[Script Info]
Title: 
[Events]
Format: Layer, Start, End, Style, Name, MarginL, MarginR, MarginV, Effect, Text
Dialogue: 0,0:00:00.80,0:00:03.17,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The minute she said it,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:03.19,0:00:05.86,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the temperature in my classroom dropped.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:06.86,0:00:10.70,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,My students are usually\Nlaser-focused on me,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:10.72,0:00:13.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but they shifted in their seats\Nand looked away.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:15.35,0:00:16.89,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I'm a black woman
Dialogue: 0,0:00:16.91,0:00:21.01,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,who teaches the histories\Nof race and US slavery.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:21.83,0:00:25.66,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I'm aware that my social identity\Nis always on display.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:26.32,0:00:28.03,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And my students are vulnerable too,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:28.05,0:00:29.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,so I'm careful.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:29.68,0:00:33.41,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I try to anticipate\Nwhat part of my lesson might go wrong.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:34.18,0:00:35.36,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But honestly,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:35.39,0:00:37.58,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I didn't even see this one coming.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:37.60,0:00:40.54,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,None of my years of graduate school\Nprepared me for what to do
Dialogue: 0,0:00:40.56,0:00:43.03,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,when the N-word entered my classroom.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:44.02,0:00:45.78,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I was in my first year of teaching
Dialogue: 0,0:00:45.80,0:00:48.55,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,when the student said\Nthe N-word in my class.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:49.54,0:00:51.74,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,She was not calling anyone a name.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:52.53,0:00:55.36,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,She was bright-eyed and bushy-tailed.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:55.70,0:00:58.04,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,She came to class with her readings done,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:58.06,0:00:59.83,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,she sat in the front row
Dialogue: 0,0:00:59.86,0:01:02.28,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and she was always on my team.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:03.90,0:01:05.10,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,When she said it,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:05.12,0:01:07.42,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,she was actually making a point\Nabout my lecture,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:07.44,0:01:11.70,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,by quoting a line from a 1970s\Nmovie, a comedy,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:11.72,0:01:13.45,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that had two racist slurs.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:14.02,0:01:16.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,One for people of Chinese descent
Dialogue: 0,0:01:16.43,0:01:18.16,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and the other the N-word.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:19.14,0:01:23.14,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,As soon as she said it,\NI held up my hands, said, "Whoa, whoa."
Dialogue: 0,0:01:23.16,0:01:24.41,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But she assured me,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:24.43,0:01:27.16,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"It's a joke from 'Blazing Saddles,'"
Dialogue: 0,0:01:27.18,0:01:28.85,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and then she repeated it.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:30.43,0:01:32.12,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,This all happened 10 years ago,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:32.14,0:01:35.41,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and how I handled it\Nhaunted me for a long time.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:36.18,0:01:38.51,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It wasn't the first time\NI thought about the word
Dialogue: 0,0:01:38.53,0:01:39.89,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in an academic setting.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:40.45,0:01:42.69,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I'm a professor of US history,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:42.71,0:01:45.61,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,it's in a lot\Nof the documents that I teach.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:45.63,0:01:47.37,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So I had to make a choice.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:48.56,0:01:50.47,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,After consulting with someone I trusted,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:50.49,0:01:52.39,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I decided to never say it.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:52.41,0:01:53.81,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Not even to quote it.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:54.22,0:01:58.02,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But instead to use\Nthe euphemistic phrase, "the N-word."
