So far, Webster's has stuck to its guns and refused to bow to blacks'complaints. Apparently this puts the final stamp of racial approval on the word. This is self-serving, but unfortunately, true. In past issues of such popular black magazines as Essence and Emerge, black writers have gone through lengthy gyration to justify using the word. They claim that they are cleansing the word of its negative connotations so that racists can no longer use it to hurt blacks.
Many blacks say they use the word endearingly or affectionately.
Still, other blacks are defiant. They say they don't care what a white person calls them because words can't hurt them. The black defenders of the word miss the point. Words are not value neutral. They express concepts and ideas.