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Alyssa Fluet

Professor Shaughnessy-Zeena

English 110

30 April 2021
The Dangers of Racial Epithets

A recent study, conducted by the U.K. based think tank Demos, analyzed how many slurs

were used on the popular social media platform Twitter by filtering a selection of 126,975

English-language tweets to find that one in every fifteen-thousand contained a derogatory term

(Demos). With racial slurs remaining a controversial topic in modern society one must evaluate

the weight of the terms that are so widely discussed. This led to the question, what causes the

racial epithet to do so much harm and what dangers do terms like this pose in such a diverse

country? This paper will explore how racial epithets cause the dehumanization of Black

Americans.

Throughout American History racial epithets have been used in a variety of ways. Over

time they have become less and less acceptable to hear in everyday situations, however the use

of them is still abundant. One is likely to hear derogatory terms as banter in school hallways, in

kitchens, in the workplace, and even if they are not directed towards a person, their presence can

be damaging. The common culture of using racial epithets against a race that one does not

identify with is a form of violence that goes unnoticed. Racial epithets strip Black Americans of

individual identity. Black Americans are generalized by stereotypical characteristics which are

often mirrored by these terms. Using slurs as replacements for racial identity groups individuals

into predetermined biases of their race. The psychologist Leon Rappoport wrote, “The utterance
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of a slur very often evokes or foregrounds a negative stereotype of its target, which is one reason

why people use these words: ‘What do you expect from a ____?’ Those stereotypes in turn can

serve to legitimate various responses to the group, sometimes by dehumanizing or marginalizing

its members, and other times merely allowing us to discount them” (Rappoport, qtd. in Slurs as

the Shortcut of Discrimination). When one uses a racial epithet to generalize about an entire race

it strips every individual of that race of their own individuality. When associations of poverty,

crime, and violence are associated to Black Americans in this way (something that occurs

regularly in today’s media), it assigns this toxic idea that all Black Americans possess the same

qualities. There is also a history of White Americans calling Black Americans out of their names

in order to control their identity. The essay What’s Your Name Girl written by Maya Angelou

describes an incident where Angelou’s employer called her by the wrong name in order to assert

her control over her. The collection of essays this one is featured in is a recounting of events in

Angelou’s life, in which she has experienced many acts of racism growing up in the segregated

Midwest. In the essay Angelou writes, “Every person I knew had a hellish horror of being ‘called

out of his name.’ It was a dangerous practice to call a Negro anything that could be loosely

construed as insulting because of the centuries of their having been called n_____s….” (14).

Angelou compared being called the wrong name to a racial epithet because either way she was

incorrectly called, she was robbed of her identity. Each one is a deep disrespect and is used to

belittle her as well as assert control over her as a person. The racial epithet is synonymous with

taking away a person’s name for convenience and brutality. These terms strip Black Americans

of their self-identity and their individuality because they are used in a way to make

generalizations. They have always been used as a way to be ignorant to the person being called
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the racial epithet. Racial epithets dehumanize Black Americans because they take away their

right to the basic sense of self.

Racial epithets compare Black Americans to objects and animals in order to oppress

them. The most common slur towards Black Americans and arguably the most offensive is the

“N-word” (this is how it will be referred to). However words like “monkey,” “ape,” and

“chimp,” are among the list of epithets used against People of Color as degradation. The reason

being that Racial epithets were used to subdue Black Americans in an animalistic way and create

an ownership over enslaved African-Americans. An article written by the British Broadcasting

Corporation titled N-word: The troubled history of the racial slur quoted Kehinde Andrews, the

professor of Black Studies at Birmingham City University saying, "They were more like an

animal than a human being, a beast of burden, could be bought and sold, could be thrown

overboard ships and literally had no rights. So when the N-word is used that's essentially what

it's used for.” (Wilson, The British Broadcasting Corporation). Andrews explains how the use of

the “N-word” essentially made the enslaved African-Americans out to be animals and handled in

the same way as them. The use of this term was used to dehumanize and create this ownership

and standard of treatment that was comparable to animals. Racial epithets also compare Black

Americans physically to the behavior of animals. A Stanford News article wrote about a

published study that said, “in hundreds of news stories from 1979 to 1999 in the Philadelphia

Inquirer, African Americans convicted of capital crimes were about four times more likely than

whites convicted of capital crimes to be described with ape-relevant language, such as ‘barbaric,’

‘beast,’ ‘brute,’ ‘savage’ and ‘wild.’” (Stanford). Epithets such as previously mentioned

animalize Black Americans and cause for prejudice in justice systems and media. Racial epithets
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dehumanize Black Americans by literally degrading them as an animal race, in relation inferior

to that of White Americans.

