Editing Nigger (section)

==Usage==
Surveys from 2006 showed that the American public widely perceived usage of the term to be wrong or unacceptable, but that nearly half of whites and two-thirds of blacks knew someone personally who referred to blacks by the term.<ref name="Tesler">{{Cite news |last=Tesler |first=Michael |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/monkey-cage/wp/2015/06/25/using-the-n-word-is-more-common-than-you-or-president-obama-may-think/ |title=Using the n-word is more common than you (or President Obama) may think |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=June 25, 2015 |access-date=August 15, 2018 |archive-date=August 16, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180816061712/https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/monkey-cage/wp/2015/06/25/using-the-n-word-is-more-common-than-you-or-president-obama-may-think/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Nearly one-third of whites and two-thirds of blacks said they had personally used the term within the last five years.<ref name="Tesler" />

===In names of people, places and things===
{{Main|Use of nigger in proper names}}

===Political use===
[[File:Why the nigger is not fit to vote.jpg|thumb|Historical American cartoon titled "Why the nigger is not fit to vote", by [[Thomas Nast]], arguing the reason Democrats objected to African-Americans having the vote was that, in the [[1868 United States presidential election|1868 US presidential election]], African-Americans voted for the Republican candidates [[Ulysses S. Grant]] and [[Schuyler Colfax]]. "Seymour friends meet here" in the background is a reference to the Democratic Party candidate: [[Horatio Seymour]].]]

"[[Niggers in the White House]]"<ref name="Niggers in the White House">{{cite web|url=http://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/Research/Digital-Library/Record.aspx?libID=o284393|publisher=Theodore Roosevelt Center, [[Dickinson State University]]|title=Niggers in the White House|access-date=September 12, 2013|archive-date=March 31, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230331161158/https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/Research/Digital-Library/Record.aspx?libID=o284393|url-status=live}}</ref> was written in reaction to [[Booker T. Washington dinner at the White House|an October 1901 White House dinner]] hosted by Republican President [[Theodore Roosevelt]], who had invited [[Booker T. Washington]]—an African-American presidential advisor—as a guest. The poem reappeared in 1929 after First Lady [[Lou Henry Hoover|Lou Hoover]], wife of President [[Herbert Hoover]], invited [[Jessie De Priest]], the wife of African-American congressman [[Oscar De Priest]], to [[Jessie De Priest tea at the White House|a tea for congressmen's wives at the White House]].<ref>{{cite book|last1=Jones|first1=Stephen A.|last2=Freedman|first2=Eric|title=Presidents and Black America: A Documentary History|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mBRKYgEACAAJ|year=2011|publisher=CQ Press|location=Los Angeles|isbn=9781608710089|page=349|access-date=July 25, 2020|archive-date=September 15, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240915130429/https://books.google.com/books?id=mBRKYgEACAAJ|url-status=live}}</ref> The identity of the author—who used the byline "unchained poet"—remains unknown.

In explaining his refusal to be [[Conscription in the United States#Vietnam War|conscripted to fight the Vietnam War]] (1955–1975), professional boxer [[Muhammad Ali]] said, "No [[Vietcong]] ever called me nigger."<ref>{{cite book |last=Kennedy |first=Randall |author-link=Randall Kennedy |title=Nigger: The Strange Career of a Troublesome Word |publisher=Random House |year=2002 |page=28 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yb8LmupcLdkC&pg=PA28 |isbn=978-0-375-42172-3 |access-date=September 24, 2016 |archive-date=September 15, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240915130432/https://books.google.com/books?id=yb8LmupcLdkC&pg=PA28#v=onepage&q&f=false |url-status=live }}</ref> Later, his modified answer was the title of a documentary, ''No Vietnamese Ever Called Me Nigger'' (1968), about the front-line lot of the U.S. Army black soldier in combat in Vietnam.<ref>{{cite book |last=Rollins |first=Peter C. |title=The Columbia Companion to American History on Film: How the Movies Have Portrayed the American Past |publisher=Columbia University Press |year=2003 |page=341 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xB1rhm6Ke2UC&pg=PA341 |isbn=978-0-231-11222-2 |access-date=September 24, 2016 |archive-date=September 15, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240915130433/https://books.google.com/books?id=xB1rhm6Ke2UC&pg=PA341#v=onepage&q&f=false |url-status=live }}</ref> An Ali biographer reports that, when interviewed by [[Robert Lipsyte]] in 1966, the boxer actually said, "I ain't got no quarrel with them Viet Cong."<ref>{{cite book |last=Lemert |first=Charles |title=Muhammad Ali: Trickster in the Culture of Irony |publisher=Wiley-Blackwell |year=2003 |pages=105–107 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MI1cTZGcDVgC&pg=PA105 |isbn=978-0-7456-2871-4 |access-date=September 24, 2016 |archive-date=September 15, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240915130531/https://books.google.com/books?id=MI1cTZGcDVgC&pg=PA105 |url-status=live }}</ref>

