Perspective. Often overlooked.
Once during a Political Science class, "African Political Philosophy in Antiquity", or something like that, the point was made that it is always going to be really hard to fully understand/ grasp the concepts of these old African systems of thought because we are approaching them from a point of understanding that is western/European. No matter your emotional alignment, or your political mooring, the social and educational foundation upon which they lie is going to be, primarily European, specifically English in the case of Barbados. It is an uncomfortable thing to hear and can be quite disconcerting. I was in my Pan-African, Rastafari, Black Power freshness; I was different to those still stuck on that western train, that "Babylon Shitstem" mentality; I was supposed to be different.
I digressed, that is not the point nor purpose of this post. I am not sure it is even relevant.
Nigga.
Who can and who can't say it?
If we - niggas - stop saying it, the perpetuation of white supremacy will end, or at least weaken, right?
Hurtful word and no one should say it; period!
Context, it is all about context.
My brother, my nigga.
Lots of opinions, from a lot of places about one, maybe two, word(s) depending on if you draw a distinction between nigga and nigger.
Piers Morgan, the most recent person of note to attempt this, has called for the discontinued use of the word nigga/nigger. He lists a variety of reasons to support his position, none new, most reasonable, one ignorant and all viewed through the historical lens of white supremacy and political and institutional black oppression and dehumanization. There is a kind of white guilt that informs his position, which is fine. Understanding the past properly frames contemporary life experiences and provides the knowledge needed for advancement. Of course, there is also a kind of white privilege that somehow fuels the notion that his opinion is relevant, which largely, it is not. Piers, this is not about you nor your feelings. Most importantly to note though, is that this is not black people's problem either; nigga is not a black creation. The society that created the term, and the negativity attached to it, is to blame for the usage, not those negatively affected that have sought to repurpose it positively, however controversially, for themselves.
Otherwise motivated but on the same side as Piers, would be black people who call for its disuse. These are usually, older folk from the civil rights era and people generally who hold that era as the foundation of the contemporary black experience. For them there is a very emotional connection to the word, and the very malicious and dehumanizing manner with which it was used by whites towards blacks, often times accompanied by dogs, burning crosses, hanging bodies, fire hoses and all manner of psychological and physical assault and degradation. This set cannot fathom why people would refer to themselves and their loved ones with such a term. For them, this word cannot be reclaimed nor can it be repurposed. This call for disuse also comes from a place heavily influenced by white supremacy, black oppression and abuse.
The above perspectives are all centered on the historical use of the word by whites towards blacks. Anyone coming to the table on this issue from the perspective of its historical white usage will always call for the discontinuation of its usage, whether a well meaning old white man like Piers or black people with a civil rights era foundation. From that perspective the word is, and can only be, hurtful.
There is another lens through which we can see this nigga/nigger thing. Niggas have been calling niggas niggas for a long time, from way back in the day. I do not mean, thefirsteverhiphopalbum back in the day or when Paula Deen was a little girl type back in the day, but before America recognized black men as citizens, like before 1865 type of back in the day. When nigger went from being a simple reference to black people, to a reprehensible entity to be feared and kept ignorant, is when the nigga to nigga endearment and empowerment started. This black to black, nigga to nigga, perspective is also important. From this perspective, the discomfort felt by contemporary whites which is rooted in white supremacy's legacy is less relevant to black people, and allows us, if we so desire, to say "So what?!" to their discomfort and dislike. This perspective is in direct opposition to the previous one.
