In the English language, nigger is a racial slur directed at black people. Starting in the 1990s, references to nigger have been increasingly replaced by the euphemistic contraction "the N-word", notably in cases where nigger is mentioned but not directly used. In an instance of linguistic reappropriation, the term nigger is also used casually and fraternally among African Americans, most commonly in the form of nigga, whose spelling reflects the phonology of African-American English.
Nigga is a colloquial term in African-American Vernacular English that is considered vulgar in many contexts. It began as a dialect form of the word nigger, an ethnic slur against black people. As a result of reappropriation, today the word is used mostly by African-Americans in a largely non-pejorative sense as a slang term referring to another black person or to themselves, often in a neutral or friendly way. The word is commonly associated with hip hop culture and since the 1990s, with gangs. The word is more often applied to men, with more select terms being used for women in the culture.
In the United States, there have been several controversies involving the misunderstanding of the word niggardly, an adjective meaning "stingy" or "miserly", because of its phonetic similarity to nigger, an ethnic slur used against black people. Although the two words are etymologically unrelated, niggardly is nonetheless often replaced with a synonym. People have sometimes faced backlash for using the word.
"One in a Million" was the eighth track on American rock band Guns N' Roses' 1988 album G N' R Lies. It was based on singer Axl Rose's experience of getting hustled at a Greyhound bus station when he first came to Los Angeles.
Leighton Rhett Radford "Darcus" Howe was a British broadcaster, writer and racial justice campaigner. Originally from Trinidad, Howe arrived in England as a teenager in 1961, intending to study law and settling in London. There he joined the British Black Panthers, a group named in sympathy with the US Black Panther Party.
"Woman Is the Nigger of the World" is a song by John Lennon and Yoko Ono with Elephant's Memory from their 1972 album Some Time in New York City. The song was produced by Lennon, Ono and Phil Spector. Released as the only single from the album in the United States, the song sparked controversy at the time due to the use of the word nigger in the title, and many radio stations refused to play the song as a result.
Nigger is an ethnic slur typically directed at black people.
In linguistics, reappropriation, reclamation, or resignification is the cultural process by which a group reclaims words or artifacts that were previously used in a way disparaging of that group. It is a specific form of a semantic change. Linguistic reclamation can have wider implications in the fields of discourse and has been described in terms of personal or sociopolitical empowerment.
Victor Headley is a Jamaican-born British author. He is the author of the bestselling novel Yardie (1992), which gained cult status upon publication and "heralded a new wave of black British pulp fiction". Other books by Headley include Excess (1993) Yush (1994), Fetish (1995), Here Comes the Bride (1997), Off Duty (2001) and Seven Seals (2003).
"Nigger in the woodpile" or "nigger in the fence" is a figure of speech originating in the United States meaning "some fact of considerable importance that is not disclosed—something suspicious or wrong".
Randall LeRoy Kennedy is an American legal scholar. He is the Michael R. Klein Professor of Law at Harvard University and his research focuses on the intersection of racial conflict and legal institutions in American life. He specializes in contracts, freedom of expression, race relations law, civil rights legislation, and the Supreme Court.
"Rock N Roll Nigger" is a rock song written by Patti Smith and Lenny Kaye, and released on the Patti Smith Group's 1978 album Easter.
Nigger was a male black labrador retriever belonging to Wing Commander Guy Gibson of the Royal Air Force, and the mascot of No. 617 Squadron. Gibson owned the dog when he was previously a member of 106 Squadron. Nigger often accompanied Gibson on training flights and was a great favourite of the members of both 106 and 617 Squadrons. He was noted for his liking of beer, which he drank from his own bowl in the Officers' Mess.
Stephen Hagan is an Australian author and anti-racism campaigner. He is also a newspaper editor, documentary maker, university lecturer and former diplomat.
"Niggers in the White House" is a poem that was published in newspapers around the United States between 1901 and 1903. The poem was written in reaction to an October 1901 White House dinner hosted by Republican President Theodore Roosevelt, who had invited Booker T. Washington—an African-American presidential adviser—as a guest. The poem reappeared in 1929 after First Lady Lou Hoover, wife of President Herbert Hoover, invited Jessie De Priest, the wife of African-American congressman Oscar De Priest, to a tea for wives of congressmen at the White House. The identity of the author—who used the byline "unchained poet"—remains unknown.
"Nigger" is the debut single by Swedish metal band Clawfinger. First released on a three-track demo before appearing as the opening track on their debut album, Deaf Dumb Blind (1993), the song was an immediate success for the band, reaching No. 4 on Norway's singles charts and No. 22 in Sweden.
Martin Luther Kilson Jr. was an American political scientist. He was the first black academic to be appointed a full professor at Harvard University, where he was later the Frank G. Thomson Professor of Government from 1988 until his retirement in 1999.
Crystal Marie Fleming is an American sociologist and author. She is full professor of sociology and Africana studies at Stony Brook University. Fleming is the author/editor of four books about race and white supremacy.
This article treats the usage of the word nigger in reference to African Americans and others of African or mixed African and other ethnic origin in the art of Western culture and the English language.
"Word Association", also called "Racist Word Association Interview,""Racist Word Association" and "Dead Honky", is a Saturday Night Live sketch first aired on December 13, 1975, featuring Richard Pryor and Chevy Chase.