On February 28, 2007, the [[New York City Council]] symbolically banned the use of the word ''nigger''; however, there is no penalty for using it. This formal resolution also requests excluding from [[Grammy Award]] consideration every song whose lyrics contain the word; however, Ron Roecker, vice president of communication for the Recording Academy, doubted it will have any effect on actual nominations.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/usa/story/0,,2023817,00.html |title=New York city council bans use of the N-word |last=Pilkington |first=Ed |date=March 1, 2007 |work=The Guardian |access-date=August 17, 2007 |archive-date=September 15, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240915130535/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2007/mar/01/usa.edpilkington |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://webdocs.nyccouncil.info/textfiles/Res%200693-2007.htm?CFID=425440&CFTOKEN=70865698 |title=Res. No. 693-A – Resolution declaring the NYC Council's symbolic moratorium against using the 'N' word in New York City |publisher=New York City Council |access-date=August 17, 2007 |archive-date=March 8, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220308044117/http://webdocs.nyccouncil.info/textfiles/Res%200693-2007.htm?CFID=425440&CFTOKEN=70865698 |url-status=live }}</ref>

The word can be invoked politically for effect. When Detroit mayor [[Kwame Kilpatrick]] came under intense scrutiny for his conduct in 2008, he deviated from an address to the city council, saying, "In the past 30 days, I've been called a nigger more than any time in my entire life." Opponents accused him of "playing the [[race card]]" to save his political life.<ref name="COXreaction">{{cite news |last=French |first=Ron |date=March 13, 2008 |url=http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080313/METRO/803130408 |title=Attorney General Cox: Kilpatrick should resign |access-date=March 13, 2008 |work=The Detroit News}}{{dead link|date=February 2021}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.mlive.com/grpress/2008/03/attorney_general_mike_cox_call.html|title=Attorney General Mike Cox calls for Kwame Kilpatrick's resignation|date=March 13, 2008|publisher=Advance Local Media}}</ref>

===Cultural use===
{{Main|Use of nigger in the arts}}

The [[implicit racism]] of the word ''nigger'' has generally rendered its use [[taboo]]. Magazines and newspapers typically do not use this word but instead print censored versions such as "n*gg*r", "n**ger", "n——" or "the N-word";<ref>{{cite dictionary |url=http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/nigger |title=''Nigger'' Usage Alert |dictionary=[[Dictionary.com]] |access-date=July 23, 2015 |archive-date=July 21, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150721100920/http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/nigger |url-status=live }}</ref> see [[#The N-word euphemism|below]].