"Why wouldn’t you want to embody that which most scares your oppressor and change its meaning?" - Talib Kweli
Piers Morgan dismisses African Americans, mainly African American youth, as using the word "in an ironic way." Piers goes on, "They’re aware of its history; they know from their parents and grandparents that arrogant, dumb, racist whites used it as a wicked, derogatory insult against their black slave forebears. And they enjoy the freedom of being able to say it now in the knowledge that it’s become taboo for whites to do so." He then claims that he understands and empathizes. He does not, not really, but, more interesting is the condescending tone he delivers this message in. It is as if he is explaining to a toddler, for the hundredth time, that he cannot eat his crayons. "Take those crayons from your mouth Timmy, you know you shouldn't eat them." What he could have gone on to say would have been something like, "Also, your black slave forebears began to use the word as a badge of honour and as a term of endearment among themselves, flipping the negativity of the arrogant, dumb, racist whites into a positive - something that they have done all throughout the slavery and Jim Crow experiences." He could have then gone on to reference comfort food, souse and negro spirituals and black churches, which are all the nigga to their respective origins' nigger, ie. the negatives made positives.
There is a lack of understanding by the youth as to the hurtful power that that word holds for their parents and grandparents, and that of course comes a less racially volatile contemporary environment, but its continued use within the black community is not just a simple "irony." That is why Mr. Morgan cannot say that he understands.
"There is no other word like it in the English language, encompassing both the ugliest sort of hate and a communal, if subversive, sense of love and affection, depending upon who is saying it and in what context. It can be wielded as a tool of both white racism and black empowerment. Its most accomplished practitioners can drop it into conversation as a noun, adjective, verb or interjection." - Lonne O'Neal Parker
When approached from the perspective of reclamation, empowerment and resistance, the word is open for continued use within the black community. Continued use is very much still a part of the racial politick. Remember that while we like to focus on the contemporary experience, the African American experience in America has only been one of full citizenship for about half a century. Post racial societies do not yet exist anywhere, despite what we are told.
As anyone on the pro-use side will tell you, there are times when even internal use of the word will have negative connotations and go from an endearing term to a degrading, and oppressive one. Any reference to struggling, hustling, grinding, working hard, celebrations, family, friends, etc. are usually positive nigga uses. References to merking niggas, dope boy niggas, ignorant niggas, my niggas v. dem niggas etc. are negative nigga uses and perpetuate the negativity of the term, and actually go against the intetntion of the reclamation of the term. Problematic, but only so for those with either of the two perspectives above. There is another perspective; it is held mostly by the youth. It is not as nuanced as the other two. Thanks to popular music, multiculturalism and failure to understand or care for context, the term, which was always akin to 'dude' or 'brother' within parts of the black community, has taken on that meaning for a new generation, but spans a wider racial demographic. Again problematic, but language was never known for being stagnant and the youth are not famed for their understanding of, nor penchant for, the historical context of the world they occupy.
The Washington Post has done a pretty interesting interactive project about this. You can tailor make your own video, have a random one done for you, and afterwards you can spend time exploring all of the videos. This project accompanies the article linked above in the Lonne O'Neal Parker quote. Click here to go to THE N-WORD: An Interactive Project Exploring a Singular Word.
Ultimately, however, disuse, continued use or the disconnected, new generation use aside, the racial problems in the world are not rooted in any word. Institutional and structural issues within societies are what give birth to, and maintain, the injustice of racial inequality. Stop and frisk, school to prison pipelines, prison industrial complex, the racial disparity in convictions and sentencing, ingrained fear of black bodies, unrecognized and unchecked white privilege, unchecked police brutality, etc. facilitate America's racial problems. Add to that the fact that Jim Crow is not a history lesson, but a living memory for many Americans. Add to that the fact that John Crawford III and Eric Garner happened a few months ago.
Let us not get too distracted by nigga this and nigga that. Those with malicious intent will use it regardless. More discrete, but equally ill intentioned, people will use modern day euphemisms like "n-word" or "urban" or "inner city" and smile =) all the while. Police will call you sir or ma'am and still arrest you more frequently than any other racial group. Words, caricatures, gestures and symbols are all applied or repurposed afterwards to fit the structure.
Niggas got better shit to do than to focus too much on semantics, not because it is unimportant, but because it's a red herring topic in the racial debate and we have bigger fish to fry.
