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Last Updated: May 30th, 2008 - 11:49:13 |
In The N Word, Jabari Asim picks apart the most volatile, multi-defined and inciteful word in African American culture. A former deputy book editor for The Washington Post and now editor of The Crisis magazine, Asim refers to black face lyrics, civil war novels, lynching records, and even conversations overheard in the oval office to put the "N" word in perspective.
While this book may seem like merely another coy offering of opinion, it is a highly intellectual manuscript that offers complex ideas about the societal etymology of "nigger." (Classify it as stone cold non-fiction!) Asim makes his pen his literary shovel and digs deep into history untouched by most cultural critics.
Asim uses many anecdotes to illuminate the atrocious use of the word throughout history. He writes about Abraham Lincoln using the N word freely in the White House and the term's rampant presence during the era of black face minstrelsy. He also exposes the absurdity of "niggerology," the archaic study of African Americans that traces back to slavery. He mockingly writes, "At the same time, white scientists'
fixation with African penises, extant since at least the fifteenth century, peaked in grisly fashion."
N word discussions are usually worn out, but Asim breathes new life into this perpetual debate. Though The N Word remains mostly objective, Asim does dip into a first-person viewpoint from time to time in order to offer a personal perspective. He investigates the origin of this physically connotative word and tracks its evolution from colonial times. The N Word is bionic opinion, backed up with little researched moments in history.
Sidik Fofana is a writer living in New York City
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