[[File:MrBradish.jpg|thumb|1885 illustration from [[Mark Twain]]'s ''[[Adventures of Huckleberry Finn]]'', captioned "Misto Bradish's nigger"]]
The use of ''nigger'' in older literature has become controversial because of the word's modern meaning as a racist insult. One of the most enduring controversies has been the word's use in [[Mark Twain]]'s novel ''[[Adventures of Huckleberry Finn]]'' (1885). ''Huckleberry Finn'' was the fifth most challenged book during the 1990s, according to the [[American Library Association]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ala.org/ala/issuesadvocacy/banned/frequentlychallenged/challengedbydecade/1990_1999/index.cfm |title=100 most frequently challenged books: 1990–1999 |publisher=American Library Association |date=March 27, 2013 |access-date=April 2, 2011 |archive-date=January 12, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120112170406/http://www.ala.org/ala/issuesadvocacy/banned/frequentlychallenged/challengedbydecade/1990_1999/index.cfm |url-status=dead }}</ref> The novel is written from the point of view, and largely in the language, of an uneducated white boy, who is drifting down the Mississippi River on a raft with an adult escaped slave, Jim. The word "nigger" is used (mostly about Jim) over 200 times.<ref>{{cite web |title=Adventures of Huckleberry Finn |work=The Complete Works of Mark Twain |url=http://www.mtwain.com/Adventures_Of_Huckleberry_Finn/ |access-date=March 12, 2006 |url-status = dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060909212120/http://www.mtwain.com/Adventures_Of_Huckleberry_Finn/ |archive-date=September 9, 2006 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Academic Resources: Nigger: The Strange Career of a Troublesome Word |work=Random House |url=http://www.randomhouse.com/acmart/catalog/display.pperl?isbn=9780375713712&view=tg |access-date=March 13, 2006 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070122142322/http://www.randomhouse.com/acmart/catalog/display.pperl?isbn=9780375713712&view=tg |archive-date=January 22, 2007 }} [https://penguinrandomhousehighereducation.com/book/?isbn=9780375713712 Alternative URL] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200715171506/https://penguinrandomhousehighereducation.com/book/?isbn=9780375713712 |date=July 15, 2020 }}</ref> Twain's advocates note that the novel is composed in then-contemporary vernacular usage, not racist stereotype, because Jim, the black man, is a sympathetic character.

In 2011, a new edition published by [[NewSouth Books]] replaced the word ''nigger'' with ''slave'' and also removed the word ''[[injun]]''. The change was spearheaded by Twain scholar [[Alan Gribben]] in the hope of "countering the 'pre-emptive censorship{{'"}} that results from the book's being removed from school curricula over language concerns.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2011/jan/05/huckleberry-finn-edition-censors-n-word |title=New Huckleberry Finn edition censors 'n-word' |work=The Guardian|date=January 5, 2011 |last=Page |first=Benedicte |access-date=February 2, 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine |last=Twain |first=Mark |url=http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1842832_1842838,00.html?iid=moreontime |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110110133900/http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1842832_1842838,00.html?iid=moreontime |url-status=dead |archive-date=January 10, 2011 |title='The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn' – Removing the N Word from Huck Finn: Top 10 Censored Books |magazine=Time |date=January 7, 2011 |access-date=January 23, 2011}}</ref> The changes sparked outrage from critics [[Elon James]], [[Alexandra Petri]] and [[Chris Meadows]].<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.csmonitor.com/Books/chapter-and-verse/2011/0105/The-n-word-gone-from-Huck-Finn-what-would-Mark-Twain-say |title=The 'n'-word gone from Huck Finn – what would Mark Twain say? |last=Kehe |first=Marjorie |work=The Christian Science Monitor |date=January 5, 2011 |access-date=February 2, 2021 |archive-date=April 30, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210430202839/http://www.csmonitor.com/Books/chapter-and-verse/2011/0105/The-n-word-gone-from-Huck-Finn-what-would-Mark-Twain-say |url-status=live }}</ref>

In his 1999 memoir ''All Souls'', Irish-American [[Michael Patrick MacDonald]] describes how many white residents of the [[Old Colony Housing Project]] in [[South Boston]] used this meaning to degrade the people considered to be of lower status, whether white or black.<ref>{{cite book|last=MacDonald|first=Michael Patrick|author-link=Michael Patrick MacDonald|title=All Souls: A Family Story from Southie |publisher=Random House |year=2000|page=61 |isbn=978-0-345-44177-5}}</ref>

{{blockquote|Of course, no one considered himself a nigger. It was always something you called someone who could be considered anything less than you. I soon found out there were a few black families living in Old Colony. They'd lived there for years and everyone said that they were okay, that they weren't niggers but just black. It felt good to all of us to not be as bad as the hopeless people in D Street or, God forbid, the ones in Columbia Point, who were both black and niggers. But now I was jealous of the kids in Old Harbor Project down the road, which seemed like a step up from Old Colony{{nbs}}...}}

