The year is 2010…the word is “Nigger”! Racism has been around since the beginning of time! In olden age, it was a by product of territorial boundaries. In more modern times it simply is caused by the “color of ones skin”. The word “nigger” has its roots some 400 years ago in North America during the colonization of English America circa 1600. The word was based as a descendant of the Latin root word “niger” meaning the color black. Some historians credit the usage of the word to John Rolfe (of Pocahontas fame) describing African slaves who were brought to the Americas (although the word was negars). Ironically, the word was not used in a negative connotation. It was more of a word to describe the color of an African.
By the mid 1800’s the word became a pejorative especially in the south. Being called a negro was a term applied to remind former slaves that they were second class citizens. The word took another morph during the civil rights movement and “nigger” was born! This time it had become a weapon! Used primarily to cut through the psyche of negroes in the south. It has been almost 400 years since the creation of this hate filled word and during that time African have been freed through a terrible war, liberated during civil unrest and assimilated during the corporate American evolution. Yet, we still have not gotten past this affliction…
Over the past 40 years African-Americans have tried in vain to convert the name to a term of endearment using “nigga”. Although, it has now become mainstream in its acceptance it has only served to keep the word alive. Even politics has had its turn. The ever popular “N-word” used as a euphemism was made popular during the O.J. Simpson trial of 1995. It has only served as a tolerated form of the word in the press. By simply inserting “n-word” any writer can effectively say “nigger”!?
By no means is “nigger” the only racial pejorative….Macaca, pikey gringo, jap, & kike have all been used in our history to illuminate a cultural bias against one or more of our fellow human beings. Yet eventually their potent power has been diminished or vanished completely. Why then is the word “nigger” much like the cockroach? Impossible to illuminate? Below are a few questions I’d like for you to ask yourself…
When was the 1st time you heard the word “nigger”?
Have you ever used the word to describe someone?
After reading this blog…will you continue to use it?
Can you imagine your child calling someone or being called “nigger”?
Does it offend you to even have to read the word here in this blog?
Do you believe racism still exist or are we all just too sensitive?
Milano Flascucci~
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