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The Maroon Tiger Work

'NIGGER': AN ENDEARING WORD FOR SOME, AN ENDANGERING WORD FOR OTHERS

By SAEED AHMED

A significant difference of opinion still exists among African-Americans concerning their use of the word "nigger."

The dichotomy was made apparent at the English Department forum,"Nigga: Endearing or Endangering," held November 9, 1995, and attended by over eighty students from the various AUC schools.

Using two of Anne Petre's short stories as a springboard for their discussion, the panelists and the audience members drew parallels between the stories and today' society, and made the forum, as one audience member put it, a "stimulating and thought-provoking discussion" on the use and significance of the N-word' in contemporary African-American culture.

Endangering

Almost everyone at the packed forum agreed the term was offensive, demeaning and confusing, and could never be an acceptable form of salutation.

"Nigger was never meant to be positive, and is in no way honorable," said Kwame Manley, in his presentation at the beginning of the question-and-answer session of the forum. "Contemporary intelligent individuals are trying to change the historic meaning of the word to one more pleasing because it is so prevalent in our community."

Manley believes that a word cannot be "recreated" as such, and by trying to alter the meaning, "we are making it confusing for our children."

His suggestion? "Abandon it altogether. Let's take control of our own definitions."

Others in the audience agreed. Keiron Williams, a Senior English major, claimed that "no other group has ever taken a negative degrading term, and has been able to make it positive."

"The word is defamatory," he said. "If our regular dialect doesn't reflect it, we are changing the context if we say we are using it endearingly."

Most of the panelists expressed similar sentiments as well. Taj Eubanks posed the question that if the word was "truly devoid of its venom, why can't we use it in front of whites?"

"Is it shame?" he asked.

Another panelist, Gregory Johnson, called the use of the word a "verbal example of the self-hatred that pervades the black community."

Endearing

But there were contrasting views too.

Okorie Johnson looked at the word as a "badge of honor." He believes that the first time the epithet was probably uttered was when "black males were being rebellious."

"The venom that it carries comes out of anger, fear and the power we represented," Johnson explained. "Today too, they call us nigger' when they are threatened by us."

Thus, Johnson believes, anyone who takes exception to the term is "denying a badge of honor ... relinquishing [his] power."

Chioke Murray also believes the use of the word "by whites will soon die out because of P.C. [political correctness]." The term will then be a part of the African-American culture solely, and will express the "brotherhood that it has come to represent currently."

But with that, Murray warned, will come the need for "us to responsibly use the word."

Reginald Brown, one of the panelists, also spoke in favor of the continued use of the word, because of the different meaning it has assumed in the "hip-hop community." He cited numerous examples where the word can be used positively, and concluded by saying it could indeed be a term of "endearment."

Other viewpoints expressed at the forum ranged form the origin of th word, to the need for more suitable alternates, to a discussion of whether hip-hop qualifies as a culture.

One of the audience members pointed out that nowhere else in the world are racial epithets used positively by colored people, while another, a female, asked if it was "okay for a black male to refer to another black male as a nigger,' is it different when a black woman does the same?"

The contrasting viewpoints carried on beyond the 1 « hour forum, and made for an interesting discussion.

"The Morehouse English Department deserves kudos from the AUC community for addressing this critical issue," said Christy Logan, a Senior English & Political Science major at Spelman. Others present also commended the venture, and cited the need for more forums.

"It is imperative that the English Department sponsor events, forums and discussions to explore the unique and creative ways that we, as colored Americans, use the English language," said Rori Blakeney, a Senior English & Religion major. "[This] forum was the beginning."