{"product_id":"the-n-word-who-can-say-it-who-shouldnt-and-why-9780547053493","title":"The N Word: Who Can Say It, Who Shouldn't, and Why","description":"\u003ch2\u003eThe N Word: Who Can Say It, Who Shouldn't, and Why\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eA renowned cultural critic untangles the twisted history and future of racism through its most volatile word. This groundbreaking work by Jabari Asim reveals how the term \"nigger\" has both reflected and spread the scourge of bigotry in America over the four hundred years since it was first spoken on our shores.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch3\u003eHistorical Analysis of America's Most Controversial Slur\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eAsim pinpoints Thomas Jefferson as the source of our enduring image of the \"nigger.\" In a seminal but now obscure essay, Jefferson marshaled a welter of pseudoscience to define the stereotype of a shiftless child-man with huge appetites and stunted self control. The book reveals how nineteenth-century \"science\" then colluded with popular culture to amplify this slander. What began as false generalizations became institutionalized in every corner of our society: the arts and sciences, sports, the law, and on the streets.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch3\u003eFrom Mark Twain to Dave Chappelle: Context and Usage\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eAsim's conclusion is as original as his premise. He argues that even when uttered with the opposite intent by hipsters and hip-hop icons, the slur helps keep blacks at the bottom of America's socioeconomic ladder. But Asim also proves there is a place for the word in the mouths and on the pens of those who truly understand its twisted history—from Mark Twain to Dave Chappelle to Mos Def. Only when we know its legacy can we loosen this slur's grip on our national psyche.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch3\u003eEssential Reading for Understanding Race in America\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThis work serves as an essential resource for educators, students, and anyone seeking to understand the complex relationship between language, power, and racial identity in American society. Through meticulous research and compelling narrative, Asim provides the historical context necessary to engage with one of the most charged words in the English language.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eAsim, Jabari:\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e - JABARI ASIM is the editor in chief of The Crisis, the NAACP's flagship publication. For the previous eleven years he was an editor at the Washington Post Book World. His writing has appeared in Essence, Salon, the Los Angeles Times, the Village Voice, the Hungry Mind Review, Emerge, and elsewhere. He lives in Maryland.","brand":"Houghton Mifflin","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50680646074642,"sku":"9780547053493","price":13.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_0f0fe49a-c9c9-4f25-8c9b-c12eef268761.jpg?v=1734923698","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/the-n-word-who-can-say-it-who-shouldnt-and-why-9780547053493","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}