This was posted on another board and I thought it was a good column.
Who Speaks for “tha Nigga”
Min. Paul Scott
Back in the 60’s someone wrote a book that asked the eternal question, “Who speaks for the Negro?” In 2003, since many in the Black community “affectionately” refer to themselves and each other as “nigga’s” the 21st Century version of this question would be “Who Speaks for tha Nigga?”.
America is the great nigga production factory having inherited the nigga fortune from its parents in Europe. And while some may argue that various industrial or agricultural products may be America’s chief export; the real chief export is “nigga’s” As the American media has exported this image and effected policies in countries around the world based on this image. While some may point to electricity and the telephone as this country’s greatest invention, the crown jewel of white supremacy has been the creation of “tha nigga.”
Since the European’s first contact with African people, the ultimate goal was to transform Kings and Queens into niggers, niggra’s, nigga’s or any other variation of the term. Whichever term that is used, the definition remains the same; a permanent underclass robbed of their culture, spirituality and power so much so that they will never present a serious threat to the white power structure and the intensity of embedded self-hatred would be so strong that they would only be a threat to themselves. Although our African ancestors were not perfect it is safe to say that we were not nigga’s until we came in contact with the European.
The process of how African people became niggers/nigga’s has been explained in various other places from Roots to the infamous Willie Lynch letter story but the substance remains the same; somehow we went from being the fathers and mothers of civilization to the instruments of its destruction. There is not a word in the English language that is as destructive as “nigger” or its variations. The reason being that it signaled the beginning of a process by which the humanity of an entire race would be destroyed.
If the highest level of Black humanity is a being made in the image of the Creator then the lowest form has to be tha nigga made in the image of the white man who has historically committed the bloodiest acts of violence on the planet. Unfortunately many have confused being a nigga with having a high melanin content instead of someone who has rejected his African spirituality and has chosen to imitate the morals (or lack there of) of his oppressors. The main problem facing us today is how can we raise our children to be strong Black men and women when the world is trying to convince them to be nigga’s.
Nigga is more than a term heard on Hip Hop CD’s but it is a social, political and economic reality. It has become an entity in and of itself that transcends traditional social and political boundaries. So that you can not say upper class, middle class, lower class; nigga class any more than you can say Republican, Democrat, and Niggacrat. So it is not about money or political power as multimillionaires refer to each other as “my nigga” and old school politicians have been seen on TV awards show attempting to be down with the Hip Hop generation by saying “for shizzel, my nizzel” (translation: for sure, my nigga).
While it is not fair to put the blame for the spread of nigga-ism on Hip Hop, it has been the main instrument by which the concept has been spread to the four corners of the planet. While many in Hip Hop may say that N.I.G.G.A. is just an acronym for Never Ignorant Getting Goals Accomplished, the reality is a nigga is just a nigga and the acronym argument carries no more weight then saying S.A.M.B.O. means Strong Afrikan Man Building Organizations. Maybe the reason that Hip Hop has become stagnant is that the white power structure has achieved its goal; the creation of a Nigga State.
With every situation there is logical conclusion and no diabolical mad scientist creates a monster without having a self-destruct mechanism included in its make up. Tha nigga is a creation disconnected from its culture and spirituality and was made only to serve the goals and objectives of white supremacy and just like mamma used to say when I gave her lip service “they brought you into this world and they will take you out of it.” To borrow from an old Chuck D lyric, we will soon see the American Nigga Factory become “the Anti-Nigga Machine.”
So the goal must be to destroy tha nigga. Not the Brotha who refers to himself as “a nigga” but the nigga that lies in all of us. That which makes us hate our Afrikan selves and our Brothers and Sisters. That voice in our heads that constantly tells us that we can’t when we can, we shouldn’t when we should and we aren’t when we are in control of our collective destiny. That spirit that makes us sleep when we should be awake, laugh when we should be crying, tap dance even when there is no music playing. That which makes us choose to be called niggers when our ancestors had no such option.
We must ,everyday, fight a war to reclaim our spirituality and our culture. We must fight to reclaim our power to define who we are and our ability to make others respect who we are. That is the only way that we will be able to save our young Brothers and Sisters who are literally dying to be nigga’s.
