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Stimulating Thought About Racial Epithets
"Cora Unashamed," which appears in Langston Hughes' collection The Ways of White Folks
, contains the dreaded "n" word. On the first page of the story the narrator tells the reader:
Cora Jenkins was one of the least of the citizens of Melton. She was what the people referred to when they wanted to be polite, as a Negress, and when they
wanted to be rude, as a nigger -- sometimes adding the "wench" for no good reason. (3)
The passage captures the very reason why we as educators are remiss if we covertly ban works which contain the word "nigger" from our classrooms because of some misguided
sentiment that we do not wish our students to hear. Perhaps we don't want to be responsible for its perpetuation, or we do not wish to offend African American students in
the class. Rather, we must stress that the use of derogatory terms for specific groups has been and is a part of American culture.
Racial epithets are used by the one group to cast another group in an inferior light as a means of maintaining power. You may consider asking students to list examples of these
kinds of words such as honky, spic, and redneck. Afterwards, you should ask if they know the origins of these words. More often than not, as my student did when I asked him what
he meant by "I tried to Jew him down," he or she will explain the meaning of the phrase. I asked this student if he realized that this simple phrase stereotypes an entire group of
people much like the phrase, "he teenaged the job," does. I explained that "teenaged the job" means the employee is irresponsible. My student shrugged his shoulders and
responded: "I didn't think about it like that," which proves my point. We want our students to think. Then I asked the class how teenagers would feel if "he/she teenaged the
job" were to slip into common usage. After this discussion, the attention of the class can
be directed back to the short story. Racism as Learned Behavior
The key words in the cited passage from "Cora Unashamed" are "when they wanted to be rude" and "for no good reason." The former implies choice and knowledge that a specific
word can put someone, in this case Cora, in his or her place. The latter implies a lack of justification for the action. The entire story, laden with irony, demonstrates that Cora has
something wealth and power cannot buy -- compassion. We can point out to our students that often times we use such words without thought, much as the people of Melton do.
We use them because we have learned them from others. This is an appropriate place to discuss racism as a learned behavior, not an inborn one. Why has
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn been deemed racist by many whereas "Cora Unashamed" has not? After all, the "n" word appears in both. Both works were
written during eras when the term was more widely accepted than it now is; therefore, its use reflects thought at the time. Questions of this variety help students not only to place
texts within their historical and social context, but also to understand the complexities of racism. It will not take long for someone in the class to identify that one is written by a
white individual, the other by an African American. Should this make a difference in the availability of the works? It can also be related to aspects of their own lives which may
confuse them. For example, "nigger" is used by black rappers; younger African Americans may use the word to address a friend. Given this, why is it permissible for African
Americans to use this term and not permissible for others? Racial Irony and the Power of Language
In interpreting "Cora Unashamed," we can focus on how irony is created by both the use of the "n" word and the stereotypes that the term invokes. Mrs. Art Studevant, for
instance, is described as "the civic and social leader of Melton, president of the Woman's Club three years straight, and one of the pillars of her church" (10). Cora Jenkins, we are
told, is "the oldest of a family of eight children -- the Jenkins niggers" (4). The irony in these descriptions can be discussed by asking such questions as:
- Does Mrs. Studevant's status in the community make her a "good" person?
- Does Cora's low status make her a "bad" one?
The students can be required to use actual passages from the text to support their answers. They will quickly discover that the respected Mrs. Studevant is "ashamed of stupid
Jessie," her own daughter. But Cora, who lost her own illegitimate child, does not find fault with Jessie as others do. We can also help students understand language's political and social power by having
them look closely at the use of names. For example, the reader is not given Mrs. Art Studevant's first name. The story takes place during a time when women attained their
status and identity through their husbands. Even the sound of the name invokes images of a high social class. Mrs. Art Studevant freely calls Cora by her first name, yet Cora
addresses her as Mrs. Art Studevant. In this way, Hughes uses language to indicate who holds the power and the authority between the two women. Human Acceptance When Cora takes Jessie under her protective wing, Hughes writes:
Like all the unpleasant things in the house, Jessie was left to Cora. And Cora was happy. To have a child to raise, a child the same age as her Josephine would have
been, gave her purpose in life, a warmth inside herself. It was Cora who nursed and mothered and petted and loved the dull little Jessie through the years. (11)
Much like the raft on which Jim and Huck floated down the Mississippi, the kitchen becomes a raft for Cora and Jessie. We are told that "in the kitchen Jessie bloomed" (10).
As described above, Cora and Jessie appreciate each other as human beings. Similarly, when Huck awakens to Jim the man, he goes beyond what society has taught him: namely
that people of Jim's color are just niggers and less than human. As Huck evolves morally, he learns for himself that you can't judge a person by their skin color.
