INDEPENDENT ACTIVITY

“History of the N-Word”
Directions:  Read and annotate the article below to prepare for a class discussion.  At the end of the article there is a table for you to complete.  
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I don’t know what this means. 
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I have a question about this.
*
This is a main idea.
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This is an insightful idea I didn’t know.
+
I would like to add to this.
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I can relate to this.
X
I disagree with this idea.
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I would like to challenge this.


**Adapted from an article on the AAREG website.  

The history of the n-word is often traced to the Latin word niger, meaning Black. This word became the noun, Negro (Black person) in English, and simply the color Black in Spanish and Portuguese. In early modern French, niger became negre and, later, negress (Black woman) was unmistakably a part of language history.  
No matter what its origins were, by the early 1800s, it was firmly established as a derogatory name. In the 21st century, it remains a principal term of White racism, regardless of who is using it.  Social scientists agree that words like the n-word come from three categories: disparaging nicknames, explicit group devaluations, and irrelevant ethnic names used as a mild disparagement.
Over time, racial slurs have victimized all racial and ethnic groups; but no American group has endured as many racial nicknames as Blacks.  Many of the slurs against Blacks became fully traditional pseudo-scientific, literary, cinematic, and everyday distortions of African Americans. These caricatures, whether spoken, written, or reproduced in media and material objects, reflect the extent, the vast network, of anti-Black prejudice.
The n-word carries with it much of the hatred and disgust directed toward Black Africans and African Americans. Historically, the word defined, limited, made fun of, and ridiculed all Blacks. It was a term of exclusion, a verbal reason for discrimination. Whether used as a noun, verb, or adjective, it strengthened the stereotype of the lazy, stupid, dirty, worthless nobody. No other American surname carries as much purposeful cruelty.
The n-word is the ultimate American insult; it is used to offend other ethnic groups, creating a racial hierarchy with whites at the top and Blacks at the bottom.  The hierarchy was set up by an ideology that justified the use of deceit, exploitation, and intimidation to keep Blacks "in their place." Every major societal establishment offered legitimacy to the racial hierarchy. Ministers preached that God was White and had condemned Blacks to be servants. Scientists measured Black skulls, brains, faces, and genitalia, seeking to prove that Whites were genetically superior to Blacks. White teachers, teaching only White students, taught that Blacks were less evolved cognitively, psychologically, and socially. The entertainment media, from vaudeville to television and film, portrayed Blacks as docile servants, happy-go-lucky idiots, and dangerous thugs, and they still do this today. The criminal justice system sanctioned a double standard of justice, including its unspoken approval of mob violence against Blacks and there is still a similar double standard today. Both American slavery and the Jim Crow laws which followed were saturated by anti-Black laws and images. The negative portrayals of Blacks were both reflected in and shaped by everyday material objects: toys, postcards, ashtrays, detergent boxes, fishing lures, and children’s books. These items, and countless others, portrayed Blacks with bulging, darting eyes, fire-red oversized lips, jet-Black skin, and either naked or poorly clothed.
The civil rights movement, Supreme Court decisions, the Black empowerment movement, broad civil rights legislation, and a general embracing of democracy by many American citizens have worn down America’s racial pecking order from slavery moving into the Jim Crow period and today’s institutional racism. Yet, the word n-word has not left, and its relationship with anti-Black prejudice remains symbiotic, interrelated, and interconnected. Ironically, it is co-dependent because a racist society created the word and continues to feed and sustain it. But, the word no longer needs racism, or brutal and obvious forms, to survive. The word today has its own existence.
Erdman Palmore researched lexicons and said, The number of offensive words used correlates positively with the amount of out-group prejudice; and these express and support negative stereotypes about the most visible racial and cultural differences.  When asked, Blacks who use the n-word or its variants argue that it has to be understood in its situation; repeated use of the word by Blacks will make it less offensive. It’s not really the same word because Whites are saying [the n-word] but Blacks are saying it with a final -ah or -az. Also, it is just a word and Blacks should not be prisoners of the past or the ugly words that originated in the past.
After a period of relative dormancy, the n-word has been reborn in popular culture. It is hard-edged, and streetwise, and it has crossed over into movies like Pulp Fiction (1994) and Jackie Brown (1997), where it became a symbol of "street authenticity" and hipness. Denzel Washington's character in Training Day (2001) uses the word frequently and harshly. Richard Pryor long ago rejected the use of the word in his comedy act, but Chris Rock, Chris Tucker, and other Black male comedy kings use the word regularly and not affectionately. Justin Driver, a social critic, makes a case that both Rock and Tucker are modern minstrels shucking, jiving, and grinning, in the tradition of Step 'n Fetchit. White supremacists have found the Internet an indispensable tool for spreading their message of hate.  Web searchers find what most Blacks know from personal experience, that it is an expression of anti-Black hostility. Without question, the n-word is the most commonly used racist slur during hate crimes.
No American minority group has been caricatured as often or in as many ways as Black people. These misrepresentations feature distorted physical descriptions and negative cultural and behavior stereotypes.
In 2003, the fight to correct the shameful availability of this word had positive results. Recently Kweisi Mfume, president and CEO of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), gave a speech at Virginia Tech. There everyone was informed that a landmark decision was made with the people at Merriam-Webster Dictionary. Recognizing their error, beginning with the next edition, the word will no longer be synonymous with African Americans in their publication.
The n-word, like the false impressions it incorporates and means, puts down Blacks, and rationalizes their abuse. The use of the word or its alternatives by Blacks has not lessened its hurt. This is not surprising in a racial hierarchy four centuries old, shaping the historical relationship between white-European Americans and African Americans. Anti-Black attitudes, motives, values, and behavior continue. Historically, the n-word, more than any other word, captures the personal hatred and institutionalized racism directed toward Blacks.  In 2013, incidents such as Atlanta-born restaurant entrepreneur Paula Dean, and Oklahoma football player Reilly Cooper's comfortable reference to the word show change is still needed.  Ongoing verbal attacks against Blacks such as Bette Midler's 2018 reference to the John Lennon Yoko Ono song also shows that it is alive in the white vocabulary and it still does great harm.

Complete the table to participate in the discussion.
Main Points
In your own words, what are the main points of this article?  (This can be a bulleted list)
Personal Response
Consider your reaction to this article:  
How did it make you feel?  
What personal connections can you make?  
How do you feel about reading a book with hate language in it?
What concerns do you have about having conversations about hate language in the book or in society?