Nigger: The Strange Career of a Troublesome Word

In his book Nigger: The Strange Career of a Troublesome Word, Randall Kennedy explores the history of the word and it's role in the justice system and society. He begins by investigating the word's origin which is derived from the Latin word 'niger' meaning the color black. It is unknown when the word began to be used as a slur; however, by the early 19th century it was used widely as an insult referring to slaves' ignorance. It has been reported in 4,219 court cases compared to only 286 for 'honky' and 90 for 'gook.' Compared to many other slurs, the N-word has the greatest amount of social and legal consequences. The word has been banned from being used in the courtroom because research has shown that simply overhearing the word can cause people to lower their evaluation of African-Americans. This combined with the fact that 'criminal' has been found to be a dominant stereotype for Blacks raises major issues for the accuracy of the term 'fair trial.' 

In the past, the N-word was used as a demeaning slur against Blacks; recently, however, many African-Americans have adopted the word as a term of endearment and have changed the meaning it carries. This has confused many Whites and some people have proposed that the word should be banned outright. Kennedy argues that this view disparages the historical significance of the word and fails to recognize its expressional flexibility. He also believes that Whites may not understand Black culture enough to use the word and that having to suffer it as a slur for so long, Blacks should be able to use it. He also believes, however, that Whites should not be barred from using the word in the appropriate context and that ignoring context would just make a 'fetish' of the N-word. He believes that we 'worry more about speech codes than coded speech' and that living in a free society, we have to 'tolerate some amount of offensive expression.' I would recommend this as a read to anyone--it really elucidated many ideas and scenarios I've never considered. One thing is for sure: the N-word is not disappearing anytime soon. Understanding it's history can help one realize in what contexts it may be appropriate as well as what the word can mean and the issues it has caused.