Content area
Full Text
The Word "Nigga" Is Only for Slaves and Sambos
TO HELL WITH political correctness; it's not "the N-word." It's nigger. And perhaps no other word in the English language has remained so racially explosive. There's just something about those two little syllables strung together that, for most blacks, evokes anger and conjures up images of sweaty slaves and singin' Sambos. Out of the many racial slurs that still run rampant throughout society, the word nigger seems overarching; it has withstood the test of time in that, for most blacks, there is still no greater insult than to be referred to by that word.
But while most blacks, of course, understand the implications and the racist history of the word nigger, it has somehow dangerously and disturbingly found its way into everyday language. I can't begin to count the number of times I've heard some of my own refer to themselves and other blacks as niggers.
"Yo, what up, nigga?"
"Hey, you goin' to the Great Hall party tonight, nigga?"
"Did you...