Myranda Harrison
Staff Writer

The Wilbur N. Daniel African American culture center hosted its last hot topic event for the year on
Thursday, April 4.

The topic included the history of the “N” word and whether or not it should still be used. This event
was designed to give students of all races an in depth view into the lives of African-Americans.

“We try to discuss events that are important to the APSU community and the African-American
community” said Stephanie Elder, a graduate assistant in the African-American Culture Center and
graduate student whose concentration is music.

Veleashia Smith the director of the Institute of Black Culture at the University of Florida led the
discussion. She was able to show students a power point presentation that gave insight and
background information on the usage of the “N” word. Issues such as politics, entertainment, war,
and hip-hop were brought into discussion. It was able to show students how African Americans were
considered a different species at the time of the word’s common usage.

After going over the history of the word and why it was used, students were then able to give their
own insight and opinions on whether or not they think it is okay to still use the word. Students were
very much involved in the discussion and it was able to teach them how to look at the “N” word from
a different perspective.

“This really challenged people to think” said Henderson Hill, Director of the
African-American Culture Center.

At the end the discussion a poll was taken that asked students whether or not they think it is okay to
still use the “N” word. Once the results were in it showed that nearly 50% of the students present
think that is acceptable to keep using the word and the other 50% voted against using it.

As comedian Dave Chapelle once said,“If people stop saying the “N” word is everything then going to be equal.”