Blackening the N-word honors African dignity, rejecting the replication of dehumanizing language while acknowledging it’s history. Sharon L. Bethea, President, The Association of Black Psychologists Inc.
Position Paper The Association of Black Psychologists Condemnation of the N-Word
By: Wade Nobles and Zetha Nobles
Introduction
The Association of Black Psychologists (ABPsi) has a longstanding commitment to addressing issues that affect the mental health, dignity, and well-being of African (Black) people worldwide. In alignment with this mission, the ABPsi recognizes the urgent need to confront the pervasive use of the word N— aka the n-word (henceforth redacted in the text). It is a term deeply rooted in the history of white supremacy, racism, and the denigration of blackness. This position paper outlines the reasons behind the ABPsi’s resolution to denounce the use of the word ——— and advocates for its eradication from public discourse.
Historical Context and Legacy
The word —— aka n-word has a long and sordid history as a tool of oppression, used to dehumanize, degrade, demean and denigrate African people. It is a linguistic tool of white supremacy, embedded with the power dynamics of domination, enslavement, and systemic racism. It is the epitome of psychic terrorism that distorts the sense of worth and value. The ABPsi acknowledges that the continued use of the N-word perpetuates the untreated legacy of racial hatred and violence against African (Black) people. The lingering and popular utilization of the word, —— concretizes the semantics of domination, enslavement, oppression, privilege, power, superiority and inferiority needed to maintain the caste denigration, demeaning and dehumanization of African (Black) people.
The ABPsi recognizes the extensive psychological damage caused by the use of the N-word which directly impacts the consciousness and identity of African (Black) people and serves as a mentally denigrating trigger for racial animus and socio-psychopathology.
Cultural and Psychological Impacts
The N-word is not just a word; it is a weapon that inflicts direct and subliminal psychological harm. It reinforces negative stereotypes and perpetuates a false sense of white superiority and black inferiority caste system. The word —— supports the bi-polar false sense of White superiority and Black inferiority; unknowingly and intentionally continue the unabated denigration of Black people, foster relationships of disregard and disrespect; and creates denigrating and even deadly conflict between people and groups in American society. The ABPsi recognizes that the casual and widespread use of the N-word in popular culture, including music, literature, and media, normalizes its toxicity and desensitizes individuals to its harmful effects. This normalization contributes to the intergenerational trauma and psychic terrorism experienced by African (Black) people. The stigma of this word embodies and invokes painful memories, intergenerational trauma, mental terror, inhumane ill-will, and racial animus. Its’ devastating impact of discrimination and white supremacy, racism, and anti-blackness can no longer be ignored or tolerated.