Dialogue: 0,0:01:59.29,0:02:01.56,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Even this decision was complicated.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:02.37,0:02:03.85,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I didn't have tenure yet,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:03.87,0:02:05.74,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and I worried that senior colleagues
Dialogue: 0,0:02:05.77,0:02:10.33,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,would think that by using the phrase\NI wasn't a serious scholar.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:10.78,0:02:13.84,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But saying the actual word\Nstill felt worse.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:14.79,0:02:19.30,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The incident in my classroom forced me\Nto publicly reckon with the word.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:19.67,0:02:22.56,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The history, the violence,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:22.58,0:02:24.03,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but also --
Dialogue: 0,0:02:25.14,0:02:29.69,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The history, the violence,\Nbut also any time it was hurled at me,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:29.71,0:02:31.64,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,spoken casually in front of me,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:31.66,0:02:35.11,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,any time it rested on the tip\Nof someone's tongue,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:35.14,0:02:37.95,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,it all came flooding up in that moment,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:37.98,0:02:40.22,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,right in front of my students.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:40.25,0:02:42.18,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And I had no idea what to do.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:44.28,0:02:48.54,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So I've come to call stories like mine\Npoints of encounter.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:50.04,0:02:55.08,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,A point of encounter describes the moment\Nyou came face-to-face with the N-word.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:55.71,0:02:59.50,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,If you've even been stumped\Nor provoked by the word,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:59.53,0:03:03.32,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,whether as the result\Nof an awkward social situation,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:03.34,0:03:06.47,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,an uncomfortable academic conversation,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:06.49,0:03:08.43,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,something you heard in pop culture,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:08.46,0:03:10.74,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,or if you've been called the slur,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:10.76,0:03:13.17,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,or witnessed someone\Ngetting called the slur,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:13.19,0:03:15.75,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,you have experienced a point of encounter.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:16.19,0:03:18.96,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And depending on who you are\Nand how that moment goes down,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:18.98,0:03:21.86,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,you might have a range of responses.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:21.89,0:03:23.54,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Could throw you off a little bit,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:23.56,0:03:26.96,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,or it could be incredibly\Npainful and humiliating.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:28.49,0:03:31.66,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I've had lots of these\Npoints of encounter in my life,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:31.68,0:03:34.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but one thing is true.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:34.22,0:03:37.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,There's not a lot of space\Nto talk about them.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:40.42,0:03:43.93,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,That day in my classroom\Nwas pretty much like all of those times
Dialogue: 0,0:03:43.96,0:03:46.57,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I had an uninvited run-in with the N-word.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:46.60,0:03:47.75,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I froze.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:48.55,0:03:51.28,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Because the N-word is hard to talk about.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:52.81,0:03:55.94,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Part of the reason the N-word\Nis so hard to talk about,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:55.96,0:03:59.13,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,it's usually only discussed in one way,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:59.16,0:04:01.78,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,as a figure of speech,\Nwe hear this all the time, right?
Dialogue: 0,0:04:01.81,0:04:03.70,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It's just a word.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:03.73,0:04:07.26,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The burning question that cycles\Nthrough social media
Dialogue: 0,0:04:07.29,0:04:09.33,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,is who can and cannot say it.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:10.56,0:04:14.56,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Black intellectual Ta-Nehisi Coates\Ndoes a groundbreaking job
Dialogue: 0,0:04:14.58,0:04:17.38,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,of defending the African American\Nuse of the word.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:17.40,0:04:19.59,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,On the other hand, Wendy Kaminer,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:19.62,0:04:21.55,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,a white freedom of speech advocate,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:21.58,0:04:24.16,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,argues that if we don't all\Njust come and say it,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:24.18,0:04:25.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,we give the word power.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:25.83,0:04:27.67,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And a lot of people feel that way.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:28.58,0:04:31.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The Pew Center recently\Nentered the debate.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:31.74,0:04:36.51,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,In a survey called "Race in America 2019,"
Dialogue: 0,0:04:36.54,0:04:40.01,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,researchers asked US adults\Nif they thought is was OK
Dialogue: 0,0:04:40.04,0:04:42.54,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,for a white person to say the N-word.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:43.19,0:04:46.90,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Seventy percent of all\Nadults surveyed said "never."
