Nigger: The Strange Career of a Troublesome Word by Randall Kennedy
It’s "the nuclear bomb of racial epithets," a word that whites have employed to wound and degrade African Americans for three centuries. Paradoxically, among many Black people, it has become a term of affection and even empowerment. The word, of course, is nigger. In this candid, lucidly argued book, the distinguished legal scholar Randall Kennedy traces its origins, maps its multifarious connotations, and explores its controversies. Should blacks be able to use nigger in ways forbidden to others? Should the law treat it as a provocation that reduces the guilt of those responding violently? Should it cost a person his job, or a book like Huckleberry Finn its place on library shelves? With a range of references that extends from the Jim Crow South to Chris Rock routines and the O. J. Simpson trial, Kennedy takes on not just a word but our laws, attitudes, and culture with bracing courage and intelligence. ¶
“The twentieth-anniversary edition of one of the most controversial books ever published on race and language is now more relevant than ever in this season of racial reckoning—from “one of our most important and perceptive writers on race.””
—The Washington Post
Designing the cover for Randall Kennedy’s Nigger was a challenge. How do you create a cover that acknowledges the weight of the N-word while ensuring booksellers feel comfortable displaying it? The final design was shaped by a balance of sensitivity and boldness, drawing inspiration from protests sparked by Muhammad Ali’s defiant words: “Ain’t no Vietnamese ever called me nigger.” ¶ Ali’s statement, made during his refusal to fight in the Vietnam War, became a rallying cry for the Black Power movement. It appeared on protest signs and banners throughout the 1960s, symbolizing Black Americans’ anger at being asked to fight for a country that oppressed them. The phrase also became the title of the 1968 film No Vietnamese Ever Called Me Nigger, which highlighted the racial injustices faced by Black soldiers in Vietnam. These protests, fueled by Ali's words, powerfully linked the fight for civil rights at home with opposition to the war abroad. ¶
Photograph by Bettmann / Getty
Via Cinetica
Protesters of the Vietnam War, led by civil rights activists Stokely Carmichael and Floyd McKissick, marched in New York City. Courtesy of LeRoy Henderson via NPR
David Loeb Weiss's No Vietnamese Ever Called Me Nigger (1968). Photo courtesy the Earl W. and Amanda Stafford Center for African American Media Arts at the National Museum of African American History and Culture
The final design features a blind embossed black cover, creating a subtle yet powerful effect. The use of blind embossing reflects how the word "nigger" gets under our skin—its presence is felt even when it's not overtly visible. This texture symbolizes how the word has been branded into our lives, leaving a lasting impact. The simplicity of the black cover reinforces the weight of the subject matter, offering a quiet yet powerful representation of how this term has shaped identities and experiences. ¶
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Partner(s)
Penguin Randomhouse
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Timeline
Start: 05.2021
End: 06.2021
Launch: 02.2022 -
Service(s)
Editorial
Typography -
Note(s)
N/A