Ikenna Nwokeji

2/16/16
The N Word
Jackie Brown directed by Quentin Tarantino and starring Samuel L. Jackson as well as
Pam Grier had reached great success and garnered many positive reviews when it was released in
the late 90s. The success didnt prevent many such as director Spike Lee from being outraged at
the content in the movie.
The opposition of the movie was triggered by the free use of the word nigga by a
white director. This is a word which is used all of the time in society today. "I'm not against the
word. And some people speak that way. But Quentin is infatuated with that word," Lee said of
Tarantino in an interview with Variety.
There is no running away from this word which can be used to describe a friend or
anyone with a pulse for that matter. Its used mostly by African Americans, but also used by
Caucasian adolescents and adults who are influenced by African American popular culture. The
majority of its use is found in Hip Hop, movies, and by many African American sports figures.
The conflict with the N word is that there are rules on what race is allowed to say it, and
some people dont view it as a profane word. The reality is that nobody should be allowed to
speak this word freely, and it is a word that carries a terrible history with it.
Many people listen to Hip Hop, and Hip Hop is the largest promoter of the N word. The
majority of rappers and R&B artists are African American, and in todays society African

Americans own full use of the word. Its hard to find a Hip Hop song by an African American
man or woman that doesnt use the N word.
The use of the word in songs makes people feel comfortable with the word. African
American youth are inspired to use the word because they hear it in their music or from their
television, and theyll inspire their friends to use the words. The problem is that they dont
understand the weight that the word carries.
African Americans spent hundreds of years in bondage in America under white people.
They were bombarded with insults, and a derogatory term that was used to describe an African
American was nigger. This word has developed into nigga with a slightly different meaning
and it poisons African American culture.
Its demeaning to refer to another as the N word. It means no more than dirt and has
always meant that. A words meaning cant be changed by altering the spelling. It still holds its
history and its meaning.
Racism is a concept that no one wants to be associated with. To use the N word freely is
to be racist, not only towards a fellow African American but also towards any other race. Blacks
that call other blacks the N word are separating themselves as a race from any other, and they are
also claiming that they as a race no more than niggas.
Some would say that the N word is used as a device to defeat racism because it takes the
sting off of the word nigger. Setting a racial divide on the use of the word by saying that
whites cant use it is racist and defeats this purpose.

The fact that white people arent supposed to say the word shows that the N word still
holds the same negative connotation as it used to. If it holds the same amount of disrespect as it
used to, then it shouldnt be used. Since African Americans have control over the N word, they
also have the power to reduce the frequent use of the word and erase it from the vocabulary of
many.
I personally dont want to be called a word that holds such a strong and painful history.
Not only does it disrespect my ancestors, but it disrespects me and any other African American.