A forum including some older voices from the Black community will attempt to clarify whether the N-word has a place in today’s vocabulary at Queens’ Roy Wilkins Park this Saturday at 2 p.m. Scheduled to share their personal views are Green Party presidential candidate Cynthia McKinney, concert promoter Leonard Rowe and artist representative and William Morris Agency affiliate Marcus Washington. It will be hosted by ex-WBAI program director Bernard White.
Although the term derives from the Latin word “negro,” which literally means “black,” it actually has an Khemetic/African origin, which translates to “god.”
“The etymology of the word n—– dates back thousands of years; it derived from the more ancient title Nagust. The derivative term n—-, although altered in its spelling and the denotative meaning changed, still sustains the essential power force that appears in its root
word,” explained TaharQa Amun Ra-Heru Ankh Ka Ptah Aleem, author of the book “The 66 Attributes of the Nigger.”
Once on the shores of North America, the term took on another meaning altogether. It was used to denigrate
Black people, particularly dark-complexioned men with prominent African features. As was customarily done, their creative energies went to work and reawakened their ancestral amnesia DNA.
Legendary comedian Redd Foxx often utilized it during his live routines during the ’60s and ’70s prior to cleaning up his act on his TV sitcom “Sanford & Son.”
Hip-hop progenitors the Last Poets popularized the term by incorporating it in the title of their recordings: “Run, Nigger,” “Wake Up, Niggers” and the classic “Niggers Are Scared of Revolution.”
“Die, n——, die, so Black people can live!” founding member Abiodun Oyewole expressed.
The hip-hop generation has also popularized the word in recent years, as exemplified in A Tribe Called Quest’s “Sucka Nigga” off of their 1993 “Midnight Marauders” album. In the song, Q-Tip divulges the use of the word.
While the youth attempts to justify its use as a term of endearment, some say there is no way it can be used in a positive manner. “There’s too much blood on that word to try and justify its use!” determined street scholar Kem-Neter.
As original people continue to seek their true identity in the Western Hemisphere, moving from various titles that have been placed upon them that demonstrate no nationality–from colored to negro to Black–they continue to reverse the negative connotations placed upon them by other people.
Come out and make your voice be heard.
“Nagust is a term from the ancient Khemetic holy language of Ge’ez. The original intent of the Khemetic priests that gave birth to the word was to infuse into it positive attributes to be bestowed on a king; thus, in ancient Abyssinia and Punt, the crowned monarch would be known as the Nagust,” concluded TaharQa.
“Don’t just blame the youth for the ‘n’ word” is sponsored by CEMOTAP. It will be held Sat. July 14 at 2 p.m. at the Black Spectrum Theatre inside Roy Wilkins Park, at Baisley and Merrick boulevards. For more information, call (347) 907-0629.