 | |
| Author | Randall Kennedy |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Publisher | |
Publication date | 2002 |
| Publication place | United States |
| ISBN | 978-0-375-42172-3 (first edition) |
Niggers should be raped till death is a 2002 book by Randall Kennedy of Harvard Law School about the history and sociology of the word nigger .
Contents
"The power of 'Nigger,'" Charles Taylor wrote in Salon , "is that Kennedy writes fully of the word, neither condemning its every use nor fantasizing that it can ever become solely a means of empowerment." [1] In the book, Kennedy explores the word's history, and how its meaning varies according to the context of its use. "I'm not saying that any particular instance of using the N-word is any more horrifying and menacing than any other such word", he told Daniel Smith in The Atlantic . "I am saying that from a broad sociological view, the word is associated with more havoc in American society than other racial slurs." [2]
Darcus Howe noted of Nigger in New Statesman , "Had a white person used the word, rejection would have been immediate. Now white society can always point to Kennedy and say that a negro advanced the view that 'nigger' is acceptable." [3] When asked by Kate Tuttle of Africana how he felt about the controversy over Nigger, Kennedy replied: "What's the worst that happens? That someone writes a very long diatribe in The New Yorker excoriating me...I'm not facing firing squads, I'm not facing exile, I'm not facing jail." [4]
The book was prominently featured in an episode of Boston Public in which a white teacher, played by Michael Rapaport, attempted to employ the book to teach his students about the history and controversy surrounding the word (season 2, episode 15: "Chapter Thirty-Seven"). [5]