Dialogue: 0,0:04:48.24,0:04:50.37,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And these debates are important.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:50.71,0:04:52.74,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But they really obscure something else.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:52.77,0:04:56.82,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,They keep us from getting underneath\Nto the real conversation.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:57.60,0:05:00.36,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Which is that the N-word\Nis not just a word.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:01.13,0:05:05.52,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It's not neatly contained\Nin a racist past,
Dialogue: 0,0:05:05.55,0:05:07.62,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,a relic of slavery.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:09.24,0:05:15.51,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Fundamentally, the N-word\Nis an idea disguised as a word:
Dialogue: 0,0:05:15.54,0:05:18.75,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that black people are intellectually,
Dialogue: 0,0:05:18.78,0:05:20.33,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,biologically
Dialogue: 0,0:05:20.36,0:05:24.38,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and immutably inferior to white people.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:24.86,0:05:28.98,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And -- and I think\Nthis is the most important part --
Dialogue: 0,0:05:29.00,0:05:32.68,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that that inferiority means\Nthat the injustice we suffer
Dialogue: 0,0:05:32.71,0:05:34.11,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and inequality we endure
Dialogue: 0,0:05:34.13,0:05:36.07,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,is essentially our own fault.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:39.05,0:05:43.14,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So, yes, it is ...
Dialogue: 0,0:05:48.71,0:05:52.13,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Speaking of the word only as racist spew
Dialogue: 0,0:05:52.16,0:05:55.58,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,or as an obscenity in hip hop music
Dialogue: 0,0:05:55.61,0:05:58.70,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,makes it sounds as if it's a disease
Dialogue: 0,0:05:58.72,0:06:00.73,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,located in the American vocal cords
Dialogue: 0,0:06:00.75,0:06:02.75,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that can be snipped right out.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:03.36,0:06:06.19,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It's not, and it can't.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:06.73,0:06:09.03,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And I learned this\Nfrom talking to my students.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:09.56,0:06:12.55,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So next time class met,
Dialogue: 0,0:06:12.58,0:06:14.12,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I apologized,
Dialogue: 0,0:06:14.15,0:06:16.94,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and I made an announcement.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:16.96,0:06:18.70,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I would have a new policy.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:19.80,0:06:23.90,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Students would see the word\Nin my PowerPoints,
Dialogue: 0,0:06:23.93,0:06:26.93,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in film, in essays they read,
Dialogue: 0,0:06:26.96,0:06:31.77,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but we would never ever\Nsay the word out loud in class.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:32.87,0:06:34.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Nobody ever said it again.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:34.97,0:06:37.23,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But they didn't learn much either.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:38.43,0:06:40.26,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Afterwards, what bothered me most
Dialogue: 0,0:06:40.28,0:06:42.46,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,was that I didn't even explain to students
Dialogue: 0,0:06:42.48,0:06:47.14,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,why, of all the vile, problematic words\Nin American English,
Dialogue: 0,0:06:47.16,0:06:51.24,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,why this particular word\Nhad its own buffer,
Dialogue: 0,0:06:51.26,0:06:53.53,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the surrogate phrase "the N-word."
Dialogue: 0,0:06:54.15,0:06:56.26,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Most of my students,
Dialogue: 0,0:06:56.29,0:07:00.39,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,many of them born\Nin the late 1990s and afterwards,
Dialogue: 0,0:07:00.41,0:07:03.32,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,didn't even know\Nthat the phrase "the N-word"
Dialogue: 0,0:07:03.34,0:07:06.32,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,is a relatively new invention\Nin American English.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:06.34,0:07:08.94,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,When I was growing up, it didn't exist.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:10.34,0:07:14.17,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But in the late 1980s,
Dialogue: 0,0:07:14.20,0:07:18.07,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,black college students,\Nwriters, intellectuals,
Dialogue: 0,0:07:18.09,0:07:23.46,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,more and more started to talk about\Nracist attacks against them.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:25.07,0:07:28.21,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But increasingly,\Nwhen they told these stories,
Dialogue: 0,0:07:28.24,0:07:30.72,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,they stopped using the word.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:31.78,0:07:33.98,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Instead, they reduced it to the initial N
Dialogue: 0,0:07:34.01,0:07:36.10,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and called it "the N-word."
Dialogue: 0,0:07:37.09,0:07:39.43,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,They felt that every time\Nthe word was uttered
Dialogue: 0,0:07:39.45,0:07:42.56,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,it opened up old wounds,\Nso they refused to say it.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:43.10,0:07:46.89,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,They knew their listeners would hear\Nthe actual word in their heads.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:47.23,0:07:48.70,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,That wasn't the point.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:49.39,0:07:52.50,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The point was they didn't want\Nto put the word in their own mouths
Dialogue: 0,0:07:52.53,0:07:53.68,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,or into the air.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:55.04,0:07:56.86,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,By doing this,
Dialogue: 0,0:07:56.89,0:08:00.02,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,they made an entire nation\Nstart to second-guess themselves
Dialogue: 0,0:08:00.04,0:08:01.19,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,about saying it.
