What Does Nigger Mean

If you ask two different people what the n word meant you would probably get two completely different responses. One might say it is insulting and degrading, another might say it is a term of endearment. Throughout Huck Finn this word was used a total of 219 times. If the n word were not a degrading term there would not be so much controversy about banning and censoring Huck Finn. However, the word has been altered since it was used in the time period of Huck Finn.

This little kid in a school uniform no older than seven years old, he was crying his eyes out as he walked down the sidewalk with his mother. I 'm going to be honest here, she turned to him, and she said ‘I 'm sick of you. You act like an old ass man, stop all that crying, nigger.’” This goes to show how the word is used often, but it is not used in its original

Race and Ethnicity Today in society, there is an inequality with races and ethnic backgrounds in the United States. The prejudice judgements have flourished over many generations which causes the world view of racism to become international. There are many differences between race and ethnicity. Race is defined by the color of someone’s skin, society considers people if they are one drop of that race they are considered that race, this is known as the “Drop of Blood” theory, this pertains to a racist theory. Ethnicity is defined by the culture customs of norms and language.

From that point into the early nineteenth century the word nigger sat as the cornerstone of white racism being used as a noun, verb, or adjective. It was used to emphasize the stereotype of a person who was lazy, unintelligent, dirty, who also happened to be

For example, as a child, “[white kids] called [Malcom X] ‘nigger’ … so much that [he] thought [it was his] natural names” (12). There is a problem when a single word is used to describe someone’s race, which occurred in the north, where race relations were expected to be better. It’s even worse when it is used so often they believe it is their name, their identity. For another example, although Malcolm X was one of the top students in his class, and the class president, his teacher still told him “A lawyer – that’s no realistic goal for a nigger” (43). His teacher directly, without hesitation, told him he couldn’t become a lawyer.

Author, Gloria Naylor describes the different ways the word is used in her essay, “Nigger”: The Meaning of a Word. These ways being in black on black contexts, or to discriminate against blacks. Naylor writes, “But I didn’t ‘hear’ it until it was said by a small pair of lips that had already learned it could be a way to humiliate me” (324). Naylor indicates that she had heard ‘nigger’ being used all throughout her life in family and black community contexts, but she did not “hear” the word until it was said by a white child.

A racist comedian by the name Thomas Dartmouth Rice used the name Jim Crow in his act that was modeled after a slave. He dressed in black face and toured the United states, because of his success many racist white comedians used this name as their stage persona. In the late 1800’s the Jim Crow law was passed, and this law denied all black people basic human rights, segregation became a coined term, and it became a new way for whites to dehumanize and control African people. Because of Jim Crow people of color were denied access to housing, education, jobs, and were victims of lynching’s, false imprisonment, and violence. These actions and events primarily took place in the southern United States, but they also occurred in the north as well.

• I never had any encounters with another race in my neighborhood, all the people around me were very kind. When and where did you first hear the word, “nigger,” or other similar racial slurs? • The first time I hear the word “Negro” “Black” was when I was about 13 years old, when my grandma ask me if I like that black guy.

An ideology was created that justified the use of deceit, exploitation, and intimidation to keep African Americans bared in every major societal establishment only to offer legitimacy to the racial hierarchy. ("Nigger (the Word), a Brief History") Ministers would preach that God was white and had condemned African Americans to be slaves. Scientists would measure the brains, faces, and genitalia, of African Americans only seeking to prove that Caucasians were genetically superior. Caucasian teachers, teaching only Caucasian students, taught that Blacks were less evolved cognitively, psychologically, and socially ("Nigger (the Word), a Brief History") With that information in hand it is safe to say that for over the course of 245 years (PBS) no other word existed with the sole purpose of demeaning and lashing out cruelty to a single group of people quite like

It's slipped into usage with some people like ourselves, when they want a common, ugly term to label somebody." (Lee ch 11 pg.144). “You aren’t really a nigger-lover, then, are you? "I certainly am. I do my best to love everybody . . .

The N word has been utilized as a disdainful term for blacks all through our history, however today 's utilization has been impacted by pop culture. Today 's double utilization of the N word, utilized as a stigmatizing comment additionally as an indication of fraternity, can follow its roots at some point after the social equality developments.   In the late 70 's and 80 's, one man to a great extent attributed for endeavoring to "defuse" the N word as a deprecatory term is Richard Pryor. His utilization of the word to some degree pushed it standard, and changed the intending to the general population to uproot some of its belittling nature and to hold onto the term as possibly an indication of solidarity. More blacks utilized the term and it is still utilized today as a term of charm.

Blacks had to use courtesy titles when referring to whites, for example: Mr., Mrs., Miss, Sir, Ma 'am. As for blacks, they were only called by their first names. If a white person was driving a vehicle with a black person inside, the black person had to sit in the back, or in the bed of a pick-up truck. Whites also had the right-of-way at every intersection. If any of the laws were not followed through by blacks, it was a possibility that they could lose their jobs, (if they had one) lose their homes, face serious jail time, or in serious cases may result in

In addition, with the “nigger” being an offensive word it also leads up to racial discrimination. Which is another main reason why

According to Matt Seitz, the word “Negro” started to fall out forty years ago. He mentions that “the word negro was easier for people

In the dictionary nigger is defined as a contemptuous term for a black or dark-skinned person. During slavery it was used as a way for white people to oppress slaves, and after slavery was ended it was still used to oppress and demean black people. This is why the word nigger is such a loaded word. After the civil rights movement, the black community reclaimed the n-word.