Greater Egleston High School

Research Project
The N Word Controversy
April 7, 2014
Zheyla N. Roche-Rouge
Advance Research Methods
Ms. Sanon
































- Oppression: unjust or cruel exercise of authority or power; a sense of being weighed down in body or
mind : a sense of being weighed down in body or mind : DEPRESSION
- Nigga: Never Ignorant Getting Goals Accomplished Tupac Shakur
- Nigger: a contemptuous term for a black or dark-skinned person.

All oppression creats is a state of war. According to the documentary The N Word Divided We
Stand It was stated that, the hightest black person cannot equal out to the lowest white person.
This quote is trying to dehumanize minorities. America wants us to be the stereotypical
African American or Latino people. They do not want us to overcome the struggle, they want
us to stay at the bottom of the pyramid. Around the late 1950s, black cats were also called
niggers. The N word has been used so much that its almost lost meaning so its not offensive.
Ice Cube. Where I stand is that the N word should not be banned. The word nigga does not
have the same meaning as it use too. I have an issue with who should utter the word. I feel as if
the minority group should be the only ones to utter the word because we have earned that right.

Difference in the use of the "N" word in modern society. The "N" word is unique in our own
special way, our language. Originally it was intended to mean the worst of the worst when you
when you spoke of a certain race. Demeaning, degrading and disrespectful. A word that has
tormented generations after generation of African Americans, yet as time went on it became a
popular term of endearment by a generation of hipsters who would go on and use it in reference
to one another. Therefore calling each other niggas meaning friend, brother, etc.
We know at least in the history Ive looked at, that the word started off as just a description
(inner city) if you can keep the word within the context of its meaning to us amongst friends then
I can see you controlling its meaning. Realistically you cant because the word takes on a life of
its own if its not in that environment outside of our culture. The N word is looked at in a
different context only because theyre not repetitive nor understanding of our definition, taking
their meaning and understanding as their meaning and make it look offensive demeaning and
derogatory; yet not to inner city kids.

When we say my nigga we are saying it with endearment towards a friend/associate. We do
not associate any negativity in the word nigga. In the hip hop culture, if you look through
history, we have taken words with negative connotations and made them into positive; powerful
words. For example the word bad doesnt mean bad it means good/awesome, and this is
the same way we use the word nigga. It may be a bit difficult to understand for many but what
needs to be understood is that this is our culture, our language/vocabulary. Our understanding
and acceptance doesnt need to be understood nor shunned by those outside of our culture.

The word nigga is extremely controversial for many but contemporarily for Blacks and Latinos
there is a certain flow and seduction with the word. Even though the word nigga is seen as racist
from a historical standpoint censoring and using euphemism such as the n word robs our
youth and Americans as a whole from the full true history of Black people in America. The
controversy behind it in today's usage is like people are trying to hide the nasty reality of what
Americas history is. We took ownership of the word nigger and created a new meaning and
spelling.
Ms. Julie Coles, author of the essay, The Word in Americas Lexicon That Symbolizes Racial
Oppression, Lynchings, Fear, Hatred and Bigotry.Still, described her personal perspective and
insights about the historical plight of African Americans and why she will never support efforts to
reclaim and permit anyone outside of the African American, and other minority communities, the right to
use the N word. The essay highlights how the N word played a key role in the oppression of blacks
in America for many centuries.