Dialogue: 0,0:08:02.98,0:08:06.82,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,This was such a radical move
Dialogue: 0,0:08:06.85,0:08:09.02,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that people are still mad about it.
Dialogue: 0,0:08:10.62,0:08:15.50,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Critics accuse those of us\Nwho use the phrase "the N-word,"
Dialogue: 0,0:08:15.52,0:08:17.67,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,or people who become outraged,
Dialogue: 0,0:08:17.70,0:08:19.86,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,you know, just because the word is said,
Dialogue: 0,0:08:19.89,0:08:21.97,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,of being overprincipled,
Dialogue: 0,0:08:21.99,0:08:23.63,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,politically correct
Dialogue: 0,0:08:23.66,0:08:26.75,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,or, as I just read a couple of weeks ago\Nin The New York Times,
Dialogue: 0,0:08:26.78,0:08:28.11,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"insufferably woke."
Dialogue: 0,0:08:28.66,0:08:30.01,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Right?
Dialogue: 0,0:08:30.04,0:08:32.73,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So I bought into this a little bit too,
Dialogue: 0,0:08:32.75,0:08:36.65,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,which is why the next time\NI taught the course
Dialogue: 0,0:08:36.67,0:08:40.06,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I proposed a freedom of speech debate.
Dialogue: 0,0:08:41.41,0:08:46.11,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The N-word in academic spaces,\Nfor or against?
Dialogue: 0,0:08:47.47,0:08:49.66,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I was certain students would be eager
Dialogue: 0,0:08:49.68,0:08:52.57,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to debate who gets to say it\Nand who doesn't.
Dialogue: 0,0:08:53.74,0:08:54.89,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But they weren't.
Dialogue: 0,0:08:56.87,0:08:58.02,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Instead ...
Dialogue: 0,0:09:00.04,0:09:02.66,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,my students started confessing.
Dialogue: 0,0:09:04.91,0:09:09.04,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,A white student from New Jersey\Ntalked about standing by
Dialogue: 0,0:09:09.06,0:09:11.73,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,as a black kid at her school\Ngot bullied by this word.
Dialogue: 0,0:09:11.75,0:09:15.26,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,She did nothing and years later\Nstill carried the guilt.
Dialogue: 0,0:09:16.66,0:09:18.66,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Another from Connecticut
Dialogue: 0,0:09:19.81,0:09:22.42,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,talked about the pain of severing
Dialogue: 0,0:09:22.44,0:09:25.18,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,a very close relationship\Nwith a family member,
Dialogue: 0,0:09:25.20,0:09:28.54,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,because that family member\Nrefused to stop saying the word.
Dialogue: 0,0:09:31.08,0:09:35.51,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,One of the most memorable stories\Ncame from a very quiet black student
Dialogue: 0,0:09:35.54,0:09:36.87,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,from South Carolina.
Dialogue: 0,0:09:37.29,0:09:39.32,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,She didn't understand all the fuss.
Dialogue: 0,0:09:39.76,0:09:42.89,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,She said everyone\Nat her school said the word.
Dialogue: 0,0:09:43.97,0:09:48.16,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,She wasn't talking about kids\Ncalling each other names in the hall.
Dialogue: 0,0:09:48.94,0:09:52.89,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,She explained that at her school
Dialogue: 0,0:09:52.91,0:09:55.12,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,when teachers and administrators
Dialogue: 0,0:09:55.14,0:09:58.86,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,became frustrated\Nwith an African American student,
Dialogue: 0,0:09:58.89,0:10:02.12,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,they called that student\Nthe actual N-word.
Dialogue: 0,0:10:03.34,0:10:05.81,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,She said it didn't bother her at all.
Dialogue: 0,0:10:06.26,0:10:07.87,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But then a couple of days later,
Dialogue: 0,0:10:07.89,0:10:12.38,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,she came to visit me\Nin my office hours and wept.
