My Baby Boomer Dad’s Position on the N-word

My daddy and I are pretty close. It has always been this way. We have not always agreed on everything – especially when I wanted to stay out all night and party till dawn while in high school – but we worked through our differences and now are like two peas in a pod. We often debate the topics of the day and have impassioned debates about community issues and the difference between our generations. Recently, my dad was incensed about the discussion of the use of the N-word in professional sports. Now, if y’all have read my blog before, you know my dad is a baby boomer, born in Birmingham, Alabama, who had a front row seat to the Civil Rights movement. He vividly remembers segregation of the likes we can’t even comprehend today. He wanted to talk about this N-word topic and asked if he could contribute a think piece to my blog. Without further adieu, here’s my dad Curtis Crawford’s pondering: is there ever a proper and appropriate use of the N-word? Oh and P.S., on this topic, I agree with dear ol’ dad. 😉

Recently the National Football League has been considering penalizing football players on the field for using the N- word. This consideration has caused a lot of debate mostly among commentators on the sports channels of the various TV networks. They are having intense discussions to determine whether or not a penalty is warranted or appropriate. There has been little or no debate that I have seen concerning white commentators discussing this issue, however the discussion is mainly among African-American commentators who have voiced their pros and cons of the feasibility of penalizing individuals for using the N-word on the field of play. The playing field for football players is their work environment so anything that produces a hostile environment in the workplace that is not a legitimate form of the entity’s mission can be a problem for all involved. The players who use the N- word or any other words or actions that could be defined as offensive or a violation as it relates to race, sex, religion, age or sexual preference could be an EEOC issue. The National Football League owners are the employers of these football players and it appears that they would be remiss if they did not view this in the most appropriate and proper manner, although this has been occurring for a significant period of time. The demographics in the National Football League have changed from mostly white to mostly African-American over the years. For a very long period of time, the N-word has had a bad connotation in both the African-American and white communities in this country.

The N-word is probably the most offensive word in the English language. Its degree of offensiveness has increased markedly in recent years, although it has been used in a derogatory manner since Africans were brought to this country as slaves. This word is extremely disparaging and its offensive meanings are deeply insulting and are used when the speaker deliberately wishes to cause great offense. It is so profoundly offensive that a euphemism has developed for those occasions when the word itself must be discussed, as in court, professional settings or in a newspaper editorial, “the N-word”. When this word is used against an African American, it embodies and emotes prejudice, racism and economic, political and social disenfranchisement.

Let’s take a look at the reasoning why some of the African-American sports commentators believe that it is justified to use the N-word in the NFL field of play. I think that we can precisely and succinctly explain their justification as to their motivation and ignorance for the use of this word. They contend that this word has been used for many years in the NFL and that no one has attempted to dissuade individuals from using it when the users are mostly African-Americans. In the past, the NFL has been mainly dominated by whites and as time has passed the demographics have changed to where the majority of players are African-Americans. The younger generation of African-Americans and the general market hears this word in everyday life as performed in music and other mediums of communications. There is little regard for the historical meaning or understanding behind the use of the N-word by the younger generation. Specifically, younger African-Americans have become comfortable with using the N-word among their friends, family and in some instances, in unfamiliar situations with little consequence to how other people may view them as they use the N-word to describe not only others, but also themselves.

These African American sports commentators believe in the notion that the use of the N-word can be reframed as a term of endearment with friends and other individuals. The N-word does not carry a meaning of endearment for anything. This is a widely held fallacy that the commentators and others are using to justify their belief that there is nothing wrong with the use of the N- word in the field of play. It appears no matter what futile attempt one may make in order to justify the use of the N-word in any regard, it will not change the true meaning of the N- word. In order to speak succinctly with a parable, “you can put lipstick on a pig, but you cannot change the fact that it is still a pig.” Does the English language have no other words that can be used as a term of endearment? It appears that the use of this word in its form is a means of self-deprecation and that the individuals who use it do not understand that that is a tremendous problem as it relates to those African-Americans who have come before them. It appears that there is a need to educate the younger generation, African-Americans and every race, as to the non-use and understanding of the N-word. Who is willing to do that for our young African-Americans in order for them to move forward in this country and not to disenfranchise themselves and be left further behind to impede the progress that has been achieved by those who came before them?

There is only one true meaning of the N-word and any deviation from that meaning is pure ignorance and foolishness and to believe otherwise is stupid. These sports commentators should leave their egos and hidden agendas with their simplistic view of the N-word at the doorstep and embrace the many severe sacrifices made by a lot of the previous generation who made it possible for these commentators to be in the positions that they have today. The African-American commentators should respect the legacy of our heroes and not cheapen their achievements by the folly of trying to justify the unjustifiable.

In conclusion, I want to congratulate those commentators who agree that the use of the N-word has no place in a diverse and civilized society. That word’s meaning cannot be changed by how someone wants to use it in specific situations for something that it was not created to address. Let’s not be fooled or cheapen our heritage in this country by allowing some to deface and diminish the struggles of all from the past.

So please let us all get this right for future generations.

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