===In an academic setting===
The word's usage in literature has led to it being a point of discussion in university lectures as well. In 2008, [[Arizona State University]] English professor Neal A. Lester created what has been called "the first ever college-level class designed to explore the word 'nigger{{'"}}.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.tolerance.org/magazine/fall-2011/straight-talk-about-the-nword|title=Straight talk about the N-word|first=Sean|last=Price|work=Teaching Tolerance|year=2011|access-date=November 18, 2019|archive-date=December 10, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191210104913/https://www.tolerance.org/magazine/fall-2011/straight-talk-about-the-nword|url-status=live}}</ref> Starting in the following decade, colleges struggled with attempts to teach material about the slur in a sensitive manner. In 2012, a sixth grade Chicago teacher Lincoln Brown was suspended after repeating the contents of a racially charged note being passed around in class. Brown later filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against the headmaster and the Chicago public schools.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2012/02/can-educators-ever-teach-the-n-word/253345/|title=Can educators ever teach the N-word?|first=Wendy|last=Kaminer|work=The Atlantic|date=February 21, 2012|access-date=December 24, 2021|archive-date=December 15, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211215190625/https://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2012/02/can-educators-ever-teach-the-n-word/253345/|url-status=live}}</ref> A New Orleans high school also experienced controversy in 2017.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://edition.cnn.com/2017/05/05/us/teacher-student-n-word-exchange/index.html|title=School reflects on race after student-teacher N-word exchange|first=Donie|last=O'Sullivan|work=CNN|date=May 5, 2017|access-date=November 19, 2019|archive-date=November 12, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201112020811/http://edition.cnn.com/2017/05/05/us/teacher-student-n-word-exchange/index.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Such increased attention prompted Elizabeth Stordeur Pryor, the daughter of [[Richard Pryor]] and a professor at [[Smith College]], to give a talk opining that the word was leading to a "social crisis" in higher education.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.telegram.com/news/20190919/elizabeth-stordeur-pryor-says-use-of-n-word-is-causing-social-crisis|title=Elizabeth Stordeur Pryor says use of the N-word is causing social crisis|work=Telegram & Gazette|first=Cyrus|last=Moulton|date=September 19, 2019|access-date=November 18, 2019|archive-date=December 18, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191218042632/https://www.telegram.com/news/20190919/elizabeth-stordeur-pryor-says-use-of-n-word-is-causing-social-crisis|url-status=live}}</ref>

