Nigga

"Nigga" is a colloquial term and ethnic slur coined by Black Americans to reinvent the original word Nigger that was used against them in a negative, degrading, and violent way during slavery and afterwards in the United States. Reinventing the word and it's use is a sign of ownership and reflects Black people's utter resilience that no matter what kind of adversity comes their way, they inevitably bounce back. So call them a negative word and they throw it back at you, and make it better AND now everyone else wants to use it and inevitably be one (nigga), even non-Black people. Why? Because it's cool. Why? Because Black made it cool. Black people have been trendsetters in American Pop-culture and have hugely influenced music, fashion, comedy, sports and the list goes on and on. And so, many Black communities still carry this word and will continue to do so as a form of rebellion because of how it used to be used in the past and now they can reinvent it (And honestly, still used to this day in a degrading manner. I was called one when I got lost in Stow, Ohio. But that's another story for another day). Anyway, if you are non-Black and try to use it or use it, especially in America or in the presence of conscious Black people, you will know right in that moment that you are NOT Black or entitled to that word because your ancestors did not struggle the way our Black ancestors did and Black people still do. And Black people will let you know that it is not okay. Do I like the word? NO. Do I use the word, NO. And I am black. Because my great, great, great grandfathers were called this word and whipped and hanged and enslaved and worked their entire lives without being paid a damned penny and so, I honor them by not saying it. That's my personal choice, but that's doesn't mean I am okay with anyone else using it. So NO I don't used it and when I see non-Black people in Belize jokingly saying it, I have pity...and I actually wonder if the souls of Black people will haunt non-Black people for digging up something they have no idea how it came about or even care how it affected the people it was used against.