by Susan Z. Miller

Created on: September 09, 2009

The use of spoken and written language is one of the most outstanding traits that distinguishes human beings from other species of life. While it is apparent to us that dogs, birds, whales, and most other living creatures utilize their own methods of communication, it is only homo sapiens that have mastered both written and spoken words. Science has identified 2 million living species on Earth, while the

National Science Foundation's "Tree of Life" project estimates that there could be anywhere from 5 million to 100 species alive today. Given that we are the only creatures with the ability to communicate through spoken words, this gives us an immense amount of power.

As history has proven, power is often misused and abused. The "N-word" is a prime example of when one human being used language in an attempt to exert power over another in a corrupt manner. In my opinion, it is only when we give the "N-word" credit as an intentionally degrading and insulting word that it maintains its powerful status.

The evolution of spoken and written language is a constant process; however burying something (or in a sense hiding it) is not necessarily an effective solution for the problems that it may cause in our society. What I find is a better solution than burying a word is to strip it of its power. When the insulting intent of the "N-word" is removed, it loses its influence, and its function. The necessary change for us is to actualize the transition of the "N-word" from a weapon, to an archaic and meaningless two syllable nothing.

When I was in college, I found myself faced with an extremely important decision concerning the word "nigger." As one who, until that point, had never even uttered this word, I felt quite uncomfortable when I was faced with the task of teaching the book "To Kill A Mockingbird" to a class of ninth graders in the suburban town of Westerville, Ohio. The project was part of my senior year student teaching internship program, and the pressure of teaching the 1960 literary classic was great. I had nightmares about my students cheerfully arriving home to their parents and announcing, "we're reading a book about a nigger!" To top it all off, since this was my college internship, my instruction of the novel was going to be overseen by the regular classroom teacher, as well as my college education professor, both of whom I greatly respected and admired. I sweated over my "To Kill a Mockingbird" lesson plans for days before coming to a decision.

I made

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