Kennedy, Randall — Can You Say This Word?
Few words in the English language have caused so much pain, hurt and emotion as the N-word. It is arguably the most consequential social insult in American history. The long history of the pejorative use of the N-word has given it an unusual power that extends to the judicial system, literature and social settings.
Randall Kennedy, a professor of Law at Harvard University Law School, is the author of “Nigger-the Strange Career of a Troublesome Word.” His book chronicles the history of this word, in an effort to diffuse and neutralize it.
Originally Broadcast: March 19, 2002
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