Journal Entry #2

Terminology and its Evolution

The power and meaning of terms, especially derogatory terms, have always been present during our lifetime and within books. To Kill A Mockingbird is no exception, and derogatory terms towards the black community are very evident. The terms nigger, nigga, negro, and colored, are always used to refer to the black community. The use of these terms was seen very casual during the 1930’s, but in actuality these terms are seen as offensive, making people uncomfortable while reading this novel. This has caused the book to be banned countless times, most frequently in the Biloxi School District in Mississippi.

One of the terms most frequently used in this novel is nigger. This term of exclusion was constantly used and helped strengthen the stereotype of all blacks being lazy, stupid, dirty, and worthless. This word started being used during the 1800’s, more specifically during the slave trade; it was used to refer to slaves in a derogatory manner. This word has various variations such as nigga which has the same meaning as the nigger and is mostly used by the black community. There is also the term nigger-lover, which is a name aimed at whites lacking the “necessary” feeling of intense dislike for blacks. After many years and movements to call for an end to segregation and white supremacy, this term is now considered the ultimate American insult, and unacceptable to be said in the present.

Cartoon of a black man that reinforces the stereotype of all blacks being stupid, dirty, worthless, and criminals.

The term negro is constantly used throughout the novel as well. It is used to describe an individual of a dark-skinned ethnicity and is also a variation of the word “nigger”. It was seen as normal for black people to be called negroes, and blacks even identified themselves with the term. It wasn’t until 1966 when people began to abstain from using that term. Stokely Carmichael, a black man who is now known as an important figure in the Civil Rights movement, was the cause of the drop of the usage of this term since he put into words the phrase “black power” in a rally in Mississippi in 1966. By using this phrase Carmichael persuaded that the term “negro” implied black inferiority, but the term was still preferred by more than two-thirds of black Americans until 1974 when “black” became the preference by the dark-skinned population.

Sign for the Lonestar Restaurant in Texas that reaffirms discrimination against blacks, otherwise addressed as negroes, by not allowing their entrance.

Black American citizens addressing themselves as “negroes” in 1964 while fighting for their basic right to vote.

While reading Harper Lee’s novel, it can also be found the usage of the word “colored”. This term was mostly used in the twentieth century and was seen as a polite way to call black people back then, but in actuality, it is not well seen. During the 1960s, many black leaders saw the term “colored” as an accumulation of the terrible treatment their ethnicity had received under slavery and the Jim Crow; the term was started to be seen as a link to segregation. This lead to the decline of its usage in the 1970s, when the word was not constantly used in daily conversation or vocabulary.

Usage of the term “colored” to refer to black citizens and separate them from white American civilians and facilities during the Jim Crow era.

All of these terms had power, and could influence people and their perception of others as it is seen in To Kill A Mockingbird. In this novel, all of these terms represented the quality of education an individual had received and could cause people to become outsiders as seen with Atticus, Jem, and Scout after Atticus being accused of being a nigger-lover. These terms will always be remembered, and even though they may cause people to feel uncomfortable should be taught since they were used in the past and caused lots of suffering. Teaching them and learning about the suffering and the obnoxious world this terms caused, is the only way to prevent what happened from occurring again.