understand when she states "No, my darling you are not a nigger. You are as good as anybody else"? Who is anybody else? Today, how would your mother's voice compare to that of Johnson's?

Emily Bernard an African American professor at the University of Vermont shares a story in an article she wrote on Teaching the N-Word. Bernard's husband, a white man tells a story to Emily about his parents. "The only time I ever heard the word 'nigger' in my home growing up was when my father's cousin was over for a visit. It was 1988 I remember Jesse Jackson was running for President. My father's cousin was sitting in the kitchen, talking to my parents about the election. "I'm going to vote for the 'nigger,' my father's cousin said. "He is the only one who cares about the working man." After sharing this story in class, she asked a question of her students "So what should we care about in this story? The fact that John's father's cousin uses a racial epithet, or the fact that his voting for Jesse Jackson conveys a sense of respect for him."²⁶ This excerpt can elicits a response from the student's point of view and delve into some very interesting discourse as it did with Bernard's university students.

Richard Wright states that "After all the cotton was divided into crops we are still entangled as deeply as ever in this hateful web of cotton culture. We are older; our bodies are weaker; our families are larger, our clothes are in rags, we are still in dept. We know that this is not right and dark thoughts take possession of our minds. We know that if we protest we will be called "Bad Niggers."²⁷

"A naught's a naught

Five's a figger

All for the white man

None for the nigger...