In addition to Smith College, [[Emory University]], [[Augsburg University]], [[Southern Connecticut State University]], and [[Simpson College]] all suspended professors in 2019 over referring to the word "nigger" by name in classroom settings.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://abovethelaw.com/2019/10/the-original-emory-law-school-n-word-using-professor-faces-a-hearing-on-his-future-today/|title=The original Emory Law School N-word using professor faces hearing on his future today|first=Joe|last=Patrice|work=Above The Law|date=October 4, 2019|access-date=November 18, 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.thecollegefix.com/universities-repeatedly-discipline-professors-for-referring-to-the-n-word/|title=Universities repeatedly discipline professors for referring to the n-word|first=Matthew|last=Stein|website=The College Fix|date=April 11, 2019|access-date=November 18, 2019|archive-date=September 29, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190929154736/https://www.thecollegefix.com/universities-repeatedly-discipline-professors-for-referring-to-the-n-word/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.insidehighered.com/quicktakes/2019/11/18/professor-wont-teach-more-classes-after-saying-n-word|title=Professor won't teach more classes after saying N-word|first=Colleen|last=Flaherty|work=Inside Higher Education|date=November 18, 2019|access-date=November 18, 2019}}</ref> In two other cases, a professor at [[Princeton University|Princeton]] decided to stop teaching a course on [[hate speech]] after students protested his utterance of "nigger" and a professor at DePaul had his law course cancelled after 80% of the enrolled students transferred out.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2018/02/13/585386694/professor-cancels-course-on-hate-speech-amid-contention-over-his-use-of-slur|title=Professor cancels course on hate speech amid contention over his use of slur|first=Colin|last=Dwyer|work=NPR|date=February 13, 2018|access-date=November 19, 2019|archive-date=March 15, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200315090311/https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2018/02/13/585386694/professor-cancels-course-on-hate-speech-amid-contention-over-his-use-of-slur|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://depauliaonline.com/42740/news/depaul-professor-formerly-under-fire-for-use-of-n-word-in-teaching-exercise-rehired/|title=Professor formerly under fire for use of 'N-word' in teaching exercise back at DePaul|first=Ella|last=Lee|work=The DePaulia|date=September 23, 2019|access-date=November 19, 2019|archive-date=September 24, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190924050400/https://depauliaonline.com/42740/news/depaul-professor-formerly-under-fire-for-use-of-n-word-in-teaching-exercise-rehired/|url-status=live}}</ref> Instead of pursuing disciplinary action, a student at the [[College of the Desert]] challenged his professor in a [[viral video|viral]] class presentation which argued that her use of the word in a lecture was not justified.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/college-student-presentation-n-word-professor-maleek-eid-california-a8813186.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220620/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/college-student-presentation-n-word-professor-maleek-eid-california-a8813186.html |archive-date=June 20, 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|title=College student delivers presentation to call out professor for using n-word in class|first=Sarah|last=Harvard|work=The Independent|date=March 7, 2019|access-date=November 18, 2019}}</ref>

===In the workplace===
In 2018, the head of the media company [[Netflix]], [[Reed Hastings]], fired his chief communications officer, Jonathan Friedland, for using the word twice during internal discussions about sensitive words.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Mele |first1=Christopher |title=Netflix Fires Chief Communications Officer Over Use of Racial Slur |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/06/22/business/media/jonathan-friedland-netflix-racial-slur.html |access-date=June 23, 2018 |work=The New York Times |date=June 23, 2018 |language=en |archive-date=June 23, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180623020342/https://www.nytimes.com/2018/06/22/business/media/jonathan-friedland-netflix-racial-slur.html |url-status=live }}</ref> In explaining why, Hastings wrote:

{{blockquote|[The word's use] in popular media like music and film have created some confusion as to whether or not there is ever a time when the use of the N-word is acceptable. For non-Black people, the word should not be spoken as there is almost no context in which it is appropriate or constructive (even when singing a song or reading a script). There is not a way to neutralize the emotion and history behind the word in any context. The use of the phrase 'N-word' was created as a euphemism, and the norm, with the intention of providing an acceptable replacement and moving people away from using the specific word. When a person violates this norm, it creates resentment, intense frustration, and great offense for many.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Landy |first1=Heather |title=Read the Netflix CEO's excellent memo about firing an executive who used the N-word |url=https://work.qz.com/1313072/read-netflix-ceo-reed-hastings-memo-about-the-firing-of-pr-chief-jonathan-friedland-for-using-the-n-word/ |access-date=June 23, 2018 |work=Quartz at Work |date=June 23, 2018 |archive-date=June 23, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180623162827/https://work.qz.com/1313072/read-netflix-ceo-reed-hastings-memo-about-the-firing-of-pr-chief-jonathan-friedland-for-using-the-n-word/ |url-status=live }}</ref>}}

The following year, screenwriter [[Walter Mosley]] turned down a job after his human resources department took issue with him using the word to describe racism that he experienced as a black man.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/09/06/opinion/sunday/walter-mosley.html |title=Why I quit the writer's room |first=Walter |last=Mosley |author-link=Walter Mosley |work=The New York Times |date=September 6, 2019 |access-date=September 19, 2019 |archive-date=September 21, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190921164048/https://www.nytimes.com/2019/09/06/opinion/sunday/walter-mosley.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

