-by CZA
This one was a really tough one to write, I mean, I literally couldn’t come up with an opener for this week’s Polly all week long. I sat at the computer for hours on end trying to come up with something witty, yet provocative; coy, but with a serious undertone. As I’m writing this right now (Friday 4:14 am, by the way) I still haven’t come up with anything befitting of the title. Understandably, this subject makes cats nervous, even though it’s been around the block quite a few times.
As a word I see and hear almost on a daily basis, I find it rather unique. There have been rallies for and against it, places renamed because of it, even a shift in public acceptance of things that aren’t even connected to it—all because of one word. I wanted to tackle this one sooner or later and now presents the perfect opportunity. That being said, (in my most Young Jeezy-esque tone) let’s get it!
Look up in the sky; it’s a bird, it’s a plane, it’s…an overrated epithet!
I’m pretty sure that everyone knows about the Colonial American transport of slaves from other parts of the world, including Africa, so I won’t rehash it here. The spelling of it back then wasn’t the same as it is now, often written like the African Burial Grounds in New York, “Begraafplaats van de Neger” and while still offensive, didn’t have the same weight as it would later on in history.
Some say early American authors like Mark Twain used the word in their books knowing full well the negative context, while others say that it represented the times and societal climate back then. Huck Finn has been a staple of classroom reading for years, and it’s one of my childhood favorites. My personal take on it is this: A kid gets an eyeful of how the world is working and turns his back on it. (He also didn’t “snitch” on Jim so he gets two Cam’Ron points for that.)
Around the 1800’s, people started trying to find a kinder, gentler alternative that wouldn’t rile everyone up. In comes “colored”, which worked so well that the activist group NAACP adopted it. In the 60’s “black” came around, and that pretty much stuck. A few outtakes are “Afro-American”, “Blafrican American” and “jigger”, all of which didn’t have the same ring.
The New York City Council passed a ban on the word, which strikes me as kind of odd considering that there is no penalty for non-compliance. What’s the point? The money and time spent there could’ve been used for something, oh I don’t know, constructive? But they did ask that all songs containing the word be taken out of consideration for the Grammy’s. As popular as the culture is in America right now, there’d be no one there that was noteworthy! Moving on.
Across the pond in China, it’s still used as a synonym for a shade of brown. It was reported that a Canadian couple purchased a brown leather couch from a Chinese furniture manufacturer, and sure enough, on the tag it reads: “Color: Nigger Brown”. (Which I thought was just a joke until I actually looked it up. It’s real.)
There were 143 official changes to place names in the United States, some of the most notable being Nigger Bill Canyon, Nigger Hollow and Nigger Head Mountain, which is located near Burnet, Texas. In most cases, the names were simply changed to “negro” or “colored” but usually didn’t quell the common use of the word in reference. To me, the worst of them all comes once again from my home state of Texas in the form of Dead Nigger Creek that became a lot less offensive when it was changed beautifully to Dead NEGRO Creek. You see how much of a difference that makes? I’m only slightly less taken aback.
The celebrated rapper Tupac Shakur came out with the album Strictly for my N.I.G.G.A.z in 1993, stating that the acronym stood for Never Ignorant about Getting Goals Accomplished. I have to admit, while he isn’t one of my favorite rappers, he definitely knew how to put an underlying positive theme in his music, one that I wouldn’t mind seeing done more on the commercial side of hip hop.
NAACP decided to hold a burial for it in Detroit, singing praises with horse-drawn carriages, full black garb and other shenanigans that even further alienated themselves from the generation that they’re trying so hard to connect with. I have all the respect in the world for Rev. Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson, but I feel like their approach isn’t working for me, it’s just plain corny. Master P? Let’s just say that he is what Jordan would’ve been if he didn’t finally come to the conclusion that it was REALLY time to hang it up. It’s a grand gesture, mind you, but a fruitless one. It’s like trying to rid the world of our “innate” need for an economic caste system. (Wait, aren’t they trying to do that too? No middle class? There’ll only be two collars left, blue and brown. *pun intended*)
Fat Joe has been in the headlines recently about whether or not he thought he and DJ Khaled should be saying the word and he’s like “sand nigga this, sand nigga that” but he does bring up a valid point: if on Khaled’s album none of the other rappers on there (mostly black) have a problem with it, why should anyone else?
Nas is stirring up some people over his new album, Nigger, (At the Grammy’s with the shirt supporting the album is a plus!) and I personally enjoy seeing the look on people’s face when they talk about it, especially if they happen to be opposite of whom their talking to about it in race. It’s hilarious to see people drop the title altogether and just call it “Nas’ new album”.
Much like everything else, nothing has power until you give it power. Instead of pointing fingers, politicians and politician’s wives with bad hair styles at a music genre, and indirectly a group of people can we focus on what makes us feel the way we feel when we see or hear someone using it? The physical act of slavery is over, but there are far worse things that continue to chain our minds. I’m pretty sure that you could get just as offended by someone calling you an “apple”. Wake up. Grow up. Get up. And please, please, PLEASE stop using music as your centrifugal energy to do things. Or at least stop claiming it was “why you did it”, that’s corny too.
In closing, I want to thank y’all for sticking with me this week no matter where you may be (or may not be) reading this and I look forward to seeing what’s cooking in your minds. As always, feel free to drop a line at themondaypolly@gmail.com or in the reply form below so we can do it like bosses do. Until next episode, It’s your man CZA signing off…ghostin’!
