Although coming from a rich, multicultural background, I was never exposed to the N-word until I heard a non-black friend sing it with a song. I had a basic idea of what the word meant, but I didn’t berate my friend for using it. As I got older, my experiences developed my understanding of racism and in conjunction, I understood why the N-word holds so much stock. Because of its prevalence in music, movies, and social media, the true definition of the N-word has been overlooked, thus causing its use to become a part of pop-culture.
Due to this fact, the N-word has found its way into everyday language; whether it is used by a black person in an endearing way, or used by a white person in a racist way. Ultimately, I argue that the use of the N-word, and other variations, by whites and non-black people of color in pop-culture further demeans the entirety of the black race, while also representing black culture as a universal persona that can be taken on when convenient. The N-word is an immensely controversial word that was sprouted during the start of slavery in the 17th century and was carried out through the Jim Crow era in the 20th century (Melvin). Slave owners used the N-word and other degrading terms to refer to their slaves and to further oppress them. In the movie, The Great Debaters, character Melvin B. Tolson says, “Keep the slave physically strong but psychologically weak and dependent on the slave master. Keep the body, take the mind” when discussing the methods behind lynching. (IMDB) Blacks resent the use of the N-word because of this reason: it was sprouted out of degradation. Slave owners purposefully wanted to break them down to less than human. Using language during that time in today’s society is the ultimate insult since it implies that whites and non-blacks who use it have similar feelings as those of the 17th century. When shameful language is brought up in school through literature, it is diffused quickly. An example of this is the study of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain, which landed 5th place in the most frequently challenged book in 2007 because it “perpetuates racism”, according to the American Library Association. It should be mentioned that the N-word is used more than 200 times in the entirety of the novel. (Flood) In addition, there are prints of Huckleberry Finn that do not have the N-word in them, yet the original edition is still studied. (Page) This is another instance in which the past abuse is thrown in the face of blacks in the present. It is often said that racism and everything that is under its umbrella, like the N-word, should remain the past because it cannot be changed. That may be true, but it is counterproductive to have literature like Huckleberry Finn on bookshelves that “perpetuate[s] racism” while also claiming that the use of the N-word by anyone, regardless of race, is harmless. Similar to the generation gap of rock and roll, there is a generation gap surrounding the N-word in the black community. Disagreements boil down to its use among the younger generation. The older generation believes that its use in today’s society diminishes the …show more content…
Morial, Bury the ‘N’-word, where a white man attacked a black man with a bat while yelling racial slurs. His reasoning was that the word has become a part of everyday vocabulary. This is an example in which society has gone full circle with racism while simultaneously skipping the part where we reach a resolution. Blacks have taken a word that was forced upon them and morphed it into a part of their identity while also eliminating the negative connotation surrounding it.
Whites and non-blacks using the N-word is a form of cultural appropriation. In a Huffington Post article, written by Taryn Finley, Imani Diltz defines cultural appropriation as “blatant robberies of culture that are taken and made trendy and conglomerated by white society…” (Diltz) Blacks have accepted a term forced upon them through degradation from previous centuries which makes the use of the N-word solely for them. This is precisely why blacks take offense to whites and non-blacks using the N-word; taking advantage of something that some blacks have just become comfortable with for the sake of a
Due to this fact, the N-word has found its way into everyday language; whether it is used by a black person in an endearing way, or used by a white person in a racist way. Ultimately, I argue that the use of the N-word, and other variations, by whites and non-black people of color in pop-culture further demeans the entirety of the black race, while also representing black culture as a universal persona that can be taken on when convenient. The N-word is an immensely controversial word that was sprouted during the start of slavery in the 17th century and was carried out through the Jim Crow era in the 20th century (Melvin). Slave owners used the N-word and other degrading terms to refer to their slaves and to further oppress them. In the movie, The Great Debaters, character Melvin B. Tolson says, “Keep the slave physically strong but psychologically weak and dependent on the slave master. Keep the body, take the mind” when discussing the methods behind lynching. (IMDB) Blacks resent the use of the N-word because of this reason: it was sprouted out of degradation. Slave owners purposefully wanted to break them down to less than human. Using language during that time in today’s society is the ultimate insult since it implies that whites and non-blacks who use it have similar feelings as those of the 17th century. When shameful language is brought up in school through literature, it is diffused quickly. An example of this is the study of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain, which landed 5th place in the most frequently challenged book in 2007 because it “perpetuates racism”, according to the American Library Association. It should be mentioned that the N-word is used more than 200 times in the entirety of the novel. (Flood) In addition, there are prints of Huckleberry Finn that do not have the N-word in them, yet the original edition is still studied. (Page) This is another instance in which the past abuse is thrown in the face of blacks in the present. It is often said that racism and everything that is under its umbrella, like the N-word, should remain the past because it cannot be changed. That may be true, but it is counterproductive to have literature like Huckleberry Finn on bookshelves that “perpetuate[s] racism” while also claiming that the use of the N-word by anyone, regardless of race, is harmless. Similar to the generation gap of rock and roll, there is a generation gap surrounding the N-word in the black community. Disagreements boil down to its use among the younger generation. The older generation believes that its use in today’s society diminishes the …show more content…
Morial, Bury the ‘N’-word, where a white man attacked a black man with a bat while yelling racial slurs. His reasoning was that the word has become a part of everyday vocabulary. This is an example in which society has gone full circle with racism while simultaneously skipping the part where we reach a resolution. Blacks have taken a word that was forced upon them and morphed it into a part of their identity while also eliminating the negative connotation surrounding it.
Whites and non-blacks using the N-word is a form of cultural appropriation. In a Huffington Post article, written by Taryn Finley, Imani Diltz defines cultural appropriation as “blatant robberies of culture that are taken and made trendy and conglomerated by white society…” (Diltz) Blacks have accepted a term forced upon them through degradation from previous centuries which makes the use of the N-word solely for them. This is precisely why blacks take offense to whites and non-blacks using the N-word; taking advantage of something that some blacks have just become comfortable with for the sake of a