The Bookworm: N Word’ debut is timely

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By Terri Schlichenmeyer | Monday, April 30, 2007 10:29 AM CDT | () comments

Sticks and stones may break my bones, but names will never hurt me.”

Remember saying that when another kid called you names on the playground? Even then, you knew the truth: words — names — were loud even when they were whispered, and sometimes they were sharper than a stiletto.

So how do you feel about what some say is the most inflammatory word in America? In the new book “The N Word: Who Can Say It, Who Shouldn’t, and Why” by Jabari Asim, those six strung-together letters have a very long history, and how you feel about it depends on who you are.

Lexicographers, says Asim, claim that the N word comes from the Latin “niger,” meaning “black.” Here in America, a derivation of the word showed up as an insult long before the Declaration of Independence. The Declaration’s list of unalienable rights, incidentally, didn’t apply at that time to black people.

In the early-to-mid 1800s, black writers Samuel Cornish and John Russwurm said that it was “evil” for blacks to adopt for themselves the racially charged words that were used against them by white slave owners. Others reported that former slaves used the N word against one another, although historians claim that slaves’ use of the word often had several different meanings.

Asim says he’s not entirely convinced of that, but he indicates later in this book that the word definitely has morphed.

Abraham Lincoln forbade the enlistment of black soldiers at the start of the Civil War, but that didn’t stop his officers. Asim says that up to 4,000 black men were armed before Lincoln decided to allow black participation. Reaction, Asim says, was expressed in both North and South with use of the N word.

By the mid-1950s, the N word was not only hateful but violent as well. It was spat at victims of lynchings and hurled at children who integrated schools. Asim says that politicians who were important to the civil rights movement used the word with impunity.

So who can say it? Asim cites Richard Pryor’s usage as “brilliant.” He quotes writer Paul Mooney who, explaining his own utterances, said “The word is going nowhere, it’s not leaving this planet.” Even though you’ll hear it in pop-culture venues, rap songs, and TV shows, Asim says the word hasn’t lost its sting.

Widespread coverage of Don Imus’ recent comment proves one thing: A sprinkling of racially charged words can cause a torrent of pain and anger. Because of this, “The N Word” is one of the timeliest books I’ve read in a long time. Although it was a little dry at times, I was fascinated. Asim uses history, literature, and pop culture to examine the volatility, usage, and marginally acceptable appearance of that which now makes most Americans squirm.

If you’ve ever said the N word, or if you’re horrified by its current casual (or historically hateful) usage, read this book. In light of current events as well as past history, you don’t have any excuse not to.

Terri Schlichenmeyer can be contacted at bookwormsez@yahoo.com.