Recent efforts among young African Americans to reclaim the N word in the hopes of removing
any references to past events is stirring up passion and efforts to push back among older African
Americans. Why? Too many of us feel the weight of the sacrifices made by our black ancestors. The
wounds inflicted on our ancestors over the course of centuries of abuse and oppression run deep. For
many the scars of those wounds have not healed and remain too near the surface. The word nigger
uttered by anyone who is white will never find acceptance among the majority of African Americans
who are still recovering from events that occurred centuries ago. Many African Americans strongly
believe if a white person says the N word it is meant to serve as a reminder of a time when blacks in
America were powerless to respond to the oppressive conditions during, after and since the enslavement
of our ancestors.
For many generations of African Americans the N word is taboo because of its origins. Images
of blacks being bound and shackled then forced into slave ships and sent to America to be separated
from their families, sold into slavery and enduring centuries of inhumane hardships, including death by
lynching is our first point of reference with the word nigger. Being forced into slavery, followed by
centuries of our ancestors having to endure deplorable conditions in America, is synonymous with the
N word. Over many centuries whites believed blacks were inferior to them. Laws and segregationist
policies were conceived to affirm and uphold the status quo of oppression against blacks. During and
after slavery blacks were forced to do physical labor without pay, suffered the indignities of being
regarded as animals, were the property of white owners who bought and sold them at auctions as if they
were cattle, and were separated from family members. On plantations where blacks were forced into
slavery they were punished, maimed, and or murdered if they were even suspected of attempting to
escape.
In 1862, during the American Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation
Proclamation. The Emancipation Proclamation declared the freedom of all slaves in ten Confederate
States of America. Slavery was officially abolished in ten but not all states. Many African Americans
think the N word should have been eradicated when slavery was abolished because the word remains a
source of deep offense. The Emancipation Proclamation did not remove the burdensome stigma of the
word nigger for many generations of black people in America and it seemed to fuel the anger of many
whites.
Decades after the abolishment of slavery, blacks continued to be falsely accused of and
incarcerated for crimes fabricated by whites. False accusations against blacks were quite common and
often served to justify the hunger of racist whites to commit many atrocities towards blacks. Blacks
were routinely lynched and had their dead bodies hanging from trees in open sight. Blacks had crosses
burned on their property, were the targets of random killings and repeatedly subjected to unjustified
arrests. Many of the arrests resulted in mysterious causes of deaths while the black citizens were in the
custody of law enforcement officials. Blacks were subjected to a myriad of other tragic but widely
accepted acts of violence.
The emergence of racially motivated hate groups such as the Ku, Klux, Klan escalated the
violence against blacks in the south. The Ku, Klux, Klan, also known as the KKK, became very popular
among other whites, who also harbored anger and bigotry toward blacks. The KKK stirred up unjust
anger against blacks by scaring other whites into believing lies that became common stereotypes. The
KKK also murdered blacks with impunity and were rewarded for their outrageous abuses. The courts
ruled in their favor whenever a white man was accused of murdering a black man. This emboldened the
KKK. Their membership grew to include whites from across many southern states. Their membership
also included people from the law enforcement community; policeman, chiefs of police, lawyers and
judges.
This period of lawlessness ultimately triggered a movement of courageous black citizens and
leaders who decided they were not going to continue to endure the double standards of the separatist Jim
Crow polices that segregated blacks from whites and permitted the inhumane treatment of blacks in
America. The birth of the official Civil Rights Movement began with a belief among blacks that the
rights, opportunities and freedoms enjoyed by whites should also be equally accessible to blacks.
Abolitionists of slavery were among the first to advocate on behalf of blacks in America. They
were the pioneers of what later became known as the Civil Rights Movement in America. Efforts to
abolish slavery in America resulted in a Civil War. Eventually blacks in America did win many
victories. Our ancestors won the right to an education, employment, improved living conditions, access
to health care and the right to sit and stay wherever we want on buses, in restaurants and hotels. After
many years of bloodshed, legal battles fought, and a commitment to never stop fighting, the laws did
eventually change. But change came at the expense of so many of our prominent and respected
messengers, leaders and ordinary black citizens.
In spite of those victories, today the majority of African Americans still lives at or below the
poverty line, is performing below proficiency in school, is among the highest rate of low-skilled laborers
in the job market, have the lowest number of college educated adults and occupy the lowest level
positions in the labor market. African Americans also have the highest rate of unemployment. African
Americans have always had the highest number of unemployed citizens. That trend continues today. As
of April 2, 2010 the recessions unemployment rate for African Americans is 16.5%. The
unemployment rate among Latinos is 12.5% and among whites is 8.8 %. (Statistics _______)
Even in current times when jobs that we are qualified for are denied to us, many blacks cannot
help but wonder if one of the reasons we were found to be unqualified might be linked to the N word.
Even if accusations of our being too sensitive and always quick to use the race card are correct, it also
affirms that the wounds inflicted by the events endured by our African American ancestors have not
healed. That is why many generations of African Americans never want to hear the word nigger
uttered by anyone (J. Coles, 2010).

My peers and I in the CPA handed out a survey to the scholars academy students and these are
the results we got back.





0
5
10
15
20
25
30
Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q5a Q5b Q5C Q5d Q5e Q6 Q7 Q8 Q9 Q10 Q11 Q12
N
u
m
b
e
r


o
f

v
o
t
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Survey Quedstion Number
GEHS Student "N" Word Survey Results
YES
NO











yes, 60.87
no, 39.13
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q5a Q5b Q5C Q5d Q5e Q6 Q7 Q8 Q9 Q10 Q11 Q12
P
e
r
c
e
n
t
a
g
r
e

o
f

n
u
m
b
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r

o
f

v
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Survey Question Number
GEHS "N" Word Survey Percentage Result











36%
10%
37%
0%
17%
GEHS "N"Word Survey Results 14
A
B
C
D
E











34%
9%
33%
0%
15%
9%
GEHS "N" Word Survey Result
Eminem
Curtis Blow
Lupe Fiasco
Khleo
Mackle More
Inappropri ate artist
Apendix