“MOMMY, WHAT DOES 'NIGGER' MEAN?”
Study Questions:
1. The author, as a third grader, at first misunderstood a word she has heard so many times before because of the different meanings that the word connotes during different occasions. During family gatherings when she was young, she used to hear the word “nigger” be used in different context. For instance when a person boasts or proudly relates stories, it could mean an approval for strength, intelligence or drive. When nigger is used as a possessive adjective, it could also become a term of endearment for husband or boyfriend. It becomes a word that describes the pure essence of manhood – the struggle and present survival against the odds. On the other hand, nigger(s) could also mean or describe the following: parents who neglect their children, drunken people who fight in public, people who don't look for job, people with excessively dirty mouths or unkempt households. The one she heard when she was at school was used against her. Out of jealousy, the word was used as a curse or derogatory term to humiliate her. For that moment, the word nigger had a negative connotation. But, what about the times it was used positively like what I've mentioned above? Well, according to Naylor, the word itself is harmless but it is the consensus that gives power it. The collective opinion of people controls the meaning of a particular word.

2. Naylor explains what happens when a community decides to take over a word and renegotiate its meaning by giving us examples or a glimpse of her experiences with regards to the use of the word “nigger” in both positive and negative context. The word nigger did not become an internalization of racism for the black community because, according to her experience, they transformed the meaning of it. Those gatherings changed the meaning of it to signify the varied and complex human beings