Minister Paul Scott represents the Messianic Afrikan Nation in Durham NC. He can be reached at
[email protected]
Who Speaks for “tha Nigga”
Min. Paul Scott
Back in the 60’s someone wrote a book that asked the eternal question, “Who speaks for the Negro?” In 2003, since many in the Black community “affectionately” refer to themselves and each other as “nigga’s” the 21st Century version of this question would be “Who Speaks for tha Nigga?”.
America is the great nigga production factory having inherited the nigga fortune from its parents in Europe. And while some may argue that various industrial or agricultural products may be America’s chief export; the real chief export is “nigga’s” As the American media has exported this image and effected policies in countries around the world based on this image. While some may point to electricity and the telephone as this country’s greatest invention, the crown jewel of white supremacy has been the creation of “tha nigga.”
Since the European’s first contact with African people, the ultimate goal was to transform Kings and Queens into niggers, niggra’s, nigga’s or any other variation of the term. Whichever term that is used, the definition remains the same; a permanent underclass robbed of their culture, spirituality and power so much so that they will never present a serious threat to the white power structure and the intensity of embedded self-hatred would be so strong that they would only be a threat to themselves. Although our African ancestors were not perfect it is safe to say that we were not nigga’s until we came in contact with the European.
The process of how African people became niggers/nigga’s has been explained in various other places from Roots to the infamous Willie Lynch letter story but the substance remains the same; somehow we went from being the fathers and mothers of civilization to the instruments of its destruction. There is not a word in the English language that is as destructive as “nigger” or its variations. The reason being that it signaled the beginning of a process by which the humanity of an entire race would be destroyed.
If the highest level of Black humanity is a being made in the image of the Creator then the lowest form has to be tha nigga made in the image of the white man who has historically committed the bloodiest acts of violence on the planet. Unfortunately many have confused being a nigga with having a high melanin content instead of someone who has rejected his African spirituality and has chosen to imitate the morals (or lack there of) of his oppressors. The main problem facing us today is how can we raise our children to be strong Black men and women when the world is trying to convince them to be nigga’s.
Nigga is more than a term heard on Hip Hop CD’s but it is a social, political and economic reality. It has become an entity in and of itself that transcends traditional social and political boundaries. So that you can not say upper class, middle class, lower class; nigga class any more than you can say Republican, Democrat, and Niggacrat. So it is not about money or political power as multimillionaires refer to each other as “my nigga” and old school politicians have been seen on TV awards show attempting to be down with the Hip Hop generation by saying “for shizzel, my nizzel” (translation: for sure, my nigga).
While it is not fair to put the blame for the spread of nigga-ism on Hip Hop, it has been the main instrument by which the concept has been spread to the four corners of the planet. While many in Hip Hop may say that N.I.G.G.A. is just an acronym for Never Ignorant Getting Goals Accomplished, the reality is a nigga is just a nigga and the acronym argument carries no more weight then saying S.A.M.B.O. means Strong Afrikan Man Building Organizations. Maybe the reason that Hip Hop has become stagnant is that the white power structure has achieved its goal; the creation of a Nigga State.
With every situation there is logical conclusion and no diabolical mad scientist creates a monster without having a self-destruct mechanism included in its make up. Tha nigga is a creation disconnected from its culture and spirituality and was made only to serve the goals and objectives of white supremacy and just like mamma used to say when I gave her lip service “they brought you into this world and they will take you out of it.” To borrow from an old Chuck D lyric, we will soon see the American Nigga Factory become “the Anti-Nigga Machine.”
So the goal must be to destroy tha nigga. Not the Brotha who refers to himself as “a nigga” but the nigga that lies in all of us. That which makes us hate our Afrikan selves and our Brothers and Sisters. That voice in our heads that constantly tells us that we can’t when we can, we shouldn’t when we should and we aren’t when we are in control of our collective destiny. That spirit that makes us sleep when we should be awake, laugh when we should be crying, tap dance even when there is no music playing. That which makes us choose to be called niggers when our ancestors had no such option.
We must ,everyday, fight a war to reclaim our spirituality and our culture. We must fight to reclaim our power to define who we are and our ability to make others respect who we are. That is the only way that we will be able to save our young Brothers and Sisters who are literally dying to be nigga’s.
Minister Paul Scott represents the Messianic Afrikan Nation in Durham NC. He can be reached at
[email protected]