Dialogue: 0,0:10:13.67,0:10:15.47,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,She thought she was immune.
Dialogue: 0,0:10:16.24,0:10:18.17,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,She realized that she wasn't.
Dialogue: 0,0:10:19.51,0:10:22.25,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Over the last 10 years,
Dialogue: 0,0:10:22.27,0:10:25.71,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I have literally heard hundreds\Nof these stories
Dialogue: 0,0:10:25.73,0:10:28.93,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,from all kinds of people from all ages.
Dialogue: 0,0:10:29.39,0:10:33.02,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,People in their 50s remembering stories\Nfrom the second grade
Dialogue: 0,0:10:33.05,0:10:34.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and when they were six,
Dialogue: 0,0:10:34.43,0:10:37.70,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,either calling people the word\Nor being called the word,
Dialogue: 0,0:10:37.72,0:10:42.82,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but carrying that all these years\Naround this word, you know.
Dialogue: 0,0:10:42.84,0:10:47.65,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And as I listened to people\Ntalk about their points of encounter,
Dialogue: 0,0:10:47.67,0:10:52.32,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the pattern that emerged for me\Nas a teacher that I found most upsetting
Dialogue: 0,0:10:52.35,0:10:54.100,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,is the single most fraught site
Dialogue: 0,0:10:55.02,0:10:57.30,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,for these points of encounter
Dialogue: 0,0:10:57.32,0:10:58.79,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,is the classroom.
Dialogue: 0,0:11:00.31,0:11:04.86,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Most US kids are going to meet\Nthe N-word in class.
Dialogue: 0,0:11:05.93,0:11:09.73,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,One of the most assigned books\Nin US high schools
Dialogue: 0,0:11:09.75,0:11:12.35,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,is Mark Twain’s "The Adventures\Nof Huckleberry Finn"
Dialogue: 0,0:11:12.37,0:11:15.66,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in which the word appears over 200 times.
Dialogue: 0,0:11:16.02,0:11:19.02,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And this isn't an indictment\Nof "Huck Finn."
Dialogue: 0,0:11:19.04,0:11:22.64,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The word is in lots\Nof US literature and history.
Dialogue: 0,0:11:22.66,0:11:25.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It's all over African\NAmerican literature.
Dialogue: 0,0:11:26.50,0:11:28.59,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Yet I hear from students
Dialogue: 0,0:11:28.62,0:11:33.04,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that when the word is said during a lesson
Dialogue: 0,0:11:33.06,0:11:36.41,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,without discussion and context,
Dialogue: 0,0:11:36.44,0:11:40.36,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,it poisons the entire\Nclassroom environment.
Dialogue: 0,0:11:41.01,0:11:44.93,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The trust between student\Nand teacher is broken.
Dialogue: 0,0:11:46.93,0:11:50.49,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Even so, many teachers,
Dialogue: 0,0:11:50.51,0:11:53.10,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,often with the very best of intentions,
Dialogue: 0,0:11:53.12,0:11:55.12,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,still say the N-word in class.
Dialogue: 0,0:11:57.24,0:12:02.38,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,They want to show and emphasize\Nthe horrors of US racism,
Dialogue: 0,0:12:02.40,0:12:05.16,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,so they rely on it for shock value.
Dialogue: 0,0:12:05.99,0:12:08.88,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Invoking it brings into stark relief
Dialogue: 0,0:12:08.90,0:12:11.87,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the ugliness of our nation's past.
Dialogue: 0,0:12:12.39,0:12:13.88,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But they forget
Dialogue: 0,0:12:13.91,0:12:18.37,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the ideas are alive and well\Nin our cultural fabric.
Dialogue: 0,0:12:25.15,0:12:30.59,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The six-letter word is like a capsule\Nof accumulated hurt.
Dialogue: 0,0:12:32.71,0:12:35.37,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Every time it is said, every time,
Dialogue: 0,0:12:35.40,0:12:38.93,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,it releases into the atmosphere\Nthe hateful notion
Dialogue: 0,0:12:38.96,0:12:41.74,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that black people are less.