While defending Laurie Sheck, a professor who was cleared of ethical violations for quoting ''[[I Am Not Your Negro]]'' by [[James Baldwin]], [[John McWhorter]] wrote that efforts to condemn racist language by white Americans had undergone [[mission creep]].<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2019/08/whites-refer-to-the-n-word/596872/|title=The idea that white's can't refer to the N-word|first=John|last=McWhorter|author-link=John McWhorter|magazine=The Atlantic|date=August 21, 2019|access-date=November 19, 2019|archive-date=November 11, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191111140215/https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2019/08/whites-refer-to-the-n-word/596872/|url-status=live}}</ref> Similar controversies outside the United States have occurred at the [[University of Western Ontario]] in Canada and the Madrid campus of [[Syracuse University]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://globalnews.ca/news/6091885/western-university-andrew-wenaus-n-word/|title=Western University professor apologizes after student calls out his use of the n-word|first=Jacquelyn|last=Lebel|work=Global News|date=October 28, 2019|access-date=November 19, 2019|archive-date=November 5, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191105120520/https://globalnews.ca/news/6091885/western-university-andrew-wenaus-n-word/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://dailyorange.com/2019/03/students-professor-use-n-word-classes-sus-madrid-program/|title=Students, professor use 'N-word' during class at SU's Madrid program|first=Catherine|last=Leffert|work=The Daily Orange|date=March 13, 2019|access-date=November 19, 2019|archive-date=November 23, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191123085850/http://dailyorange.com/2019/03/students-professor-use-n-word-classes-sus-madrid-program|url-status=live}}</ref> In June 2020, Canadian news host [[Wendy Mesley]] was suspended and replaced with a guest host after she attended a meeting on racial justice and, in the process of quoting a journalist, used "a word that no-one like me should ever use".<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/article-cbc-host-wendy-mesley-apologizes-for-using-a-certain-word-in-2/|title=CBC host Wendy Mesley apologizes for using a certain word in discussion on race|first=Darren|last=Calabrese|work=The Canadian Press|date=June 9, 2020|access-date=June 13, 2020|archive-date=June 10, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200610161410/https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/article-cbc-host-wendy-mesley-apologizes-for-using-a-certain-word-in-2/|url-status=live}}</ref> In August 2020, [[BBC News]], with the agreement of victim and family, mentioned the slur when reporting on a physical and verbal assault on the black NHS worker and musician K-Dogg. Within the week the BBC received over 18,600 complaints, the black radio host David Whitely resigned in protest, and the BBC apologized.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-53715814/|title=BBC apologises over racial slur used in news report|work=BBC News|date=August 9, 2020|access-date=August 26, 2020|archive-date=August 31, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200831135252/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-53715814|url-status=live}}</ref>

In 2021, in [[Tampa, Florida]], a 27-year-old black employee at a [[Dunkin' Donuts]] punched a 77-year-old white customer after the customer had repeatedly called the employee a nigger.<ref>{{cite web |author=Dan Sullivan |url=https://www.tampabay.com/news/tampa/2022/03/07/tampa-dunkin-case-a-racial-slur-a-fatal-punch-and-2-years-of-house-arrest/ |title=Tampa Dunkin' case: A racial slur, a fatal punch and 2 years of house arrest |work=Tampa Bay Times |date= |accessdate=September 25, 2022 |archive-date=September 23, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220923063729/https://www.tampabay.com/news/tampa/2022/03/07/tampa-dunkin-case-a-racial-slur-a-fatal-punch-and-2-years-of-house-arrest/ |url-status=live }}</ref> The customer fell to the floor and hit his head. Three days later, he died, having suffered a [[skull fracture]] and [[brain contusion]]s. The employee was arrested, and charged with [[manslaughter]]. In a [[plea bargain]], the employee pled guilty to felony [[battery (crime)|battery]], and was sentenced to two years of [[house arrest]]. In 2022, in explaining why the employee did not receive any jail time, Grayson Kamm, a spokesman for Hillsborough State Attorney Andrew Warren, said "Two of the primary factors were the aggressive approach the victim took toward the defendant and everyone working with the defendant, and that the victim repeatedly used possibly the most aggressive and offensive term in the English language."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/corey-pujols-dunkin-worker-sentenced-fatal-punch-vonelle-cook-slur/|title=Florida Dunkin' employee is sentenced for fatally punching customer who used racist slur|work=CBS News|date=March 9, 2022|access-date=August 14, 2022|archive-date=August 14, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220814130244/https://www.cbsnews.com/news/corey-pujols-dunkin-worker-sentenced-fatal-punch-vonelle-cook-slur/|url-status=live}}</ref>

