Earlier
this year, Attorney Roy Miller of Atlanta announced
his challenge to Blacks to mark the "n" word
out of his or her dictionaries beginning this month.
Miller has encouraged groups,
clubs and organizations to adopt resolutions discouraging
the use of the "n" word against a child or
to describe a child and to make the resolution a part
of their guiding principles.
He has called on families and
groups to meet this month and discuss how the use of
that word has impacted their lives. Miller, who specializes
in juvenile law, has asked for them to sign a resolution
to pledge to discontinue the use of the "n"
word when referring to themselves and particularly when
referring to children. As a show of solidarity, he has
asked for the children to initiate marking the word
out of their dictionaries and out of their lives.
The children will take the lead and
announce to the world that it is not acceptable, humorous,
nor in style to refer to them as "n" words.
Since that announcement, support has poured in from
across the globe.
Since his 12-year-old niece was shocked
and offended by the definition of the word "nigger"
that she found in her dictionary, Miller has launched
a crusade against its use by Black people in general
and toward Black children in particular.
That incident provided the motivation
to make Miller beseech dictionary publishers to delete
the "n" word from future publications. In
1994, Miller became the first and only person to succeed
at having the "n" word deleted from a major
dictionary.
Part of his argument has been that,
if we have any respect at all for our ancestors, Black
adults should be ashamed to refer to their Black babies
and children by that offensive and disparaging term.
Miller is renewing his challenge to
families and organizations to talk about the word and
its affect on their lives and then to adopt resolutions
pledging to acknowledge the "n" word as the
ultimate insult against the Black race. Furthermore,
Miller is asking that all people mark out the definition
in their personal dictionaries as a show of unity. A
sample resolution can be found on Miller's website.
Since the initial publication, Miller
has received worldwide support. The London-based Organization
Ligali, founded by Toyin Agbetu, has partnered with
Miller and pledged support. Jill Merritt, of www.abolishthenword.com,
included Miller's challenge in the site's recent newsletter.
In Detroit Michigan, a grade school teacher is using
the resolution and discussion as the basis for a class
project. Gabrielle Ellison, a broadcast communication
major at Purdue University Indiana, will be hosting
an assembly of fellow students to discuss the issue
from the "20-something" perspective.
Other groups and companies that have
expressed agreement include Morgan Communications of
Atlanta, the Atlanta Chapter of the Tuskegee Airmen,
and the Dayton Ohio Chapter of the NAACP.
Miller states, "Zero tolerance
towards being disrespected must be established in the
Black community, and it must start with Blacks respecting
Black children. How can our babies be children of God
and 'n' words at the same time? Does not such reference
to the child also refer to the father?"
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