“what’s up Nigger?”

“What’s up nigger?”

The definition, power and understanding of the word “nigger” has changed over the years leading people to ask, is “nigga” a phrase used amongst friends or a meaning of hatred and racism? Growing up I was always told that “nigga” or “nigger” was a curse word. My mother never separated the two. They were not to be used under her roof and that was final. Yet as I grew older I seen and heard the word all over media. It raises a red flag to a kid who parent says it’s a bad word but favorite rapper uses in every song. How can a parent take a word out of a kid’s vocabulary that’s so dominate in their culture? The only way to understand would be to know its background.

The literature definition for “nigger” is “a contemptuous term for a black or dark-skinned person.” For starters some people say the word “nigger” came from the “Niger” pronounced (ny-jer), which is a country in Africa. The British being unable to pronounce the word simple called the natives niggers.  Others say it comes from the Latin word “Niger” which means black (pronoun “negro") mispronounced by whites making it “nigger”.

No matter its origin, “nigger” would later on be used by slave masters to bring the separation of human and slaves. You ate like niggers, worked like niggers, looked like niggers and lived as niggers. They even mad Nigger a prefix; Nigger rich- pay day. Nigger steak- chop liver or cheap meat. Nigger luck- undeserved luck, and so many more. Nigger was obviously used as a derogatory word to dehumanize and take the spirit out of the kings, queens, prince’s and other slaves stolen from Africa.

After the Emancipation Proclamation and freedom of slaves the word nigger was used to let blacks know where they could and couldn’t go, and what they could and couldn’t do. Jim Crow laws separated whites and blacks “equally” yet blacks always had the short end of the stick. Throughout this time cults like the Klaus Klux Klan were formed. They were an all-white group whose sole purpose seemed to be to “kill niggers”. Newspaper Cartoons were made to demean blacks such as; "Ten Little Nigger Boys Went Out To Dine." Which depicted 10 small dogs who were token out one by one. Soon moving pictures showed white people with black faces acting like “niggers”. There were even black actors paid to be made as a fool and act “niggerish”. Black people were called nigger so normally and frequent, they started calling there self niggers and niggas. Yet the question remains, what is nigger? Is it appropriate to use the word? If so, when and for who?

Black people started fighting to get the word nigger banned. At a point in time only poor/ white trash used the word. American Americans were all about black power and empowering their people. Upper class whites felt like it was below their intelligence and would use other words instead like “Nigera”. There were even movements against the word and the mistreatment of blacks. They wanted to be treated equally to the white man and the concept of the N-word was the exact opposite. Black people were trying to exile the word. Even today, people try to get rid of the use of the word, at least in professional settings. One example of this is the Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver Riley Copper who is fair skinned being penalized for using the N-word at a concert. Also the NFL contemplating making the N-word banned onhe field and if used the players would be fined and the team would have a penalty.  So should Black people even use the word?

Black activist and black people fighting for rights started decreasing tremendously after Malcom x (assassinated), Martin Luther King (assassinated), Mark Clark and hundreds of Black Panther of self-defense members (assassinated or illegally imprisoned)! All those murders stroked fear in Black people. This caused the uprising of hip hop/rap music in 1970s. Instead of boycotts, riots, speeches and protest, people showed it with their creativity. Rather it was graffiti, music, paintings, poetry or any other way to express themselves. As hip hop traveled west, the n-word to show up more and more. With groups like NWA (niggas with attitude) that had songs like “Niggaz 4 life” and “Real Niggaz”, the N word was said loud and clear for everyone to hear and repeat. The N word was in almost every rappers arsenal. At that point, they gave permission to all there fans including whites to use that word. Are white people suppose to sing along but shut up at concerts? Ice cube (a former member of NWA) said “they rapped their reality.” Therefore if it wasn’t a certain individual’s reality they shouldn’t have the right to use the word. Their “Real Niggaz” song brings the question “what is a real nigga?” Some one that would steal, kill, sell drugs and survive in jail just make sure there family is good yet until white people go do slavery, oppression, depression and uprising in a nation made to degrade and defeat your spirit, then the word wouldn’t be fit for them to use.