Diggin' in the Crates, History 101: What YOU heard may not be what I said.

Stevie Wonder - Heaven Help Us ALL (download/stream)

A word. More than merely the individual letters put together to make a string of recognizable sounds. More than simply the definition found in Merriam-Webster's (ie Supremacy's) dictionary. A word evokes a guttural response. Upon hearing a word, almost immediately, a flood of feelings, memories, smells, associations, and emotions collude to form YOUR definition. Your perogative.

Yeah, I SAID it. It's not what I said, it's what you HEARD. Freedom of speech also entails freedom of interpretation.

Nigg**. Wait for the flood. What's YOUR definition? I figure, if Paul Mooney and Jesse Jackson can be considered black leaders, diggin in the crates, in MY history books, could help me understand the various definitions of nigg**.

Above, is the cover of MY history book. Below, you'll find MY history book's version of the story of the N-word (NO Prentice-Hall):

Back in the days colored folks lived in COLORED TOWN. 9-to-5, working to hold whitey's world up, then right back home. If the N-word was used, whitey didn't care, he was usin' it too, he went home and forgot about the coloreds. Lee Dorsey pined, "We may seem happy like everything's alright, but from the outside looking in, everything's uptight. But deep down inside we're covering up the pain....Who's gonna help brother get further?"

The late 50's and 60's brought a new era of hope, never imagined: the Whatnauts screamed: "No matter how hard you try you can't stop us now." People began listening. Pop Staples said, "If you disrespect anybody that you run into, how in the world do you think anybody's s'posed to respect you? You the kind of gentleman that want everything your way, take the sheet off your face, boy, it's a brand new day."

Whitey began listening. He didn't have HIS word, and THEY were usin' it too. If they can say it, we want it back! Patti Smith reminded us that we can make our own definitions: "Jimi Hendrix was a nigger. Jesus Christ and Grandma, too. Jackson Pollock was a nigger. Outside of society, that's where I want to be. Outside of society, they're waitin' for me." Yeah, you SAID it, but I'm gonna INTERPRET it.

He may have been too high, too stoned, and a member of an alien Mothership, but no one could misconstrue his demand: Don't call me nigger, whitey!" If you weren't listening before, you sure as hell didn't miss that. Aaron Neville reminded us that with actions and demands, come responsibilities: "Check our your own backyard before you check out someone else....I might even carry some of your load, right along with mine....Talk about me if you please but I must be Hercules." Who's gonna take the weight carried by the weary? Must be Hercules. Some words carry a lot of baggage. You called me nigg**? My emotional baggage just got heavier.

Are you helpin' me carry OUR load, OUR collective burden? You may look like me, but that don't make you my brother, my nigg*. The O'Jays told us that you needed to earn it: "How can you call me brother, if you keep tryin to rip me off? How can you call me brother, if you ain't even searchin' for the truth?" The battle ain't just US versus THEM, it's US versus US. The battlefield just got bigger.

Curtis upped the ante: we're destroying our world with so much pollution, eventually, we won't be able to see and breathe. We'll all move underground, "Near to hell, it's just as well." Damn, he's tellin' us this is a good thing, kids keep turnin' on the heat and opening the window and using them hair products: "There'll be no light, so there'll be no sight. And you'll judge your fellow man on the stand, by what is right. We'll all turn BLACK, so who's to know? As a matter of fact, color, creed, and greed must go."

No wonder, Q-Tip flinched: "I start to flinch, as I try not to say it. But my lips is like the oowop as I start to spray it. My lips is like the oowop as I start to spray it."

Diggin' in the Crates, History 101.

The N Word: The Mixtape (alternate link 1, alternate link 2)
1 - The Whatnauts - Message from a Black Man
2 - Aaron Neville - Hercules
3 - A Tribe Called Quest - Sucka Nigga
4 - Patti Smith - Rock 'n' Roll Nigger
5 - Sly & the Family Stone - Don't Call Me Nigger, Whitey
6 - Phil Ochs - Colored Town
7 - Schoolly D - Am I Black Enough for You?
8 - The O'Jays - Don't Call Me Brother
9 - Curtis Mayfield - Underground
10 -Lee Dorsey - Who's Gonna Help Brother Get Further?
11 - Staples Singers - Respect Yourself