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Jassmine Jenkins
Carty
UWRT 1102
October 29, 2014
The N-Word: Who Can Use It

Oprah once told Jay-Z in an interview that she could never use or agree to the use of
nigga because she always remembers those men and women who were called nigger one last
time before they were lynched. It is very clear that this word, whether it ends with an a or er,
has a very dark and negative past. However, since moving and growing past these troubling
times in history there has been huge controversy over who, if anyone, should be allowed to use
the word. In this paper I will discuss the difference between the word and its two endings, also
my argument on the discussion. (Jay Z on the N Word)
The original use of the word came from the Latin word niger, meaning black. At the time
of its original use this word came about in reference to our darker skin complexion. The word
eventually evolved in meaning. Once we had progressed as a people passed slavery into the time
before the time of civil rights it became a racial slur. It became a way of lowering African
Americans as a group. Then during the civil rights, during a period of black pride, nigga began to
be used as a term of endearment. And with the rise of hip hop the use of the word as an
endearing word became more and more abundant. Throughout the slow progression of the word
it has evolved so that there are two different words with different distinct connotations. Nigger,

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ending with and -er, is the term used as a form of hate. This word has a very negatives meaning
behind it, refers back to slavery, and causes a sense of unease. Then there is nigga ending with an
-a. This word is a modified version of nigger and is a way of showing endearment. ("Nigger, n.
and adj." 1)

Because of the dark background behind both of the words many people argue that the
word should not be used at all. For instance there is Rob Nelson. Nelson said:
No matter what's done with the last syllable of the word, it doesn't
make it any less offensive or demeaning. It doesn't soften the blow
of a word that has been used or centuries to ostracize, humiliate,
and dehumanize blacks. It does not erase the scars of the words
slavery laden meanings or lessen the severity of its racism. It does
not do a damn thing except prove that, after decades of progress in
civil rights blacks are still shackled.
Throughout his article he makes the argument that we cannot, as a race move on and grow if we
are using either word. Nelson believes that the only way to truly achieve equality is to eliminate
the words permanently. (Nelson 117) There have been others who feel the same way about the
use of word. Like Oprah Winfrey. Oprah during her an interview she gave with Jay-Z asked him
about his constant use of the word. Not only did she say that she could not use or agree to the use
of the word. But she also said that she could not be friends with someone who uses the word.
Oprah felt that she could not agree to the word because of her personal experience growing up in
a time of such racial tension during the civil rights period. (Jay Z on the N Word)

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On the contrary there are those who believe that the use of the word nigga is alright.
People like Jay-Z. During the same interview with Oprah countered her beliefs with his own
saying:
To me, it's just a word, a word whose power is owned by the user
and his or her intention. People give words power, so banning a
word is futile, really. "Nigga" becomes "porch monkey" becomes
"coon" and so on if that's what in a person's heart. (Jay-Z 1)
Like the quote said Jay-Z believes that the use of the word is ok because giving the word power
is really what matters. So avoiding the word will do little because then the power and hate of the
word will simply be transferred to the next term. Jay-Z believed that censoring the word did little
and that the only way to change it is to change the people who are using. He thinks that it is
really just a matter of intentions. (Jay Z on the N Word)
Then there is Emily Bernard a professor at the University of Vermont. Bernard posted
and essay discussing the use of the word in her all white African American studies class. She
talks about the discomfort that her students felt about the word. She talks about how while
discussing other words with one of her students she brings up the word nigger to them. Once she
does this the student automatically becomes awkward. He did not feel comfortable saying or
even discussing the word with his teacher. When she brings the discussion to her class many of
the students respond the same way. Some went as far as to refuse to use no matter what. Even
after she made it clear that it was alright for them to say it, it was still an air of hesitation while
they said it. (Bernard 1) Even amongst other races there is a debate about the use of the word,
whether is something that they consciously do or not.

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I think that it is alright to use the word nigga. I feel this way because it has evolved
passed its original meaning. I feel that, now that we have the same rights as everyone else, we no
longer have to deal with so much blatant racism so it does not have the same meaning. I also
agree with Jay-Z. I think that words have meaning based on the intentions of the person using
them. Yes, nigga does have a bad history. However, if we were to get rid of the word for good,
nothing would change. We would just move to another word and give it the same meaning as the
word nigger. No matter what throughout all the views presented there has been one common
factor. All of these people believe that nigger is a negative word. There is no way that you could
present, where nigga is an adapted form of the original word, nigger is the direct source and no
matter what it will still carry that negative and hurtful meaning.
The word nigger and nigga has a dark meaning. They come from such dark times of
racial turmoil that they have been deemed demeaning. There has been a debate about whether the
two words should or should not be used. I think that it is alright. Tupac Shakur said that Nigger
refers to those people who had to suffer through slavery and the civil rights period. Niggas are
people who are passed the slavery and extreme inequality. (Shakur)

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Work Cited
Bernard, Emily. Teaching the N-Word: A Black Professor, An All-White Class, and the Thing
Nobody Will Say. The American Scholar: Teaching the N-Word Emily Bernard. Phi
Beta Kappa, 1 Sept. 2005. Web. 10 Oct. 2014.
Jay-Z. Decoded. New York, NY: Spiegel & Grau, 2010. 1. Print.
Jay-Z on the N-Word. Perf. Jay-Z and Oprah. King World Productions, 1984. Online Streaming.
Nelson, Rob. "The Word "Nigga" Is Only for Slaves and Sambos." The Journal of Blacks in
Higher Education No. 21 (1998): 117. JSTOR. Web. 10 Oct. 2014.
<http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.2307/2999021?ref=no-xroute:9496d26b5a426873bb939e02af1fe3ed>.
"Nigger, n. and adj." OED Online. Oxford University Press, September 2014. Web. 26 October 2014.

Shakur, Tupac. "Tupac Explaining Word Nigga." Youtube. N.p., 13 Dec. 2006. Web. 15 Oct. 2014.