===Intra-group versus intergroup usage===
{{Main|Nigga}}
{{See also|Ingroups and outgroups}}

Black listeners often react to the term differently, depending on whether it is used by white speakers or by black speakers. In the former case, it is regularly understood as insensitive or insulting; in the latter, it may carry notes of in-group disparagement, or it may be understood as neutral or affectionate, a possible instance of [[reappropriation]].<ref name="Brontsema">{{Cite journal|last=Brontsema|first=Robin|date=June 1, 2004|title=A Queer Revolution: Reconceptualizing the Debate Over Linguistic Reclamation|journal=Colorado Research in Linguistics|volume=17|issue=1|doi=10.25810/dky3-zq57|issn=1937-7029|quote=Linguistic reclamation, also known as linguistic resignification or reappropriation, refers to the appropriation of a pejorative epithet by its target(s).}}</ref>

In the black community, ''nigger'' is often rendered as ''[[nigga]]''. This usage has been popularized by the [[rap]] and [[hip-hop]] music cultures and is used as part of an in-group lexicon and speech. It is not necessarily derogatory and is often used to mean ''homie'' or ''friend''.<ref name="usage-alert">{{cite dictionary |url=http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/nigga |title=''Nigga'' Usage Alert |dictionary=[[Dictionary.com]] |access-date=July 23, 2015}}</ref>

Acceptance of intra-group usage of the word ''nigga'' is still debated,<ref name="usage-alert" /> although it has established a foothold amongst younger generations. The [[NAACP]] denounces the use of both ''nigga'' and ''nigger''. Usage of ''nigga'' by mixed-race individuals is still largely considered taboo,{{Efn|Whether this usage is considered acceptable may depend on a sense of the speaker's in-group belonging, as judged by the speaker him- or herself, the listener(s), or others.}} albeit not as inflammatory as ''nigger''. As of 2001, trends indicated that usage of the term in intragroup settings is increasing even amongst white youth, due to the popularity of rap and hip hop culture.<ref name="ENQ">{{cite news |last1=Aldridge |first1=Kevin |last2=Thompson |first2=Richelle |last3=Winston |first3=Earnest |url=http://www.enquirer.com/editions/2001/08/05/loc_1the_n-word.html |title=The evolving N-word |work=The Cincinnati Enquirer |date=August 5, 2001 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130110202405/http://www.enquirer.com/editions/2001/08/05/loc_1the_n-word.html |archive-date=January 10, 2013 |url-status=dead |access-date=October 14, 2011 }}</ref> Linguist [[Keith Allan (linguist)|Keith Allan]] rejects the view that ''nigger'' is always a slur, arguing that it is also used as a marker of camaraderie and friendship, comparable to the British and Australian term "mate" or the American "buddy".<ref>{{cite journal|last=Allan|first=Keith |title=When is a slur not a slur? The use of nigger in 'Pulp Fiction'|journal=Language Sciences |volume=52 |date=November 2015|pages=187–199|doi=10.1016/j.langsci.2015.03.001}}</ref>

According to Arthur K. Spears in ''Diverse Issues in Higher Education, 2006'':
{{blockquote|In many African-American neighborhoods, nigga is simply the most common term used to refer to any male, of any race or ethnicity. Increasingly, the term has been applied to any person, male or female. "Where y'all niggas goin?" is said with no self-consciousness or animosity to a group of women, for the routine purpose of obtaining information. The point: ''nigga'' is evaluatively neutral in terms of its inherent meaning; it may express positive, neutral, or negative attitudes;<ref>{{cite journal |title=Perspectives: A View of the 'N-Word' from Sociolinguistics |url=http://diverseeducation.com/article/6114/ |last=Spears |first=Arthur K. |journal=Diverse Issues in Higher Education |date=July 12, 2006 |access-date=July 13, 2013 |archive-date=September 27, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140927014836/http://diverseeducation.com/article/6114/ |url-status=live }}</ref>}}

