Who Gets to Say the N-Word?

I'm going to start off my saying that I am not objective in this subject matter (I do not claim any neutral stance). Honestly speaking, I have certain biases because I am very passionate when talking about the N-word (and I'm black as hell). So, lets start with clearly stating where I stand on the this issue.

As an African who migrated to the states, I learnt how to be offended by the N-word due to assimilating American culture for more than two years. This is because back in my country, the majority of the population is black and the N-word is often used as a term of kinship. I also grew up listening to rap and falling in love with hip-hop. This means that I had African-American cultural influences from quite a tender age till my adulthood. When I came to America, I finally realized that I was "black" (I became extremely aware of my skin color) because black people were the minority, had a different/tragic history, and were constantly targeted/discriminated against. It was when I came to America that I realized, when someone of a different skin color (other than black) says the N-word, it both triggers and disenfranchises my blackness.

I say Black people can say/commoditize the N-word because it was a racial slur that was used against us and we have the right to re-appropriate/reclaim it. On the other hand, White people and Non-black people should not use the N-word because... they are not black, simple. Non-black people have no right whatsoever to commoditize the N-word because it is not a word that carries their tragic history and their unique experiences. Their (White and Non-black) use of the N-word also disenfranchises black people and homogenizes completely different experiences as people of color in America (i.e we did not go through the same thing just because we both are not white). White people should not use it because first, they are white. Second, it’s a form of stealing or appropriating (young) black culture. Lastly, the history of white supremacy to date is enough reason for white people not to use it. Non-black people (Asians and Native Americans) and marginalized groups (White LGBTQ members, White women, etc.) should not use the N-word because it's usually an attack on black people and another way to appropriate black culture and experiences in America.

Now that that is out of the way!

From this point on, I'm going to address a lot of common arguments and views (about the N-word) with the help of articles, artistes, writers, creatives, etc. Feel free to look up the articles/sources for yourself.

Every time we as a society bring up the N-word for discussion, we often blame hip-hop and rappers for the normalization of the N-word (we also blame them for everything violence related too, which is racist as hell). We blame this Black genre for White and Non-black people using the N-word as if White people never used the N-word before hip-hop/rap. So here is my suggestion, how about we ask a black rapper his/her opinions of the the N-word? We conveniently blame hip-hop artistes and use them as argument props without asking for their point of view. So I say, let us ask one of the most prolific rappers of all time, Tupac Shakur.

He says (in the video above) that it doesn’t matter if you are successful, rich, broke, or poor. It doesn’t matter if you are from the ghetto or the suburb. It doesn’t matter if you are from Africa or from America. As long as you are Black, you are a thug to White people. There is a lot of evidence to this claim such as Lebron James (his home getting vandalized with the N-word) and the eight-year Obama administration.

Tupac may be talking about "thug life" but this same logic can be applied to the N-word. It does not matter if you say the N-word or not, it does not matter if you are Tupac or Oprah, as long as you are Black in America, you will always be seen as a nigger to the majority of White people.

How about we ask Jay-Z? HOV also made the same (more straight forward) claim as Tupac with his song, Story of OJ (in the 4:44 album).

The chorus goes, "Light nigga, dark nigga, faux nigga, real nigga, Rich nigga, poor nigga, house nigga, field nigga. Still nigga, still nigga."

Jay-Z basically says that it does not matter what type of Black person you are. It doesn't matter what title you put in from of a Black person (or a nigga). It doesn't matter if you can pass as White, have "traditionally" European traits or levels of success. To the majority of racist America, you are still a Black person, you are still a nigga.

I know I have been saying that majority of America (referring to White people specifically) is racist and you might have your feelings hurt right now. Before you act like being called racist is worse than actually being racist. Let me say this: White people from birth are taught to be racist, just as Black people from birth are taught that they are a target of racism. And if a White person you are doing nothing to dismantle racism (while benefitting from white supremacy), you too are racist. To better explain, allow Jane Elliot (an expert on race relations) to clarify.

Elliot asserts that the majority of White people in America are racist (be it actively or passively racist). If the majority of White people (the majority of the population anyway) in America are racist, then that means I am nothing but a nigger to the majority of America. Get it?

The N-Word, Its History and Use in the African American Community by Rahman J, 2011 (Article)

Even though there is a social “ban” on the use of the N-word in America, some black people in the African-American community find it completely acceptable to use it even as a self-reference (“I’m that Nigga!" “I’m a real nigga!” “My nigga, my nigga” etc.).

Rahman (2011) asserts that the variation of the N-word (Nigg-A) allows African-Americans to show that they understand the history and negativity of the word "nigger" and at the same time, re-appropriate/reclaim the word to mean brotherhood and solidarity in the version, "nigga." It is almost like (but not the same) as women who reclaim/re-approrpriate the words bitch and slut (slurs that have been used against them) into something positive (slutwalks, bad bitches, etc.).

When a Black person calls another Black person nigga, they do not intend the meaning of nigger when addressing them (which most of the time, the other black person understands). Black people know the history of the version "nigger" and how white people used it to address Black people during the time they colonized, kidnapped, lynched, raped, beat, and killed Blacks in America. Another reason Black people say the N-word (nigga) normally is due to language (ebonics, accent, etc.). Allow Tre Melvin to explain.

NIGGA! by Montford W.C., 1995 (Article)

A common argument in this topic (as we earlier touched) is that Black people are to blame for White people and Non-black people using the N-word. The argument is that White/Non-black people use the N-word because Black people use the N-word. This popular argument is what writer Montford uses in his article called "NIGGA!"

Montford (1995) says that when African-Americans call each other nigga, it is a form of “defiling” one's self and claims it is nothing new within the community. Montford implies that insulting one's self and claiming inferiority is inherently a Black thing to do.

The author believes that Black people calling each other "nigga" confirms the stereotypes of Black people (as drug dealers, gang bangers, black on black crime, and basically inferior due to their "blackness"). He implies that Black people saying the N-word proves that racist White people are correct about Black people.

Firstly, I believe the author has an issue with what is called, Stereotype Threat (the fear of confirming negative stereotypes about social groups e.g. black people). Montford does not want to be looked at as a nigger by White people so he is projecting his fears to other Black people (who use the N-word). This fear is very common within the Black community. This fear also leads to Respectability Politics, where Black people, like Montford, police other Black people's language, fashion, music, etc. in order to be acceptable to white people. Let me ask this, does it matter if you are really a drug dealer or a well-respected Black person? Michelle Obama, former First Lady, was called an "ape in heels" by a racist White woman (what is higher than being First Lady in America?). As long as you are Black, does it not make you a nigga in the eyes of a racist White person? If a White person sees you as only negative Black stereotypes due to your race (despite your status), does that not imply there is a problem with the White person rather than you?

Second, I want to address this racist myth of "black on black" crime by stating this: Black people are more likely to kill Black people because they generally live closer to each other. The same way White people kill other White people because they are closer to each other (except when you are a White supremacist). One is more likely to kill people in their vicinity than to kill people outside of their vicinity. According to the 2013 FBI report (the latest year for which stats are available), 90% of Black people who are murdered are murdered by other Blacks. Also, 83% of White people who are murdered are killed by White people. These stats are virtually the same especially if you incorporate socioeconomic differences (i.e. effects of Jim Crow laws, slavery, destruction of Black wall street, and setting black families back 228 years, to economically catch up with white families). Montford is crying “black on black crime” to distract from a real issue it's not related to simply because he wants to be accepted by White people.

Till Part II

I'm out

xoxo