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'Nigger,' 'Nigga' or Neither?
by Kendra Pierre
Issue date: 5/1/06 Section: News
Media Credit: P.B.S.
"THIS NIGGER VOTED"
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Aboard a Manhattan bound D-train one Thursday night, two Hispanic teenagers greeted each other using the word "nigger". An outraged African-American passenger began explaining why he was offended by the colloquial usage of that word. He linked the word "nigger" to its pejorative connotation, which lasted through slavery, segregation and the civil rights movement. He questioned the Hispanic teenagers respect for a word that was used while killing African-Americans, throughout American history. And he stated that out of respect for Hispanics he wouldn't use the offensive word "spic" to greet anyone, Hispanic or not.
Offering insight into the term, Lehman College professor of African and African-American studies, Dr. William Seraile wrote an article for the Amsterdam News, titled "Wipe out the word 'nigger'." "Europeans who were unwilling to call Africans by their correct name, such as Ashanti or Yoruba" formed the word, he states. They "created nigger out of a corruption of Niger, the name of a great river, [and] conspired with their American cousins to describe crude or inferior things as 'nigger'."
So why is it that the word "nigger" is frequently used by urban youth, including the Lehman College community, who know about the violent racial tension that is associated with the word's history? This same word, Professor Seraile states in his article, was used for "young African-American children called niggerlings while a large gathering of Blacks were classified as a niggerdom."
Surprisingly, in this academic environment, students are so comfortable with this word that a college student recently called a Lehman College secretary "nigger". The secretary is of Dominican origin, and was insulted by the harsh and offensive nature linked to violence in this racial epithet.
In reaction to the incident, Angie stated, "Nigger to me is an offensive word. There are similar words in my country. But in my country I didn't feel that classification because most people are mixed."
Media Credit: P.B.S.
A public lynching.
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Hate crimes towards minority groups still occur today, showing that racism is still alive, and the word "nigger" continues to be used as hateful speech towards African-Americans. Recently, in March 2006, at Duke University, three white males allegedly gang raped a black female while shouting racial epithets at her. Although the specific racial epithets weren't repeated in news reports, it can be likely assumed that the word "nigger" might have been used.
Loranth Otvos, co-president of the Rainbow Alliance, states that, "'Nigger' has been derogatory since its first use. Even now, trying to fix this history by taking the word as celebratory of one-self is a double-edged sword. It's still offensive, regardless of who uses it."
A popular explanation for the term's frequent usage is the attempt to separate it from the past. "Nigga, spelled with an "a" is how people say it from the ghetto, while nigger with an "er" is how the white people in the past said it" stated Nel, a Lehman college junior. She explained that, "It's the same word, just expressed differently."
Ironically, Nel doesn't agree with the word being used by other groups except for blacks. "I don't say it all the time", she states. However, if it is used by a non-black, she is offended or taken aback by it. "I don't like to hear it from white and Spanish people, sounds like they are trying to be black or ghetto. They think they can fit in by using it."
"Through language you claim an identity", stated a professor of Language and Literature. It may be possible that black youths like Nel feel that they are claiming the word "nigger" by using it. However, this comes with consequences as other groups will use the term in conversational usage, and blacks will take offense to it.
"I think the word is hypocritical. Using that word sends a mixed message to a white kid in the suburbs. We popularize our culture to people," states Joni, a Lehman senior.
There is, in fact, a mixed message when a word can be deemed acceptable or offensive depending on the skin color of the mouth it comes out of. If a white person calls an African-American "nigger," that person will be labeled racist, while a black person has no problem calling another black person "nigger" with no offense taken. How can the meaning and nature of this word change depending on the speaker's color? A word can't have different meanings according to a speaker's race. The usage of this term is setting a double standard among the races.
An issue that is often called into question is that other degrading racial epithets from other races aren't used, while blacks and non-blacks are using the term "nigger." Joni adds to this issue, explaining why she doesn't use the term "nigger". "When I see Jewish people calling each other kikes, Hispanic people calling themselves spics, and Italian people calling themselves wop or dago, then I'll call black people niggers."
No matter how much effort is given to changing the word's negative connotation, the past cannot be changed.
"Compared to "faggot," which is also degrading, neither word should be in use. Until we live in a society where we are open to the good qualities in all people, and the words we use are good and affirming of goodness, such words as "nigger" need not be used," states Loranth.
Some African-Americans definitely take offense to the word. This term has negative historical origins that shouldn't be used to address anyone, especially African-Americans. As Professor Seraile stated in his article, "we were not niggers in Africa when we mastered science, medicine, navigation and the arts. We were only niggers wherever we were enslaved or colonized because someone wanted us to believe that we were inferior to them."