I am not your n****a

First: A word from our sponsor 😊

I have really learned a lot or respect for James Baldwin.

Anyway, let me get to the point of this post.

But before I go on, perhaps you should read this article first: If you truly knew what the N-word meant to our ancestors, you’d NEVER use it

I don’t have much to say beyond or to improve upon that, but here is my attempt to comment on this word:

Malcolm X once famously asked, “What do you call a Black man with a PhD?” In todays era and times, the answer is obvious, right? He is A Phd Holder!

We could go on:

He gets a pilot’s license: He’s a pilot
He gets a medical degree: He’s a doctor
He passes the bar: He’s a lawyer

But back when that question was posed, it was asking what a certain demographic of White America (not all) would call him out in the open and unabashedly: A nigger

No matter what he accomplished, how much he made, how he treated his family or his stature within the community, he was, to them…that, or a boy. Which may be why a lot of black men, when angered say “I’m a grown ass man”. But that is another post.

Well Black people are now doing this! To OURSELVES!

What bothers me now is that Black people have now taken on the language of the White supremist, made it their own and somehow feel empowered by it. But its better now because we replace the “er” with an “a” and stopped White people from saying it. Problem solved right? Hell NO!

I am tempted to post the many links of people (yes, almost always black people) using the word in music, movies, television, but I won’t, it’s all over the place and the use is so normal now, its disgusting. But here are two things that really got to me.

I saw one famous brother say (in reference to his women) that he was so happy to have his Queen with him…he’s a lucky nigga
Another one did a rap video about how he loves black women and how patient and loving black Queens have been with us…niggas.

So now: Even to black people, there is nothing a black man can do to graduate from being a nigga.

The star of the basketball team: That nigga can ball
Graduate from college: He’s a smart nigga
Make a good income: That nigga getting PAID
Career going well: This nigga is about to blow UP!
PHd: That nigga is a GENUIS
Be a good father? Yeah, you holding it down MY nigga!
Become POTUS? That nigga DID IT!!!

Is it a term of endearment?

I don’t think so: I was walking around the neighborhood the other day and heard the word “nigga” about 30 times in 8 minutes. Here are some excerpts taken from that stroll, and this is what I overheard, from Black People!:

You already know niggas aint gonna act right!
F—k them niggas
Why she always going out with them dumb a$$ niggas?
That nigga don’t want to work, he lazy as hell!

Not exactly a language of love, is it? In fact, it sounds (to me) a lot like what the KKK or Aryan nations or anyone else who doesn’t like black people would say about us, right?

We KNOW that, so this is why we get angry when White people use this word. Then we somehow ignore that in ACTUAL USE, black people and white racists use the term to say the exact same thing. In my experience, a lot of young black men live in a world that looks like this.

Maybe this is one reason why they are so angry and confused?

We are correctly angry at the guy on the left, but the guy on the right? We ignore his hatred, we ignore his ignorance (and sometimes celebrate it, dance to it, or think its funny) until it’s too late and after years of loyalty and being his friend he pulls the trigger on him when he starts to climb out of the mindset. How many young brothers, some of them famous, has THAT happened to?

So NO: I am not anyone’s nigger, nigga or any version of the word and I request no one call me that again and I promise to do the same.

I say this to everyone out there and especially my BROTHERS: