[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 154 (2008), Part 4]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages 5207-5208]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




 EXPRESSING THE BENEFIT OF EDUCATING PEOPLE ABOUT THE NEGATIVE HISTORY 
                        AND IMPACT OF THE N-WORD

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. CHARLES B. RANGEL

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                         Friday, April 4, 2008

  Mr. RANGEL. Madam Speaker, I rise today to express my full support 
and recognition of the efforts made by Council Member Leroy Comrie, 
with cosponsors Abolish The N-Word Project Inc. and the Universal 
Circus, to organize the second annual Black History Month Essay 
Contest, which essay theme was: ``Why The N-Word Should Never Be 
Used?''
  In New York City, freedom of speech is granted depending on which 
word you use, but do not dare let the ``n-word'' slip to your comrades. 
The ``n-word'' has been around for

[[Page 5208]]

nearly as long as language itself. According to Merriam-Webster, the 
origin comes from the ``neger'' modification, and the French ``negre,'' 
and the Spanish ``negro.'' However, within the English language, the n-
word was used to depict blacks during the slave trade. Blacks 
subsequently embraced a more palatable form, ``negro.'' This with the 
end of slavery and imposition of the Jim Crew was altered as a sign of 
disrespect and contempt. Today, some ``mainstream'' hip-hop recording 
artists slide the n-word into their albums. And when they clamor their 
way up the Billboard pop charts everyone listens, including the New 
York City Council.
  The abolish the N-Word Project Inc. has many worldwide supporters, 
with a mailing list of 27,000 people and 13 million hits on their Web 
site. Some critics state that focusing on a word will not solve the 
multitude of problems that exist within the black community. I support 
the council member's initiative; after all it has developed critical 
thinking wither and conversation about the use of the word is 
appropriate.
  The initiative of the council member's n-word essay contest educated 
young people about the negative history and impact of the n-word. 
Educating our society and making us conscious is important, because we 
need to begin to work with our children to have them understand the 
history and cultural meaning of a word that should only be used with 
such understanding.

                          ____________________