Ohhhhh, you said N-I-G-G-A

I’m as guilty as the next person when it comes to using the word “Nigger”. Periodt. I’m not proud of it, it’s just a fact. I know its self defeating, and ugly, and unnecessary. The word “Nigger” is just a part of my vernacular. I’m making an effort to not use the word because it sounds simple and crude coming from myself, but I’d also want it to be removed from the mouths of those who are not African American. Periodt. Any one.

We already know that Afro Lan(X) people from the Caribbean and parts of South America (Cubans, Brazilians, Puerto Rican, etc.) are first cousins of African Americans. We are all children of the Diaspora. Some were enslaved on colonized islands in the Caribbean and South America and in North America . Religion , culture, and language were diluted or simply washed away. We lived the lives of 2 legged farm animals and free factory labor. Nigger was dubious title given to the stolen Africans in. Nigger boy, Nigger, girl, Nigger winch, Nigger buck. The word served to internalize our oppression it became oppressive in itself, especially to "Us Niggers" her in the United States. Freedom by abolition or running was the only way to escape slavery but there was no escaping being a Nigger. This was a shared history, this is something that unfortunately bonds us.

However, our experiences differ in the “after”. After slavery was abolished on those islands the Slave Master left the islands or were forced to survive in isolation. The former slaves were able to live out of sight of their tormentors. They were no longer being called Niggers, They were Cuban, or Brazilian, or Dominican, or Puerto Rican. Very different story for former slaves in the American South. The oppression again had already been internalized on both sides and Freed slaves in America were still Niggers. Freed slaves did not default, and become American citizens. (Maybe on paper, but not in the real world) . Certain Southern traditions carried on way after slavery ended. Even after the civil rights struggle in the 1960's. Namely, Whites calling Blacks "nigger". It was a word to evoke fear and serve as a reminder of a time that had passed. "Remember your place Nigger". The time came where the use of the word as a tool of control by those in control people faded to the back rooms. But within the African American community the word just stuck. Oh well, fuck it as long as nobody else uses it, right? Riiiight? Wrong! It seems as though part of every NBPOC’s vernacular. Some may proclaim “I’m not saying N-I-G-G-E-R. I’m saying N-I-G-G-A”. Others will say, “ I'm Black “. That is all “I’m Black”. When did we give out the “I can say Nigger because Im Black Card”.

Honestly, when I here Afro Latinos using the word I wince, when I here Northern Africans using it shake my head, but more recently I’ve heard East Asians using the word which leads me to a reoccurring debate that I have with myself and my circle. “Why are other people so comfortable using the word “Nigger”? “; “Do Non Black People of Color and Afro Latinos understand that to some African Americans hearing that word from their mouths is no less offensive that when a White Person says it. Is it too late to ask them to stop?”; “Do I have a right to sprinkle my conversations with racist slurs describing the person I speaking with? “ As a New Yorker I know quite a few but am not comfortable spitting them as easily as others spit “Nigger) I don’t know. I love my cousins but this is just a sticking point for me. i wish they would understand.

Its not an elevator conversation so there really is no end and will constantly pop in my head. I can’t believe I’m the only one. More questions than answers here. Not an easy conversation but one I think we should have. In the mean time I’m going to work more on fully removing it from my slang.

Black Power! Brown Pride!

-Giza

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