- Apr 14, 2001
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New York City Moves to Ban the 'N-Word'
By SARA KUGLER
AP
NEW YORK (Feb. 28) - A city councilman says he hears it over and over on the streets of New York City: young people casually addressing each other using a racial slur that has a painful history intertwined with slavery.
"You hear it 10 times within two minutes," says Councilman Leroy Comrie.
On Wednesday, Comrie will urge the council to approve a symbolic resolution calling for New Yorkers to voluntarily stop using the N-word. The effort began weeks ago at the start of Black History Month, and has gradually gained nationwide notice and support.
Comrie and other backers of the nonbinding measure say its purpose is to call attention to what they say is a troubling trend among entertainers and youths to try to repackage the N-word as a term of endearment and camaraderie.
Hip-hop artists in particular have been singled out for weaving the term into music and entertainment, which some say waters it down and convinces younger audiences that the word is acceptable.
Some argue that doing so is empowering, and that reclaiming a slur and giving it a new meaning takes away its punch.
Comrie disagrees, saying it is impossible to paper over the N-word's long and hurtful history.
"This was derived solely from hate and anger, and you just can't recreate it," Comrie said.
The word has received increased attention since the incident last year in which actor Michael Richards, who played the nutty Kramer on "Seinfeld," used the word while blowing up at audience members during a standup routine. Richards later apologized and said that the outburst was motivated by anger, not racism.
After the Richards episode, black leaders including the Rev. Jesse Jackson and California Rep. Maxine Waters challenged the public and the entertainment industry - including rap artists, actors and movie studios - to stop using the epithet.
Other municipalities are considering measures similar to New York City's, and a historically black college in Alabama recently held a four-day conference to discuss the word.
By SARA KUGLER
AP
NEW YORK (Feb. 28) - A city councilman says he hears it over and over on the streets of New York City: young people casually addressing each other using a racial slur that has a painful history intertwined with slavery.
"You hear it 10 times within two minutes," says Councilman Leroy Comrie.
On Wednesday, Comrie will urge the council to approve a symbolic resolution calling for New Yorkers to voluntarily stop using the N-word. The effort began weeks ago at the start of Black History Month, and has gradually gained nationwide notice and support.
Comrie and other backers of the nonbinding measure say its purpose is to call attention to what they say is a troubling trend among entertainers and youths to try to repackage the N-word as a term of endearment and camaraderie.
Hip-hop artists in particular have been singled out for weaving the term into music and entertainment, which some say waters it down and convinces younger audiences that the word is acceptable.
Some argue that doing so is empowering, and that reclaiming a slur and giving it a new meaning takes away its punch.
Comrie disagrees, saying it is impossible to paper over the N-word's long and hurtful history.
"This was derived solely from hate and anger, and you just can't recreate it," Comrie said.
The word has received increased attention since the incident last year in which actor Michael Richards, who played the nutty Kramer on "Seinfeld," used the word while blowing up at audience members during a standup routine. Richards later apologized and said that the outburst was motivated by anger, not racism.
After the Richards episode, black leaders including the Rev. Jesse Jackson and California Rep. Maxine Waters challenged the public and the entertainment industry - including rap artists, actors and movie studios - to stop using the epithet.
Other municipalities are considering measures similar to New York City's, and a historically black college in Alabama recently held a four-day conference to discuss the word.
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