Should we deny our students the chance to confront and to ponder how language operates to dehumanize people? No, because the message in each of these works is clear: The more
we get to know someone as an individual, the more difficult it is to apply stereotypes. Huck's acceptance of Jim as a human being provides an example to the class:
I went to sleep, and Jim didn't call me when it was my turn. He often done that. When I waked up, just at day-break, he was setting there with his head down
betwixt his knees, moaning and mourning to himself. I didn't take notice, nor let on. I knowed what it was about. He was thinking about his wife and his children, away
up yonder, and he was low and homesick; because he hadn't ever been away from home before in his life; and I do believe he cared just as much for his people as
white folks does for their'n. It don't seem natural, but I reckon it's so. He was often moaning and mourning that way, nights, when he judged I was asleep, and
saying, "Po' little 'Lizbeth! po' little Johnny! It's mighty hard; I spec' I ain't ever gwyne to see you no mo', no no'! He was a mighty good nigger, Jim was. (125)
Huck hasn't totally gone beyond his acculturation, as evidenced by "He was a mighty good nigger." But the consideration and respect Huck demonstrates in acknowledging
Jim's pain and allowing Jim privacy to grieve, indicates that Huck has started on his journey. Modern Implications
The "n" word has not disappeared from contemporary vocabulary. Rap music, whose
audience is not solely or even primarily African-American, often uses the word. In many instances, the term is used in the same way that Hughes and Twain use it in their works. A
song by popular rapper Ice-T, echoes the narrator's words in the short story, "Cora Unashamed:"
Cora was humble and shameless before the fact of the child. There were no Negroes in Melton to gossip, and she didn't care what the white people said. They were in another world. (7)
Implicit in this description is Cora's sense of self. She knows who she is, and she is unashamed. In a 1991 song named "Straight Up Nigga," Ice-T sings:
Damn right I'm a nigga, and I don't care what you are. Cause I'm a capital N-i-double g-e-r. Black people might get mad, Cause they don't see,
That they're looked upon, as a nigga just like me.
The message from Ice-T reflects a strong sense of self. At the same time, his presentation of reality cuts to the core of racism. That's to say, no matter how varied the individuals in a
minority group might be (e.g., socioeconomic status, personality, ability, or morality), the majority group will assume stereotypes about the whole group. Mildred Taylor, author of
Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry, a Newberry Award winning novel, understands this aspect of racism and subverts it by creating characters who act as
autonomous individuals. Like Hughes and Twain, Taylor does not portray all African Americans as good and all Caucasians as bad. In fact, she portrays her characters as
people most often are -- humans, with strengths and weaknesses. For example, Mr. Logan, a hard working, moral man, says to his son concerning Jeremy, a white boy:
"'Far as I'm concerned, friendship between black and white don't mean that much 'cause it usually ain't on a equal basis. Right now you and Jeremy might get along
fine, but, in a few years he'll think of himself as a man but you'll probably still be a boy to him. And if he feels that way, he'll turn on you in a minute." (157)
To be sure, Mr. Logan's advice is informed by his experience in Mississippi in the 1930s and by the desire to protect his son. On the other hand, his remark "cause white folks
mean trouble" demonstrates that he, too, is denying Jeremy a chance, based strictly on the color of his skin. Stacey's statement: "...and the white kids laugh him 'cause he do [walks
to school with the Logan kids]. But he don't seem to let it bother him none... . I s'pose I like him all right. Is that wrong?" goes unheeded by Mr. Logan, who has stripped Jeremy
of his individuality the same way the people of Melton have denied Cora hers. The word "nigger" is used in various places in Taylor's work of fiction for children (ages
ten and above). For example, Taylor writes, "'Just look at all the little niggers come to dance and the laughter of the men filled the room" (84). Earlier in the novel is a scene which all
too clearly underscores the injustice of discrimination. Cassie Logan, a ten-year-old accidentally bumps into a girl her age, a white girl. Someone in the crowd which begins to
gather says: "'Ain't that the same little nigger was cuttin' up back there at Jim Lee's?' " This occurred after the girl's father twisted Cassie's arm and shoved her off the sidewalk
into the road (114). This not only is how some people spoke, but also how some acted. Do we wish to pretend they didn't?
Children reading this work do not focus on the "n" word; they focus on the humiliation and confusion Cassie experiences. They have come to know Cassie and her life, as it is from
her perspective the story is told. The reader knows that there are things Cassie doesn't understand, but they come to understand the irrationality of the white people's behavior.
It is the irrationality of racist behavior that we can focus on and discuss in the classroom when we share these works with students.
Who should be afraid of the "n" word? None of us! Mark Twain's The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn should not be kept from our classrooms any more than Langston
Hughes' literature or Mildred Taylor's. There is rap music which is offensive, but there is also rap which is about social protest. Students hear the "n" word in rap music, and they
read the "n" word in literary works, but do they understand its power in the past and present? We are obligated to make sure they do. Works Cited
Clemens, Samuel. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. (1885) New York: W.W. Norton and Co., 1977.
Hughes, Langston. "Cora Unashamed." The Ways of White Folks. New York: Vintage Books, 1990. 3-18. Ice-T. "Straight Up Nigga."
Ice-T: OG. Sire Records, 7599-26492-2, 1991. Taylor, Mildred. Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry. (1976) New York: Puffin Books, 1991.
Dr. Claudia Matherly Stolz teaches at Indiana University East, Indiana. |
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