Black : A Black Person

White people have been criticized for using the word nigger by black people, because when a white person says it, they claim it is racist or that they are not allowed to say nigga because they are white. They say that black people can use it because they have a right too, because of their people being oppressed in the past. Today we have black people, white people and all other variety’s of races calling their friend’s who are not black, a “nigga” in a way that claims them to be a close friend of some sorts. Most of the time we see black people call other black people niggas and we aren’t

When asked the question, what does it mean to be black in America , the first thing that came to mine was struggle which means to make forceful or violence

One of the points Raspberry makes in his essay that the definition of being black is limited. Raspberry uses basketball for his first example. He writes, “If a basketball fan says that the Boston Celtics’ Larry Bird (3-time NBA MVP and 12-time NBA all star) plays ‘black,’ the fan intends it—and Bird probably accepts it—as a compliment.” Raspberry (485). The author uses mild sarcasm in this passage to compare how people consume the word “black.” He continues, “But name one pursuit, aside from athletics, entertainment, or sexual performance in which a white practitioner will feel complimented to be told he does it ‘black.’ Tell a white broadcaster he talks black and he’ll sign up for diction lessons.” Raspberry (485). Raspberry compares these two situations to show the limitations. Yes, us blacks can bring

We are affected in many ways based on race and social status. It is how we over come these challenges, that makes us who we are. The question is what is wrong with black? I read an essay by Langston Hughes in which he breaks down the use of the word black. This essay provides the idea of how the word black creates a negative impression of African Americans. I found this essay rather interesting and biased in some cases, but it is an essay I feel everyone should read. In this essay he uses explains what the word black really means and the negative connotation that is sometimes attached to it. He stated how(709-710)”white folks have done used that word to mean something bad so often until now when the N.A.A.C.P. asks for civil rights for

With a background affected tremendously by the dark history of African Americans, language has become a significant problem to what the term Black English really means to different people. In If Black Language Isn’t a Language, Then Tell Me, What Is, James Baldwin attempts to analyze what a language really means and how Black English evolved to fulfill an important role for Americans. Black English sounds proper to blacks, but to whites it may not be a proper use of language. Throughout this essay, Baldwin uses a specific tone and relates to his audience by opening his mind to both emotion and logic while still upholding his credibility. Baldwin tries to persuade the audience to respect the language of Black English using his personal experience. The history of different languages mentioned in the essay is used to help convince the audience of thinking about the term language from a new perspective. Whites and Blacks both may speak the same language, but that does not mean that they understand each other because the language can be spoken in different matters. As Baldwin states, “The white man could not possibly understand, and that, indeed, he cannot understand, until today”. A white man or black man had to be careful about the words they used in front of each other because some words would be considered offensive for one another. Baldwin uses African American language and culture to reveal the impact that the English language Americans use has created.

One aspect of life for black people in the United States of America that has always remained consistent is white racial hostility. A history of slavery, segregation, unequal protection of the law, and second class citizenship inflicted by a white power structure that dominates on a national level has created a harmful reality for black people. Every aspect of black public life must either be under the control of or in opposition to white supremacy. Every state-sanctioned institution works to use black bodies as tools for the production of capital in any form, yet simultaneously exploits and maltreats black people so that they cannot fully participate in and benefit from the systems which they are indoctrinated to invest in. White America leverages its money, comfort, and tyranny on Black America. It is for this reason that separate spaces are not merely essential to the viability of black counter-publics but inherent to their existence, since black involvement in white spaces and systems typically leads to black assimilation or marginalization. Within these black counter-publics, hip hop and mass connection through new media forms direct attention and allow for personal expression which shapes black worldview and public opinion, but this simply makes black people more comfortable with their oppression and less involved in politics.

Black people will get you into trouble. Not because they want to, but because they don’t know any better. They value things that others would find meaningless, they do things that others would know better than to do and their actions and mental attitude towards their futures are anything but progressive. Black youths are focused more on their attire than their education and they seem to have forgotten that they weren’t able to receive such a thing before. The black youth are hypocrites, raising hell for white people, believing that they’re doing their ancestor’s justice for the 300 years of oppression that they went through.

We have all heard the phrase “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me.” However, depending on how words are used, and the opinions associated with them, they can indeed be very hurtful. Gloria Naylor writes about this in her article “Mommy, What Does ‘Nigger’ Mean?” She states “words themselves are innocuous; it is the consensus that gives them true power” (Naylor 481). She explains that African Americans’ use of nigger does not in anyway invite Caucasians to use it. Naylor is accurate when she writes that the word ‘nigger’ would not be offensive had it not been for the thoughts, and sometimes, action others associate with it.

Race is a huge part of how this word is defined. Because this word has a greater effect on black people than white people, it is very common for a black person to be more offended when the word is used. I, personally, have heard this term being

have to be black. Some may argue that is is just a term people use just a way of speaking., but

Aside from your community, the issue goes more into depth when entering the household. As young children, blacks and whites played together but as they grew up, the whites were taught a life changing word, “nigger.” Slowly but surely, they grew up being presurred with the mind set that they were superior

This is something that is instilled in black people at a young age. Children witness this act of codeswitching all the time. A child knows how their parents act at home and around other people who are people as well. The child could be going somewhere with their parent and see them converse with someone that is not black. Seeing their parents do this exposes the children to this at an early age.

Who are we, where did we come from, what has been our experience since we landed on United States soil? The migration of Africans has been very significant in the making of African Americans history and culture. Today's 35 million African Americans are heirs to all the migrations that have formed and transformed African America, the United States, and the Western Hemisphere (The New York Public Library, n.d.). African American history starts in the 1500s with the first Africans coming from Mexico and the Caribbean to the Spanish territories of Florida, Texas, and other parts of the South (The New York Public Library, n.d.). Although

Black people cannot be racist, but they can be prejudice towards white people. Whenever blacks try to raise their voice and be heard on the issue at hand, they are labeled and referred to simply as “Angry blacks.” Unfortunately, this is also a common stereotype associated with African Americans. White people will suffer the consequences if they try to mute and silence black voices since the black pain is excruciating and needs to be understood as a truth. One first needs to know the difference between two contrasting terms, prejudice and racism. Prejudice is a term used to describe a positive or negative judgment and evaluation of another individual based on their racial/ethnic group affiliation. On the other hand, racism includes the actions that are taken, beliefs,

The first viewpoint is non- black people should not be allowed to say nigga because it’s racist. Yes, black people do say it casually doesn’t mean everyone has that same privilege. For example, Sen. Ben Sasse appeared on HBO’s Real Time with Bill Maher to promote his new book, he also invited Maher to visit Nebraska after they talked about how adults in California still dress up for Halloween. "We’d love to have you work in the fields with us,” the senator said to Maher. "Work in the fields? Senator, I am a house nigga” (Stern). There was a mixture of reactions but Ice Cube was quick to come onto the show to let his opinion be known.