Kevin Cato, meanwhile, observes:
{{blockquote|For instance, a show on [[Black Entertainment Television]], a cable network aimed at a Black audience, described the word nigger as a "[[term of endearment]]". "In the African American community, the word ''nigga'' (not ''nigger'') brings out feelings of pride." (Davis{{nbs}}1.) Here the word evokes a sense of community and oneness among Black people. Many teens I interviewed felt the word had no power when used amongst friends, but when used among white people the word took on a completely different meaning. In fact, comedian Alex Thomas on BET stated, "I still better not hear no white boy say that to me{{nbs}}... I hear a white boy say that to me, it means 'White boy, you gonna get your ass beat.{{'"}}<ref>{{cite web |url=http://wrt-intertext.syr.edu/XI/Nigger.html |title=Nigger: Language, History, and Modern Day Discourse |work=Intertext |publisher=Syracuse University |access-date=January 23, 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110517143530/http://wrt-intertext.syr.edu/XI/Nigger.html |archive-date=May 17, 2011}}</ref>}}

Addressing the use of ''nigger'' by black people, philosopher and public intellectual [[Cornel West]] said in 2007:
{{blockquote|There's a certain rhythmic seduction to the word. If you speak in a sentence, and you have to say ''cat'', ''companion'', or ''friend'', as opposed to ''nigger'', then the rhythmic presentation is off. That rhythmic language is a form of historical memory for Black people{{nbs}}... When [[Richard Pryor]] came back from Africa, and decided to stop using the word onstage, he would sometimes start to slip up, because he was so used to speaking that way. It was the right word at the moment to keep the rhythm together in his sentence making.<ref>{{cite magazine |last=Mohr |first=Tim |author-link=Tim Mohr |title=Cornel West Talks Rhymes and Race |magazine=[[Playboy]] |volume=54 |issue=11 |page=44 |date=November 2007}}</ref>}}

====2010s: Increase in use and controversy====
In the 2010s, "nigger" in its various forms saw use with increasing frequency by African Americans amongst themselves or in self-expression, the most common swear word in hip hop music lyrics.<ref name="freq">{{cite news |last1=Sheinin |first1=Dave |last2=Thompson |first2=Krissah |author-link2=Krissah Thompson |title=Redefining the Word |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/sf/national/2014/11/09/the-n-word-an-entrenched-racial-slur-now-more-prevalent-than-ever/ |access-date=May 24, 2019 |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=November 9, 2014 |archive-date=May 12, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190512104225/https://www.washingtonpost.com/sf/national/2014/11/09/the-n-word-an-entrenched-racial-slur-now-more-prevalent-than-ever/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="wapo">{{cite news |title=Profanity in lyrics: most used swear words and their usage by popular genres |work=Musixmatch |url=https://blog.musixmatch.com/profanity-in-lyrics-most-used-swear-words-and-their-usage-by-popular-genres-d8a12c776713 |access-date=May 24, 2019 |date=December 16, 2015}}</ref> [[Ta-Nehisi Coates]] suggested that it continues to be unacceptable for non-blacks to utter while singing or rapping along to hip-hop, and that by being so restrained it gives white Americans (specifically) an impression of what it is like to not be entitled to "do anything they please, anywhere". A concern often raised is whether frequent exposure will inevitably lead to a dilution of the extremely negative perception of the word among the majority of non-black Americans who currently consider its use unacceptable and shocking.<ref name="coates">{{cite news |last1=Bain |first1=Marc |title=Ta-Nehisi Coates Gently Explains Why White People Can't Rap the N-Word |url=https://qz.com/quartzy/1127824/ta-nehisi-coates-explains-why-white-hip-hop-fans-cant-use-the-n-word/ |access-date=May 24, 2019 |work=Quartz |date=November 13, 2017 |archive-date=May 24, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190524183923/https://qz.com/quartzy/1127824/ta-nehisi-coates-explains-why-white-hip-hop-fans-cant-use-the-n-word/ |url-status=live }}</ref>