ipl-logo

Why African Americans Want To Be Nigger Essay

512 Words3 Pages

Mario Garza
Mr. Izzy
Nigger101
5 July 2015
Why Blacks Want to be Niggers For many years now, Africans have referred to themselves as Niggers, or as they pronounce it, ‘Niggas’. For many years it has been a derogatory term used to refer to the Africans, so why would you want to use this slur to refer to yourself and friends? The original definition for this word is a person who is ignorant, now it is used to describe an African American. While the original definition was in effect, many people still address each other as their ‘Nigga/Nigger’, but why? Nigger is a noun in the English language. It had originally come from the Spanish/ Portuguese variation of Negro, which originated from the Latin adjective Niger. It was first used by John Rolfe to explain the first African slave ships in Virginia during 1619. In …show more content…

Now it has a positive meaning behind it, such as many colored people calling a close friend there nigga, now it is equivalent to calling them a brother. Another reason it is so popular in today’s music is because of the rhythmic presentation as well as the history that falls behind the word itself. Saying the word for an African American today is like taking away all of the power from everyone else as opposed to allowing to still mean a racist term and affect them negatively. In conclusion, I believe this word that was once used to undermine and degrade many races, has now been empowered. During the Civil Rights Movement it was used in R&B, rap, and rock songs played by African Americans to take out the negativity and portray the emotions they felt about being suppressed and impairer. So, with that being said, and the amount of times the definition and spelling has changed in this word, we have made it into something new and great. We have brought some light to a dark and scary time period in the history of the United States by giving it a new

Show More
Related

'The Offensive Movie Cliché That Won' T Die Analysis

884 Words | 4 Pages

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

Read More

Nigger And Faggot During The Civil War

396 Words | 2 Pages

The words, “nigger” and “faggot,” I feel are being used more often as a counter to the malediction that was placed on this words; either it be during the civil war in the nineteenth century or the modern day. George Carlin said that there are only bad thoughts and intentions that turn the words that we use into ones that may inflict pain: Both nigger and faggot are degrading terms that by themselves have no power, but when there is a meaning behind them that is intended to inflict agony upon the receiver of the word, only then does the word take on its true form. Nigger, was used commonly in the South part of America during the Civil War, where black people were kept as slaves. The word derives from many languages spelling of the word black,

Read More

Huckleberry Finn Dialectical Journal

1153 Words | 5 Pages

The language, if changed, would not be consistent of that of an uneducated, teenage boy from the 30s. It is believed that publishers should just change the word to slave, but that would be incorrect since the two words have completely different meanings. The word is used even to kindly describe Jim when Huck states, “I liked the nigger for that; I tell you, gentlemen, a nigger like that is worth a thousand dollars—and kind treatment, too… and they slipped up on him and grabbed him and tied him before he knowed what he was about, and we never had no trouble. (42.15)” This fragment displays how African Americans were addressed, the replacing of the word would not be historically correct or definitionally correct.

Read More

Moral Issues In Huck Finn

1056 Words | 5 Pages

During the 1840s in Missouri, a young boy name Huckleberry Finn runs away from home. At his first destination, he meets Jim, a run away slaves. The story goes along with the adventure of Huck and Jim. Along the way floating in Mississippi river, Huck and Jim meet many people. The most significant character they met was the King and Duck, the con artists, who help to show the growth in Huck 's moral while creating sorts of problems.

Read More

Journalist Don Lemon Essay

831 Words | 4 Pages

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

Read More

Definition Of The Word Nigger

109 Words | 1 Pages

The oxford dictionary had much to say about the word “nigger.” The oxford dictionary said, slave masters got the name “nigger” from the Latin word “Niger” meaning black. They also got the word “Negro” from the meaning of the Spanish diction meaning “black” also. They used the word “black” to describe African American’s instead of letting them have their names or giving them an actual name. It wouldn’t be so bad

Read More

Analysis: How Has Society Changed Since 1840

907 Words | 4 Pages

So you really are a [n-word] then.’” (Steve Crump & Brian Eybers). This second excerpt shows Brian using the word as a derogatory slur to “bring down” Steve Crump That’s the difference between these excerpts; Mark Twain uses the word as a generic name, Brian Eybers uses the word to insult Steve Crump. This shows the progression of the word from a reference, to an insult of the word from Civil War Era to present day. People used this word in the past to refer to slaves, but over time it became a word used to demean

Read More

What Does Nigger Mean

419 Words | 2 Pages

“Niggers” couldn’t eat, sit, nor use the restroom with Caucasians. This term was use to show the inequality amongst the races. Blacks were fighting and dying behind this word.

Read More

Jim Crow Laws To Enforce Segregation In The 1870s

337 Words | 2 Pages

Black people were also called harsh names, such as the "n" word. Black people must have felt left out, only having what white people weren’t using.

Read More

How Does Baldwin Use Ethos In A Talk To Teachers

459 Words | 2 Pages

“A Talk to Teachers” Questions 1-12 1. Baldwin establishes with his audience that he is not a teacher and like all of them lives in a dangerous time. He establishes his ethos by telling his audience that he is not (a teacher) and that he is (a fellow citizen who like them lives in a dangerous time). 2.

Read More

The Importance Of Nigger

897 Words | 4 Pages

In the early 1780’s, the phrase “nigger” has created criticism and disrespect which whites have an unwelcome rejection of blacks. The term has spread widely over many decades; the meaning of nigger is extended to “an ignorant person” (Nigger, 2018). In English-speaking land, this word in some cases can be misunderstood as an insult without people consent especially in today’s society. Nigger is commonly used in young generations because there are many jokes into the word. It depends on how people use the term in a positive or negative in black culture (Nigger, 2004).

Read More

Essay On African Americans

1065 Words | 5 Pages

Over the course of many years, African Americans have influenced communities in many ways. African Americans have been used as slaves and segregated. After overcoming these struggles, they later were granted freedoms and rights. Many African American individuals have overcome these hard times and worked hard to achieve their dreams. Misty Copeland, Patricia Bath, and Madam C.J. Walker are courageous African-American women who have overcome racial stereotypes because of their determination to pursue what they love; Misty Copeland’s determination led her to pursue dance, and Patricia Bath and Madam C.J. Walker were strong, African American entrepreneurs.

Read More

What It Means To Say N Word Essay

572 Words | 3 Pages

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.

Read More

Mommy What Does Nigger Mean Analysis

1086 Words | 5 Pages

The original interpretation of the word, dating back numerous decades, was a way to belittle and remove the self-worth of black Americans who were supposedly “free”. In an article titled “Mommy, What Does ‘Nigger’ Mean?” By Gloria Naylor, she recalls a time in her childhood when the use of the N-word was switched continuously from a positive to a negative, and back again. She says that “the word nigger was used in my presence, but it was set within contexts and inflections that caused it to register my mind as something else.” The N-word is currently being used in two or more different ways, one of which being the “standard” negative undertone, and the other being a way to acknowledge a close friend.

Read More

Language: The Power Of Oppressive Language

382 Words | 2 Pages

The n-word is unique in the English language and is an example of oppressive slang that is still being used today.

Read More

More about Why African Americans Want To Be Nigger Essay

Related Topics

Open Document