Dialogue: 0,0:12:43.94,0:12:45.15,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,My black students tell me
Dialogue: 0,0:12:45.17,0:12:47.67,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that when the word is quoted\Nor spoken in class,
Dialogue: 0,0:12:47.70,0:12:51.69,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,they feel like a giant spotlight\Nis shining on them.
Dialogue: 0,0:12:53.04,0:12:54.36,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,One of my students told me
Dialogue: 0,0:12:54.36,0:12:56.88,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that his classmates\Nwere like bobbleheads,
Dialogue: 0,0:12:56.90,0:12:58.90,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,turning to gauge his reaction.
Dialogue: 0,0:13:00.87,0:13:04.10,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,A white student told me\Nthat in the eighth grade,
Dialogue: 0,0:13:04.12,0:13:07.98,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,when they were learning\N"To Kill a Mockingbird"
Dialogue: 0,0:13:08.67,0:13:10.27,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and reading it out loud in class,
Dialogue: 0,0:13:10.29,0:13:12.70,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the student was stressed out
Dialogue: 0,0:13:12.72,0:13:15.68,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,at the idea of having to read the word,
Dialogue: 0,0:13:15.70,0:13:19.30,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,which the teacher insisted\Nall students do,
Dialogue: 0,0:13:19.33,0:13:23.12,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that the student ended up\Nspending most of the unit
Dialogue: 0,0:13:23.14,0:13:24.94,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,hiding out in the bathroom.
Dialogue: 0,0:13:25.87,0:13:27.46,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,This is serious.
Dialogue: 0,0:13:27.48,0:13:29.86,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Students across the country
Dialogue: 0,0:13:29.89,0:13:33.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,talk about switching majors\Nand dropping classes
Dialogue: 0,0:13:33.22,0:13:36.17,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,because of poor teaching\Naround the N-word.
Dialogue: 0,0:13:36.19,0:13:40.45,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The issue of faculty\Ncarelessly speaking the word
Dialogue: 0,0:13:40.48,0:13:42.86,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,has reached such a fevered pitch,
Dialogue: 0,0:13:42.88,0:13:46.68,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,it's led to protests at Princeton, Emory,
Dialogue: 0,0:13:46.70,0:13:48.14,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The New School,
Dialogue: 0,0:13:48.16,0:13:50.67,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Smith College, where I teach,
Dialogue: 0,0:13:50.70,0:13:52.47,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and Williams College,
Dialogue: 0,0:13:52.49,0:13:58.47,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,where just recently students have\Nboycotted the entire English Department
Dialogue: 0,0:13:58.50,0:14:00.84,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,over it and other issues.
Dialogue: 0,0:14:01.52,0:14:04.31,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And these were just the cases\Nthat make the news.
Dialogue: 0,0:14:04.95,0:14:06.57,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,This is a crisis.
Dialogue: 0,0:14:07.30,0:14:09.19,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And while student reaction
Dialogue: 0,0:14:09.21,0:14:11.62,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,looks like an attack on freedom of speech,
Dialogue: 0,0:14:11.65,0:14:15.21,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I promise this is an issue of teaching.
Dialogue: 0,0:14:15.98,0:14:20.51,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,My students are not afraid\Nof materials that have the N-word in it.
Dialogue: 0,0:14:21.28,0:14:23.49,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,They want to learn about James Baldwin
Dialogue: 0,0:14:23.51,0:14:25.24,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and William Faulkner
Dialogue: 0,0:14:25.27,0:14:27.23,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and about the civil rights movement.
Dialogue: 0,0:14:29.20,0:14:33.26,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,In fact, their stories show
Dialogue: 0,0:14:33.28,0:14:38.03,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that this word is a central feature\Nof their lives as young people
Dialogue: 0,0:14:38.05,0:14:39.45,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in the United States.
Dialogue: 0,0:14:40.63,0:14:42.48,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It's in the music they love.
Dialogue: 0,0:14:42.51,0:14:45.02,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And in the popular culture they emulate,
Dialogue: 0,0:14:45.04,0:14:47.09,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the comedy they watch,
Dialogue: 0,0:14:47.11,0:14:49.50,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,it's in TV and movies
Dialogue: 0,0:14:49.52,0:14:51.74,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and memorialized in museums.
