Reply To: Blacks and the n-word

#29267

Ana L.
Participant

First, I would like to say that I am not African American, but of mixed race and ethnicity, with one parent from the Dominican Republic and another from the United States. However, I went to an all-black high school and also consider myself an ally to African Americans, as well as a child of the African diaspora.

There are systematic definitions of who we are supposed to be, and then there are words of resistance. “Nigger,” as used by African-American youth, has a specific history of meaning resistance to the definition of blacks as ‘less’, or as nigger as “non-human” – just like gay men use “fag” and lesbians use “dyke.” These have all been words used to dehumanize us, but among ourselves we use them as a way to reclaim the anger and pain and turn it into a community building force. However, the intent and the owner of the use of the word is very important. It is very different for a Jewish lesbian to refer to herself as a kike dyke, or a first nations person to refer to themselves as Indian, or a black person to refer to themselves as a nigger, than for someone outside of that particular place of resistance to use those words. We embue these words with new meaning when we use them in our own contexts, than when someone who is not black uses the word nigger, or not Jewish using the word kike. Also, there is no singular experience. I am sure that you as an Indian person can relate to the idea that you are different from a lot of other Indian people, and that you have your own opinions and ideas about names, labels, words, etc. The same goes for individuals in all communities.

User Detail :  

Name : Ana L., Gender : F, Age : 24, City : Boston, State : MA, Country : United States,