The Modern Day Use of the “N” Word

The Modern Day Use of the “N” Word
by Dr. Jesse J. Hargrove

Have you done any research on the modern day use of the “N” word? During the school desegregation era (post Dr. King Assassination and throughout the 1970’s and 1980’s), the use of the “N” word began to resurface by a few angry whites who were opposed to integration and bussing. (Bussing was a technique used by districts to achieve racial balance for integration in Public Schools). The “N” word was used to keep blacks in their place of belonging, and the “N” word reminded them of this place.

Black English or Ebonics gained notoriety during this era, and they allowed Blacks to remove the stigma, which was attached to the “N” word. Blacks simply inverted this term’s meaning. “Inversion” is a process used to change the meaning of language. Whites used the “N” word in a way that was angry and hostile to Blacks. Its used was intended to control the behavior of a people. To negate the power that the ‘N” word conveyed, Blacks began to invert its meaning. Just as blacks inverted the word “bad” to mean “good”, Blacks inverted the “N” word to a so-called “term of endearment”. In other words, the new generation of Blacks in the late 1990’s began to sanitize the harsh word that is now referred to as the “N” word. However, because Blacks were now beginning to live in an integrated society, along with other cultures, the use of the word by Blacks sent a dual and confusing message to other cultures. Now, the word that was used by Blacks as a term of endearment in private circles began to become used in public, and caused much cultural interference and confusion. Such as, I thought that you all told us that you didn’t like the word to be used, but now you are using it (but not us)!

The culture in which the emerging Rappers of the 1990’s grew up caused undue aggression against them for their use of the “N” word in their music. There were two victims: The guardians of the Civil Rights era, and the emerging Rappers who told their stories on wax. Both groups were the real victims of the inverted use of the “N” word. For older Blacks who were not aware that the ugly word had been inverted, it was viewed as an abomination against what the Civil Rights Movement fought to change. For Rappers, they saw it as important to hold true to the game by sharing stories about where they emerged from, and the so called negative images were a part of that truth. We were in the 1990’s and the past was gone. History had taken its course with time.

The movement by teachers and educators to bury or remove the use of the “N” word can be traced to the 1989-90 academic school year. Later, the phrase titled “the “N” word” was popularized in the mid 1990’s as a way to not pronounce the word over the airways of radio and television, since we were then living in an integrated society and not a segregated one. An emerging scholar and researcher named Dr. Jesse Hargrove was the nation’s foremost authority in the movement to end the use of the “N” word in public schools and society. Educators began to ask the public to spell the word over the airwaves and not to speak, nor to pronounce it. The so called “N” word had now become known as the curse word of the 1990’s. The following article was published in 1990 by In the Black Plus, Tucson, Arizona, and it sheds light on the modern day emergence of the “N” word and captures the spirit and climate of the time:


N_GGER: The Curse Word of the 1990's
There is a growing awareness among educators as well as religious leaders that negative words must be eliminated during the 1990's, if a new generation of young people is to successfully transition into the 21st Century. Words that depict negative images must not be used nor reinforced daily in environments where young and impressionable minds are developing. This article is intended to "Sound the Drum" for a new view of the importance of creating positive environments in the home, school, religious institutions and community. Within these environments are the nurturing conditions that are conducive for a new state of affairs to occur in the 1990's.
The key factor that shapes one's personality and allows a person's identity to emerge is the environment in which he or she is raised. Therefore, one must pay close attention to the environmental influences that reinforce desirable and undesirable behaviors in people, particularly students. Further, if these negative environmental influences are not significantly reduced or eliminated, the identity and self-concept of the individual will not develop to their maximum potential.
The use of the spoken word "*****" is a term that has created the environmental conditions that stifle growth, learning and development within young people. Educators and others are saying, do not say it and do not identify with it. When people say it, they are reinforcing the negative images and beliefs that this concept subtly promotes to the listener of the word. Instead of orally using the word, educators are saying, "take the I out of the word".
When one takes the "I" out, the word cannot be properly pronounced with the same degree of intensity. In addition, educators are saying, if one needs to make a reference to the word, particularly over the radio air waves or electronic media such as television, one should spell this word by saying, "N take the "I" out of it GGER". It should never be pronounced by the person(s) discussing the word because this term is recognized as the curse word of the 90's. Furthermore, radio and television stations should be progressively moving society into the 1990's by blinking out or editing this curse word when it is spoken over the air waves.
By acknowledging this word on the level of the four letter swear word SH_T, one gains the true representation of the depth and danger of the usage and meaning of which this word has come to mean. Certainly, enlightened religious leaders have begun to understand the deeper meaning that this negative term conjures up. Many have begun to educate their congregations against its spoken usage in public or at home. They explain to them that it is not only swearing or cursing, but affirming and reaffirming to the youths of this society that it is all right to swear, curse, or be cursed.
Concomitantly, educators are beginning to take a stronger leadership role in advancing a new view of the power of language. This perspective is designed to eliminate negative images and terms, while reinforcing positive values within the learning environment of the home, school, religious institution and community. In this case, all four environments help shape and prepare youths to assume their proper roles within this pluralistic and demographically changing society of the 1990's and the 21st Century. In conclusion, educators and others are encouraging a new view of language that says, "Be Positive"! Our Children's Minds Are Still Being Developed". –by Dr. Jesse J. Hargrove (1990)