ABSTRACT
During my first year of teaching, the administration and teachers were frustrated: They felt that the N-word was being used too frequently and casually in the halls. Their solution was to hold an assembly to denounce it. The event organizers invited a professor of psychology from a nearby university; he argued that the use of the N-word is manifestly dehumanizing, explaining that its use, and pejoratives like it, have provided the pretext for the most horrifying abuses in history. After his address, students, teachers, and administrators of diverse racial backgrounds conducted a panel discussion on the topic. Among the selected panelists, there was remarkable agreement with the speaker: many described how the word has hurt them in the past, or how they’ve been disgusted when close family members have used it.