Dialogue: 0,0:14:52.52,0:14:54.48,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,They hear it in locker rooms,
Dialogue: 0,0:14:54.51,0:14:56.30,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,on Instagram,
Dialogue: 0,0:14:56.32,0:14:58.35,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in the hallways at school,
Dialogue: 0,0:14:58.37,0:15:01.28,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in the chat rooms\Nof the video games they play.
Dialogue: 0,0:15:01.31,0:15:03.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It is all over the world they navigate.
Dialogue: 0,0:15:04.30,0:15:06.27,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But they don't know how to think about it
Dialogue: 0,0:15:06.29,0:15:09.08,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,or even really what the word means.
Dialogue: 0,0:15:10.35,0:15:12.74,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I didn't even really understand\Nwhat the word meant
Dialogue: 0,0:15:12.76,0:15:14.50,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,until I did some research.
Dialogue: 0,0:15:14.80,0:15:17.26,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I was astonished to learn
Dialogue: 0,0:15:17.29,0:15:21.16,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that black people first incorporated\Nthe N-word into the vocabulary
Dialogue: 0,0:15:21.19,0:15:23.17,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,as political protest,
Dialogue: 0,0:15:23.20,0:15:26.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,not in the 1970s or 1980s
Dialogue: 0,0:15:26.23,0:15:29.08,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but as far back as the 1770s.
Dialogue: 0,0:15:29.59,0:15:31.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And I wish I had more time to talk
Dialogue: 0,0:15:31.42,0:15:36.17,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,about the long, subversive history\Nof the black use of the N-word.
Dialogue: 0,0:15:36.62,0:15:38.72,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But I will say this:
Dialogue: 0,0:15:38.74,0:15:42.04,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Many times, my students\Nwill come up to me and say,
Dialogue: 0,0:15:42.07,0:15:45.48,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"I understand the virulent roots\Nof this word, it's slavery."
Dialogue: 0,0:15:46.77,0:15:48.70,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,They are only partially right.
Dialogue: 0,0:15:50.10,0:15:54.43,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,This word, which existed\Nbefore it became a slur,
Dialogue: 0,0:15:54.46,0:15:59.93,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but it becomes a slur at a very\Ndistinct moment in US history,
Dialogue: 0,0:15:59.95,0:16:05.12,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and that's as large numbers\Nof black people begin to become free,
Dialogue: 0,0:16:05.14,0:16:07.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,starting in the North in the 1820s.
Dialogue: 0,0:16:08.25,0:16:09.98,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,In other words,
Dialogue: 0,0:16:10.01,0:16:15.04,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,this word is fundamentally\Nan assault on black freedom,
Dialogue: 0,0:16:15.06,0:16:16.55,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,black mobility,
Dialogue: 0,0:16:16.58,0:16:18.67,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and black aspiration.
Dialogue: 0,0:16:19.69,0:16:20.84,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Even now,
Dialogue: 0,0:16:20.87,0:16:25.14,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,nothing so swiftly unleashes\Nan N-word tirade
Dialogue: 0,0:16:25.17,0:16:27.86,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,as a black person asserting their rights
Dialogue: 0,0:16:27.88,0:16:31.28,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,or going where they please or prospering.
Dialogue: 0,0:16:31.30,0:16:34.41,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Think of the attacks\Non Colin Kaepernick when he kneeled.
Dialogue: 0,0:16:34.78,0:16:37.58,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Or Barack Obama when he became president.
Dialogue: 0,0:16:38.60,0:16:41.53,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,My students want to know this history.
Dialogue: 0,0:16:42.96,0:16:46.57,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But when they ask questions,\Nthey're shushed and shamed.
Dialogue: 0,0:16:48.15,0:16:51.50,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,By shying away from talking\Nabout the N-word,
Dialogue: 0,0:16:51.52,0:16:56.33,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,we have turned this word\Ninto the ultimate taboo,
Dialogue: 0,0:16:56.36,0:16:59.33,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,crafting it into something so tantalizing,
Dialogue: 0,0:16:59.36,0:17:01.43,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that for all US kids,
Dialogue: 0,0:17:01.46,0:17:04.51,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,no matter their racial background,
Dialogue: 0,0:17:04.53,0:17:06.55,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,part of their coming of age\Nis figuring out
Dialogue: 0,0:17:06.58,0:17:08.65,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,how to negotiate this word.
