Hi everyone! Olin’s Resident Angry Black Lady is back again! Let’s talk about the N-word. (First years, pay close attention). While the N-word is a highly discussed issue of public speech with a rich history of hateful degradation and civic reclamation, even today, many people don’t know how to feel about the N-word—and most importantly, who can say it and who can’t. Well, luckily, it’s very simple:
- If you’re black, you can say it.
- If you’re not black, you CANNOT say it.
(A lot of my explanation here will refer to the wisdom of Ta-Nehisi Coates, so feel free to research his own work for a more thorough response.)
If you were ever bullied in elementary school for being a “nerd” and now proudly own that title, you can slightly understand the impact of redefining a negative word as a positive trait. When you reclaim that word, it weakens the power of the people who use it make you feel small. The same logic can be applied to the N-word.
The N-word was created to degrade and dehumanize black people in America, at a time in American history where black people weren’t even considered people—just property. It was created with the intent to hurt others, to remind black communities that they were less than white communities. They were referred to as niggers to avoid being referred to as people, to uphold the societal label that having dark skin made no longer human. That makes it an ugly, hurtful word, and today it is used by white supremacists to enforce their deluded belief that lighter pigmentation equals better worth. So when future engineers at Olin use that word, they assert that they are worth more than me and everyone else at this school who looks like me.
During the civil rights movement, black communities took that word back. We realized if we call each other niggers, then we aren’t seeing each other as property, but as survivors of past discrimination and abuse who made it through with strength to keep fighting. We use the N-word to describe each other at our best, highlighting a core of black history in America. We are resilient, we are strong, and we know our own worth despite others trying to define it for us. When we use that word, it is meant to make us laugh and smile about how far we have come.
What’s ridiculous is that this is common knowledge, but people get stuck thinking about edge cases and work around ignoring the big picture. At Olin, biracial students are often asked if they can say the N-word if they are only “part black”. Just because someone is mixed doesn’t mean you can throw the N-word around with them either. And whether they can or cannot is none of your business! Biracial people have their own ties and identity to black culture that is complex and personal, they don’t need to explain this identity to anyone else just because a few people want to feel cool and use a racial slur. So stop asking—you know who you are! In conclusion, STOP USING THE N-WORD IF YOU’RE NOT BLACK! There is no gray area here: you don’t have a reason to use that word except to be a racist asshole. And if you want to be a racist asshole, then fuck you.
Editors Note: If you would like to contact the author of this piece, please let Frankly Speaking staff know and we will put you in touch.
