by Jackie Tang
We use language everyday to communicate with other people, but some of the language we use today can hurt others. Most don’t know the history behind the word they use to hurt people. The n-word is a word many don’t like to use around people or others, but at school, it’s being used more than ever before by students at YB. Most of those students may not know the hurtful or insulting meaning behind the word.
The n-word is commonly being used, not just in public, but around and during school as well. Nowadays, the staff at YB have heard it being said more often during school this year than last year. Students using it tend to think it’s rather just a joke than an insult to others, as many think it is. Some using it don’t know the history behind the use of the n-word and the difference between the “-er” and an “-a.”
The n-word started off as the word “negro” back in the slavery era, and eventually evolved to the word “ni**er.” Intentionally, it was a derogatory term linked to brutality and violence. It, “still stings when being used around blacks and is a wound that never healed,” according to Odyessyonline.com. Zeba Bay, a writer from the Huffington Post, also said she feels the “n-word is not going away and there is no excuses for using it.”
A website titled the A.A registry, which had history on the n-word, said it is also a “principal term of white racism.” It mostly came with hate and disgust towards black people. The n-word is also used to terrorize and put others down.
In a school survey at YB, 21 students responded when asked the questions, “how often do you hear the n-word at school?” and “how often do you say it?” Most of them had responded to the fact by saying that they don’t use it at all but they hear it multiple times during school.
Jahpaul Best, a senior at YB, agrees with hearing the word being used a lot around the school. He feels “very offended and upset” when others say it and he can’t do anything about it. He also is personally offended when he hears it during class whenever his friends say it. He “thinks it’s a joke that people don’t care whenever they say the n-word around him”.
Miss Wadlington, a teacher at LVLA, had a similar issue at her school hearing the n-word being used around her. She says, “right now, black students are feeling uncomfortable and unsafe. If it stays that way, students will have a harder time for no reason.”
She also feels it’s detrimental to the students and not responsible for the teachers to not teach their students about the word and its perpetuating white supremacy. She helps to take action against this by doing a reflection process on the n-word for students who read, and when they use it and how it harms the community. They also have to make amends with the students they harmed by using the n-word.
Second hand language students, who are currently English learners at YB, also tend to hear the n-word being used around them in school, during brunch or lunch. They don’t know or understand the meaning behind it, and can accidentally use it without knowing it can offend or insult someone around them.
The n-word isn’t just a word you can use and not realize the hurtful and personal meaning behind it. It can also offend a lot of people and the person who is using it might not realize it insults people. If students don’t use the n-word less now, it may cause some major problems at YB.
The n-word is commonly being used, not just in public, but around and during school as well. Nowadays, the staff at YB have heard it being said more often during school this year than last year. Students using it tend to think it’s rather just a joke than an insult to others, as many think it is. Some using it don’t know the history behind the use of the n-word and the difference between the “-er” and an “-a.”
The n-word started off as the word “negro” back in the slavery era, and eventually evolved to the word “ni**er.” Intentionally, it was a derogatory term linked to brutality and violence. It, “still stings when being used around blacks and is a wound that never healed,” according to Odyessyonline.com. Zeba Bay, a writer from the Huffington Post, also said she feels the “n-word is not going away and there is no excuses for using it.”
A website titled the A.A registry, which had history on the n-word, said it is also a “principal term of white racism.” It mostly came with hate and disgust towards black people. The n-word is also used to terrorize and put others down.
In a school survey at YB, 21 students responded when asked the questions, “how often do you hear the n-word at school?” and “how often do you say it?” Most of them had responded to the fact by saying that they don’t use it at all but they hear it multiple times during school.
Jahpaul Best, a senior at YB, agrees with hearing the word being used a lot around the school. He feels “very offended and upset” when others say it and he can’t do anything about it. He also is personally offended when he hears it during class whenever his friends say it. He “thinks it’s a joke that people don’t care whenever they say the n-word around him”.
Miss Wadlington, a teacher at LVLA, had a similar issue at her school hearing the n-word being used around her. She says, “right now, black students are feeling uncomfortable and unsafe. If it stays that way, students will have a harder time for no reason.”
She also feels it’s detrimental to the students and not responsible for the teachers to not teach their students about the word and its perpetuating white supremacy. She helps to take action against this by doing a reflection process on the n-word for students who read, and when they use it and how it harms the community. They also have to make amends with the students they harmed by using the n-word.
Second hand language students, who are currently English learners at YB, also tend to hear the n-word being used around them in school, during brunch or lunch. They don’t know or understand the meaning behind it, and can accidentally use it without knowing it can offend or insult someone around them.
The n-word isn’t just a word you can use and not realize the hurtful and personal meaning behind it. It can also offend a lot of people and the person who is using it might not realize it insults people. If students don’t use the n-word less now, it may cause some major problems at YB.