[n] - Term used to describe the external control by a powerful country of its former colonies (or other less westernised countries) by economic pressures; contemporary policies adopted by international and western "1st world" nations and organisations that exert regulation, power and control over poorer "3rd world" nations disguised as humanitarian help or aid. These policies are distinct from but related to the "original" period of colonisation of Africa, Asia, and the Americas by European nations.

[n] - Negro is defined in the 1990 Oxford Reference Dictionary as a member of the black – or dark-skinned group of human populations that exist or originated in Africa south of the Sahara. Their physical attributes include woolly hair, thick lips, a broad short nose, projecting jaws and legs that are long relative to the torso.

The word is said to have word was used as far back as 1555, heralding from the Spanish or Portuguese word negro meaning ‘black’ and from the Latin ‘niger’/’nigra’, ‘nigrum’ defined as ‘black; dark; dis-coloured; sombre. Ill-omened’. Its usage as a European American sanctioned label occurred during 1930 in the New York Times stylebook in reference to African Americans.

In Harper's Weekly, June 2 1906, whilst being interrogated as to whether ‘negroes’ ought to be called 'negroes' or 'members of the colored race', African American Professor Booker T. Washington, replied that it has long been his own practice to write and speak of members of his race as negroes, and when using the term 'negro' as a race designation to employ the capital 'N'

However in the late 1960’s it was thought that the word ‘negroes’ still had a perceived association with colonial, racist attitudes and roles. The word was eventually phased out by government and replaced by Black.

n***er

[n] offensive label for an African or someone with African antecendents. Typically used by racists and Africans suffering from Cultural Disinheritance Syndrome.

N***er was defined in the 1990 Oxford Reference Dictionary simply as a ‘Black; a dark-skinned person’. The word originated 1786 and existed earlier in 1568 in Scottish and Northern England dialect in the form neger. It originates from the French word nègre, and Spanish negro.

During its earliest usage the inferiority of African people was a near universal assumption in European language speaking countries. It was in Gowers, 1965 that it was cited as ‘the term that carries with it all the obloquy and contempt and rejection which whites have inflicted on blacks’. The label was also applied by English settlers to dark-skinned native peoples in India, Australia and Polynesia.

In the late 18th century and early 19th century European writers chose to use black and after the American Civil War, colored person.

The first instance of Africans attempting the reclamation of the word to neutralize its potency as an offensive epitaph was attested first in the American South and then later (1968) in the Northern, by the ‘Black’ Power movement. The attempt at ‘reclamation’ remains ineffective as the word still retains its offensive connotation and is repeatedly used by racists. There were a few variants such as n***ah, attested from 1925 (without the -h, from 1969). However Nigra (1944) reflects a pronunciation in certain circles of Negro and is thus often deemed even more derogatory than n***er.

Offensive uses of the word include;
n***er in the woodpile attested by 1800; "A mode of accounting for the disappearance of fuel; an unsolved mystery" [R.H. Thornton, "American Glossary," 1912].

n***er heaven, "the top gallery in a (segregated) theater" first attested 1878 in ref. to Troy, N.Y.

n***er-brown, n***er-head, n***er brand, n***er-toe, etc - were used by European marketers in various combinations (e.g.) since 1840s for various objects with dark brown or black hues as euphemistic substitutions.

"'You're a fool n***er, and the worst day's work Pa ever did was to buy you,' said Scarlett slowly. ... There, she thought, I've said 'n***er' and Mother wouldn't like that at all." [Margaret Mitchell, "Gone With the Wind", 1936]

Its use can also be found in the works of such writers of the past as Joseph Conrad, Mark Twain and Charles Dickens

Pop and ‘urban’ culture

African American comedian Chris Rock became infamous for his controversial ‘N***as Vs. Black People’ sketch. In an interview during June 2001 he states ‘On one side, there's black people. On the other, you've got n***ers. The n***ers have got to go. I love black people, but I hate n***ers’. As a result of the popularity of this sketch, some people have tried to redefine the word to refer to an ‘African without a soul’.

In contrast popular African American comedian Richard Pryor originally well known for his frequent use of raw language, and racial epithets publicly swore he would never use the word ‘n***er’ in his stand-up comedy routine after having visited Africa and witnessed first hand the injustices of apartheid. As Richard Pryor told it to an audience years ago, he was in Africa sitting in a hotel lobby when he heard a voice speak to him;

“What do you see? Look around." And I looked around, and I looked around, and I saw people of all colors and shapes, and the voice said, "You see any n***ers?" I said, "No" It said, "You know why? 'Cause there aren't any."

The late rapper Tupac Shakur made a distinction between ‘n*gger’ and ‘n*gga’ by claiming that a n*gger is black man with a slavery chain around his neck and a n*gga is a black man with a gold chain on his neck, however, the majority of Africans disagree finding both(?) terms odious.

Synonyms: N****r, Negro, Coloured, Black

Related : Verniggerung

 

[n] - The origins of the expression nitty-gritty is said to be the term used to refer to debris left at the bottom of slavers ships after their voyages, including the African people who had perished during the journey once the surviving Africans had been removed.

Some researchers attribute it to African American Jazz musicians around 1961 concluding it could possibly originate from nit and grits. Other researchers claim that the phrase is a euphemism for sh**ty whilst others question the slavers ship relevance citing that the first European recording of it in print is in Random House Historical Dictionary of American Slang first published in 1956 some 90 years after the end of the slavery in the US. The assertion is that it is unlikely that it could have been around in the era of enslavement without having been written down.

However, most facts widely corroborate that this term had first been recognised as an offensive English language expression by African Americans. Indeed a 1974 issue of American Speech, the journal of the American Dialect Society suggested that nits refer to head lice and grits to the corn cereal.

In May 2002, Police criticised the use of the phrase ‘nitty-gritty’ by Home Office minister John Denham because officers are forbidden from using the term under race relations rules. Officers told him using the term was banned because it had connotations with slavery. When told about the phrase, Mr. Denham told delegates: ‘It does show there are phrases in our language that we are not aware of’. Home secretary David Blunkett dismissed the ‘nitty-gritty’ ban as absurd and ‘absolute silliness’ that distracted from the real issue of tackling racism in the police.

[n] - Term used to define the extreme politically and economically actions of western European countries to maintain global control of resources under the guise of globalization, capitalism and the ‘free market’. Similar to nazism, neoconism uses the direct rule of privately run national corporations to maintain and enforce nationalistic socialism globally. Neoconism abuses and ruthlessly exploits historical advantages gained by the maintenance of vast economic inequality. Neocon’s rely on a disproportionate balance of economic, nuclear and military power to enforce their agenda. One successful strategy used to neutralise and pacify perceived and potential opponents is the use of overt and covert propaganda propagating the ideals of capitalism and democracy through social, cultural and political representatives. Comparing the German Nazi (National Socialist) programme points of 1920 with that of the 21st Century NeoCons, it is possible to see how Neocon's through the 2001- 2004 G W Bush Presidency used the US government and administration to work predominantly in the interests of big business. Whilst con is short for European ‘conservative’ there is a misconception that ‘neo’ is short for ‘Jewish’.

Related:
http://www.pl.net/9politics/neocon.htm

Neo African