Bad Nigger Struggling to Love God

Each year hundreds to thousands of Black Americans and or African Americans attend Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU’s). HBCU serve mainly Black Americans and African Americans and were established prior to the 1964 civil rights act (Wikipedia, Historically black colleges and universities, 2020). I attended a HBCU in the early 1990’s, I having the opportunity to take a Black Religion class as an elective, seeing a Black Christian Church, Christians, seeing Muslim professors walking around campus and teaching class on campus, seeing black fraternities and or sororities (e.g. Greeks and or non-Greeks) interact on campus and or seeing African Art, etc. I remember being excited that I was taking Black religion class and what I was reading. The Black Religion class was at 8:00am, so I had to switch to another class, but I kept reading the book, that I got for my Black religion class. After continuing to read the book on Black Religion, I had a feeling of guilt and sometimes anger; it was not just about loving God, trusting GOD and having Faith in God. It was should I being going to a church and choosing a religion, in which slave owners forced upon my ancestors. It caused me to question the bible, was this bible true or was it something utilized to force my ancestors to conform to slavery. Was I becoming a Bad Nigger?

Arrested Development. (2016 December 4). Arrested Development ‎– Fishin 4 Religion – 3 Years, 5 Months And 2 Days In The Life Of… [You Tube]. https://youtu.be/RXuTllIYA_o

Gerber (2018) asserts:

Slaves were called heathen laborers during slavery and during that time period white supremacy predecessor was protestant supremacy. Throughout the slave colonies in America, Barbados and Jamaica, slave masters identified with their protestant religion. In the 1670’s Protestants missionaries begin to convert (e.g. called by Puritans convincement) slaves and or Africans to the Christian faith; it was found that some colonies had already had churches. They begin to promote Christian Slavery; they influenced the slaved masters by reporting that heathen laborers would not work as hard as the Christian Slaves. Now Quakers (e.g. Protestant) were mainly anti-slavery and wanted to accommodate slavery to their Christian beliefs, as well as the Moravian and Anglican. The Protestants missionaries did not agree with baptism of free and unfree blacks in the Catholic Church. The Quakers felt that the dwelling of God, could be found in any person, and felt that baptism was not needed as well as ministry. Despite the disagreement between the Quakers, Moravian, Catholics and Anglicans on rather or not if slaves should be baptizing and having formal ministries; most slaves when they were bought to the Americas were participating in non-Abrahamic religions. Some Blacks were Muslims, some blacks, such as those in the Kingdom of Kongo; had already begun to convert to Christianity prior to coming to America. Some scholars call “Africanization” and or “Creolization” a conversation to Christianity and some argue that not converting to Christianity is still a rebellion of slavery, today. Evangelical religion (e.g. Afro Protestant, Folk Religion) was more successful for free and unfree slaves, because it was more understandable. Eventually, Afro Protestants were able to minister, baptize and got the rights to the Lord’s Supper.

The National Humanities Center (1938) argues that Africans arrived to America as Muslims. The National Humanities Center (1938) reports the masters would sing and pray to the niggers, who were congregated at their master houses on every Sunday morning and that the Miss and Master of the plantation had to approve of their baptism, they would give a report of how they were working and rather or not if they have been lying and or stealing. Gatling argued they were given passes to attend the white church on Sunday, without the mention of God and was told to be “good niggers and mind our missus and masters” (The National Humanities Center, 1938). The shouting, singing and praying of the very religious Africans annoyed their white masters (The National Humanities Center, 1938). They were not allowed to talk to anyone from other farms or go to church without anyone white, are they would get whipped (The National Humanities Center, 1938). Most of the slaves went to church once a month and the slaves would get a chance to preach, but could not read; so they would go by their natural abilities (The National Humanities Center, 1938). “When the white preacher come he preach and pick up his Bible and claim he gittin the text right out from the good Book and he preach: “The Lord say, don’t you niggers steal chickens from your missus” (The National Humanities Center, 1938). Some slaves did have secret meetings, a secret witch doctor, and believed in voodoo, but some slaves begin to like Christianity (The National Humanities Center, 1938).