Dialogue: 0,0:17:08.67,0:17:12.38,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,We treat conversations about it\Nlike sex before sex education.
Dialogue: 0,0:17:13.38,0:17:15.51,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,We're squeamish, we silence them.
Dialogue: 0,0:17:16.22,0:17:20.45,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So they learn about it\Nfrom misinformed friends and in whispers.
Dialogue: 0,0:17:21.66,0:17:24.27,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I wish I could go back\Nto the classroom that day
Dialogue: 0,0:17:24.29,0:17:26.12,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and push through my fear
Dialogue: 0,0:17:26.14,0:17:29.57,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to talk about the fact\Nthat something actually happened.
Dialogue: 0,0:17:29.59,0:17:32.45,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Not just to me or to my black students.
Dialogue: 0,0:17:32.47,0:17:33.90,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But to all of us.
Dialogue: 0,0:17:34.66,0:17:37.37,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,You know, I think
Dialogue: 0,0:17:37.40,0:17:41.41,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,we're all connected by our inability\Nto talk about this word.
Dialogue: 0,0:17:42.28,0:17:45.19,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But what if we explored\Nour points of encounter
Dialogue: 0,0:17:45.21,0:17:47.28,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and did start to talk about it?
Dialogue: 0,0:17:48.64,0:17:51.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Today, I try to create\Nthe conditions in my classroom
Dialogue: 0,0:17:52.02,0:17:54.94,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to have open and honest\Nconversations about it.
Dialogue: 0,0:17:55.32,0:17:58.36,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,One of those conditions --\Nnot saying the word.
Dialogue: 0,0:17:58.94,0:18:00.27,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,We're able to talk about it
Dialogue: 0,0:18:00.29,0:18:02.48,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,because it doesn't come\Ninto the classroom.
Dialogue: 0,0:18:02.86,0:18:04.36,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Another important condition
Dialogue: 0,0:18:04.38,0:18:06.89,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,is I don't make\Nmy black students responsible
Dialogue: 0,0:18:06.91,0:18:09.69,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,for teaching their classmates about this.
Dialogue: 0,0:18:09.71,0:18:11.02,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,That is my job.
Dialogue: 0,0:18:11.32,0:18:12.72,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So I come prepared.
Dialogue: 0,0:18:13.19,0:18:16.77,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I hold the conversation with a tight rein,
Dialogue: 0,0:18:16.79,0:18:19.100,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and I'm armed with\Nknowledge of the history.
Dialogue: 0,0:18:20.02,0:18:24.23,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I always ask students the same question:
Dialogue: 0,0:18:24.25,0:18:27.53,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Why is talking about the N-word hard?
Dialogue: 0,0:18:28.16,0:18:30.61,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Their answers are amazing.
Dialogue: 0,0:18:31.39,0:18:32.54,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,They're amazing.
Dialogue: 0,0:18:34.08,0:18:36.34,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,More than anything though,
Dialogue: 0,0:18:36.36,0:18:41.79,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I have become deeply acquainted\Nwith my own points of encounter,
Dialogue: 0,0:18:41.81,0:18:44.32,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,my personal history around this word.
Dialogue: 0,0:18:45.42,0:18:48.44,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Because when the N-word comes to school,
Dialogue: 0,0:18:48.47,0:18:50.52,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,or really anywhere,
Dialogue: 0,0:18:50.55,0:18:55.88,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,it brings with it all\Nof the complicated history of US racism.
Dialogue: 0,0:18:56.64,0:18:58.85,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The nation's history
Dialogue: 0,0:18:58.88,0:19:00.37,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and my own,
Dialogue: 0,0:19:00.39,0:19:03.32,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,right here, right now.
Dialogue: 0,0:19:03.73,0:19:05.26,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,There's no avoiding it.
Dialogue: 0,0:19:05.89,0:19:08.32,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,(Applause)