Racial Epithets are used to describe Black Americans as inferior to White Americans as if

they exist as other than human. White Americans have not been discriminated against for their

race like Black Americans have, history proves there has always been a White superiority race

complex. This is proven by the fact that there has never been a slur for White Americans used in

a historically oppressive way. An article in the Washington Post states, “Cracker may be a

pejorative in some circles. It may even be used to insult a white person. But it clearly lacks the

grievous, historical freight of the other.” (Parker, The Washington Post). The oppression faced

by Black Americans from White Americans throughout history puts so much weight behind

every racial slur there is. Black Americans have been denied the basic rights of life, liberty, and

the pursuit of happiness due to the oppressor. These terms strip Black Americans of their right to

exist which causes the dehumanization for Black Americans. Racial epithets for Black

Americans stem from their usage during slavery. They are words used to, “ indicate an inferior

Black caste, retreating back to the institution of slavery.” (Benfield, 4). By asserting this non-

existent superiority over Black Americans, the oppressors are continuing ages of historical

torture. These terms have been used for centuries to belittle and make one man lesser to another

based on race. This is dehumanizing because the truth is that White Americans are stating that

Black Americans are subhuman. This same concept is touched upon in Frederick Douglass’s

Narrative where he writes of his master’s thoughts on educating enslaved persons, "’If you give a

n***** an inch, he will take an ell. A n***** should know nothing but to obey his master-to do

as he is told to do. Learning would spoil the best n***** in the world. Now,’ said he, ‘if you
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teach that n***** (speaking of myself) how to read, there would be no keeping him. It would

forever unfit him to be a slave. He would at once become unmanageable, and of no value to his

master.’" (Douglass, 40). The quote reflects how inhumane the separation of Black and White

was at the time. This is still relevant because the “N-Word” is used to separate Douglass, an

African-American man, from his master as being incapable of being human and learning human

tasks such as reading and writing. The term holds so much weight in this context as it could be

replaced with so many more descriptors, but none being human. Racial epithets throughout

history have been used to make Black Americans appear incapable next to their White

oppressors, as if they are not able to function as humans do. The quote also describes Douglass

as being unmanageable if taught a basic literacy, which is evident of the way his master views

him as subordinate and helpless. The racial slurs used today are still dehumanizing because they

carry this effect that was assigned to them over time.

The history of racial epithets is a long and unyielding one as proven by this research. The

effects of the terms are to a great extent painful and degrading. Racial epithets used against

Black Americans are especially dehumanizing because they are rash generalizations, they

animalize a part of the human race, and because they compare Black Americans to White

Americans as lesser than humans. The step toward resolution that research suggests is the

termination of microaggressions in presumed non-biased media. The presence of racial epithets

especially in a country with a history of racial injustice and violence is dangerous to the populace

that is discriminated against by these terms.

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Works Cited

Bartlett, Jamie, et al. “ANTI-SOCIAL MEDIA.” Demos, 2014.

Benfield, Anne V. The N-Word : Comprehending the Complexity of ... Union College -

Schenectady, NY, digitalworks.union.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?

article=2572&context=theses.

Cepollaro, Bianca. “Slurs as the Shortcut of Discrimination.” Rivista Di Estetica, Lexis Sas, 1

Apr. 2017, journals.openedition.org/estetica/2063.

“Discrimination against Blacks Linked to Dehumanization, Study Finds.” Discrimination

against Blacks Linked to Dehumanization, Study Finds | Stanford News Release, 7 Feb.

2008, news.stanford.edu/pr/2008/pr-eber-021308.html.

Douglass, Frederick, et al. Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave:

Written by Himself. Yale University Press, 2016.

“I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings.” Maya Angelou, 2021, doi:10.5040/9781501365614.ch-

003.

Parker, Kathleen. “Kathleen Parker: A Few Reasons Why Cracker Doesn't Compare to the N-

Word.” The Washington Post, WP Company, 28 June 2013,

www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/kathleen-parker-a-few-reasons-why-cracker-doesnt-

compare-to-the-n-word/2013/06/28/93509d72-e024-11e2-963a-

72d740e88c12_story.html.

Wilson, Cherry. “N-Word: The Troubled History of the Racial Slur.” BBC News, BBC, 4 Oct.

2020, www.bbc.com/news/stories-53749800.
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