The “Nigger Trinity”: Engaging the Discourse in Post Civil Rights/Post 1960s America Page: 2
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In 2004, actor and producer Samuel L. Jackson appeared in the documentary The N Word
as himself. In it, he said that he tells people he is "a Nigger," and if you messed with him he
would "do some niggardly shit to you." However, in 2005, when he played the title role in
Paramount/MTV Films' Coach Carter, he portrayed the opposite. His character does not allow
his players to use the word, and, at one point in the film, Jackson's character loudly scolds a
student for using the word. He tells the team that "the word 'Nigger' is a derogatory term used to
insult our ancestors. If a white man used it, you'd be ready to fight. Your using it teaches him to
use it. You're saying it's cool. Well, it's not cool, and when you're around me, I don't want to
hear that shit!" Samuel Jackson the actor is different than Samuel Jackson the person, but these
two different media examples show a complexity when it comes to this word's meaning. This is
more than a case of "selling out" for the media; this is a complicated example as to why this
word's meaning is difficult. Trying to figure out the different meanings and accents of "Nigger"
can be confusing. In fact, The Nigger Bible gives 39 definitions to the word (DeCoy 89). Spike
Lee and Samuel L. Jackson are not the only Americans that have changing ideas and emotions
concerning this word.
Trying to understand the anxieties that surround the word "Nigger" from an American
viewpoint can be a confusing social labyrinth of emotional ideologies. "Nigger" in American
English, when spoken, written, or heard, has the power to ignite an emotionally charged
encounter between two people, or many people. Some states in America have laws that deem the
word "Nigger" a "fighting word" and other states deem it a "mere" word. If this word is said in a
"fighting word" state, then a person could claim its use as "incite to fight" as part of a legal civil
defense charging the person who said it. In a "mere word" state, the word "Nigger," when said,
does not give any person any authority to fight because of its use; it is merely a word. (Kennedy
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Bell, Adrian Shane. The “Nigger Trinity”: Engaging the Discourse in Post Civil Rights/Post 1960s America, thesis, December 2011; Denton, Texas. (https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc103290/m1/7/: accessed July 18, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, UNT Digital Library, https://digital.library.unt.edu; .