Randall Kennedy: The N-Word - History of Race, Law, Politics, and Power | Lex Fridman Podcast #379

Let's imagine you have a Black rapper who invites people on stage, and let's suppose they invite a Black person on stage, and they're perfectly happy when the Black person is full out with, you know, their lyrics. They invite a white person on stage. The white person is still, you know... D- doesn't really, you know, sort of mystified but, b- comes on stage and full out with what the rapper says, including the infamous N-word, and then the Black rapper gets mad. Imagine the white comedian who satirizes that, pokes fun at that, and in poking fun at that, says the infamous N-word. Am I angry? No, I'm not angry. Not angry at all.

The following is a conversation with Randall Kennedy, professor at Harvard Law School and author of many seminal books on race, law, history, culture, and politics, including specifically on affirmative action, criminal justice, policing, and the topic explored extensively in this conversation, the single most powerful word and slur in the English language, the N-word, with a hard R at the end. Randall has written a book with this word as the title, N-word: The Strange Career of a Troublesome Word. Please be warned that Randall uses this word throughout this conversation, deliberately and skillfully to discuss its power and its role in the history of the United States. I don't intend to shy away from controversial topics like these, and I'll work hard to handle them thoughtfully and thoroughly, with respect and with empathy, often with several guests who have very different perspectives on the topic. In the end, I believe in the power of long-form conversations to heal divides by furthering understanding of human nature, of human history, and the full diversity of the human experience. This is a Lex Friedman podcast. To support it, please check out our sponsors in the description. And now, dear friends, here's Randall Kennedy. You wrote a book whose title is the N-word, spelled out with a hard R at the end. So let's start with the history of this word. What is the history of the N-word?

The word you're referring to is "nigger." The book that you're referring to is Nigger: The Strange Career of a Troublesome Word. The word dates back to the 16th, 17th century. It's got a long lineage, in other words. Basically Latin, basically Spanish, basically N-I-G, you know, Black, in various formulations. We don't know actually how the term nigger became a slur. So there were words that were close to N-I-G-G-E-R that were used in various ways, for instance, N-I-G-G, uh, U-H has been, was used. Uh, N-I-G-G-U-R was used. And sometimes it was used in a way that seemed to be just purely descriptive. We do know that by the early 19th century, it had become, uh, a slur. It had become a derogatory word about which people complained. But exactly how that came about, not altogether clear.

So it's been 20 years since you've written a book. What have you, uh, what wisdom have you gained about this word since writing the book? It may be having to interact with people, having to read, having to see, having to feel the response to the book.