Don’t call me nigga

The word’s history continues to make it unacceptable

I refuse to use the word “nigga” in my everyday vocabulary. The society that we live in, though, begs to differ.

Jessy Forsmo-Shadid

This word has dominated on the hip-hop charts, schoolyards, campuses and even classrooms. Many people see the word as a friendly gesture. “Yo! My nigga wazzup!?” Or they mean it in a slightly more insulting way. “Would you look at what this nigga done right here?”

If you’re reading this, you might think I have gone off the deep end about this word. Maybe I have, but I’m always willing to bring up the uncomfortable — kind of like the look of guilt a person gets on their face when they accidently say that word around me. “I’m so sorry,” they would say. But as soon as my head is turned and they assume I’m not paying attention, the word still leaks out.

There are people who want to reclaim the word nigger and create their own definition. Instead of using the harsh “er” at the end, they use an “a.” It rolls off the tongue better, making the word easier to say in front of an uneasy black person sitting nearby.

Just like that, “nigga” was accepted with open arms. Caucasian, Mexican, Asian, African American and all kinds of different Americans use this word without a second thought. For me though, this word has been bathed in too much blood to make a beautiful comeback.

When the words “nigger” or “nigga” come up in random moments, the disgusting history behind it comes up, too. For example, the story of a handsome 15-year-old boy named Emmett Till who was accused of flirting with a white woman. His punishment? One of his eyes was gouged out and he was shot in the back of the head while people breathed the word “nigger.”

Then there’s Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X, who died with this heinous word still being shouted. Black people who died before these leaders, the ones with whip imprints on their backs, had to bow down to this word.

There are still stories told of family members dying. Shari Covington, a Boise salon owner told me her story a few years ago. Her mother found her father’s cut up body with the word “nigger” written above it. The word was a way to dehumanize black people around the country. It was a way to remind them they were less than the others. There are too many names, too many bodies buried under the core of this word.

There is nothing good about the words “nigger” or “nigga.” There’s too much hurt and pain packed into it, but there are still those who choose to say these words anyway. People yell it across the Idaho Commons or bludgeon our ears with it during lectures.  It’s easy to catch even as a whisper. If you are one of those people, then that’s your prerogative. Just know why you are saying it. If it’s because you heard it in Jay Z’s newest album, you might want to rethink things a little more. Try to dig up some more history about the word before you flaunt it around like a hot- pink dress.

Jessy Forsmo-Shadid can be reached at [email protected]