Prof. Explores Word’s History

The first word in the title of Harvard Law School Professor Randall Kennedy’s new book, Nigger: Strange Career of a Troublesome Word, is sure to generate talk when the book is released in mid-January.

Kennedy’s editor expects controversy upon the book’s release.

“There will be objections from white people and black people alike to seeing this word on the book’s cover. It’s an issue relevant to all of us,” said Pantheon Books Vice President and Executive Editor Erroll McDonald.

The book is a compilation of the sociological, etymological, legal and literary history of the word, which originates from the Latin word for black, niger. Kennedy traces the word from its usage in American literature, popular music and hip-hop culture to the legal profession’s treatment of the word during prominent cases such as the O.J. Simpson trial.

In an interview, Kennedy said he wanted to write an all-encompassing history of the word.

“Knowing everything one could possibly want to know about the word will empower people confronting the word in a negative context,” he said. “It’s a shame when somebody feels diminished in the presence of a word whose meaning has changed so much over time.”

None of the anticipated controversy has prevented Pantheon’s clients from pre-ordering copies of the book.

“Barnes and Noble, for one, has taken an aggressive position on the uniqueness of the book’s title and subject matter and ordered copies of the book in quantities that we are rather very happy to see,” McDonald said.

After the book was originally slated to be released under the title Nigger: A Problem in American Culture, Kennedy and his editors at Pantheon Books, a subsidiary of Random House Inc., faced concerns that the subtitle was too broad and implied a meaning completely different from what Kennedy meant to convey.

“Basically, I’ve put forward my own views, and other people have different views. What’s important is to get an open dialogue going on a word that so diminishes and paralyzes us to hear,” Kennedy said.

“I think that white people should be able to, alongside black people, use the word as well.”