CNN. (2013 July 1). Where did the N-word come from?[You Tube]. https://youtu.be/OFnF1c2Tbfw

Andrews (2014) argues that a “Bad Nigger” is a black slave and or individual who took no non sense from whites. Bad Niggers gotten beaten by the master during slavery for not being compliant and refused to bow down to authority (Andrews, 2014). The bad nigger is characterized as not fearing death, resistant to slavery, defiant and aggressive (Andrews, 2014). In the TV series “Roots” slave Kunta Kinte refused to answer to the name “Toby” or report his name was “Toby” (Wolpher, 1977). Kunta Kinte was lashed by his slave master in front of his peers, for not saying his name was “Toby” (Wolpher, 1977). Kunta Kinte was called a “good nigger” when he pronounced his name as Toby (CNN, 2013). The bad nigger is now considered the crook, the gangster, the bandit, the hustler and or the dealer (Andrews, 2014). Rolston (2013) argues that the bad nigger is the bad man, the killer of whites, out of control black man, a slacker; the white’s man worst dreams and or the king of the streets in black communities.

The Bad man and or Bad Nigger is really the moral hard man/amoral hard man who fights against oppression from whites, in prison and in society by taking social action (Rolston, 2013). Hip Hop group NWA took on the Bad Nigger persona and Tupac took on the Hardman persona (Andrews, 2014, Rolston, 2013). According to Rolston, (2013) the “black revolutionary mentality” is comparable with the “black criminal mentality”. It was found that the Black Panther Party chose individuals, such as the “Bad Nigger” quote, unquote to join their party, because they would not back down (Andrews, 2014). Prisoners and ex-convicts were recruited by The Black Panther Party (Andrews, 2014). Blacks seeking identity, due to oppression were able to identify themselves as being a nigger, “resisting white and black death, to be free in spirit” (Andrews, 2014, p. 28).

Black Boxer Jack Johnson was labeled a bad nigger; he drove fast cars, wore tailored clothes, crocodile shoes, had gold teeth, dated white women and won most of his fights against white boxers, involved in the prostitution ring-did not confirm if he was a pimp (Boyce, 2017, #Jacks Media, 2019, Rainy Day, 2020). Jack Johnson was from Galveston Texas was a black boxer from mainly 1895 to 1915 and beyond, in which he was successful in beating white boxers and his wins against white boxers caused race riots (Neumann, 2019, #Jacks Media, 2019). It was reported that Jack Johnson also lived as a hobo in Dallas, Texas and had potential jobs as porter in a gambling parlor and or baker assistant (Neumann, 2019). “Whites did not want this attention to go to a black man who had demonstrated his mastery over a white man” (Neumann, 2019). “A bad nigger was someone who “adamantly refuses to accept the place given to blacks in American society, and who frequently challenges the outer perimeters of expected behavior” (Boyce, 2017). *JackMedia (2019) reported that Boxer Jack Johnson was aligned with the New Negro Party of the early 1900’s, which was against Booker T. Washington message; the best interest of blacks is to be okay, with living separately from whites. W.E. B. Dubois was against Jack Johnson wanting to date and marry white women, but felt it was his right to choose any women; he wanted to dated (#JacksMedia, 2019). Boxer Jack Johnson moved out of America to Canada, London, Paris, Spain, and or Mexico, after appealing his conviction for his involvement, it what was called “white slave trafficking” (#Jacks Media, 2019, Neumann, 2019). Pitching manager Rube Foster of Foster Giants all black baseball team, helped Boxer Jackson, escape to Canada out of America (#Jacks Media, 2019). Jack Johnson, eventually had to come back to America, where he was sent to prison and eventually died in a car wreck in 1945 (Neumann, 2019).

The Tulsa Riots of 1921, were blamed on Bad Niggers, they called Tulsa, “Niggertown”, because of the bad niggers, guns, dope and booze (Madison, 2013). Colin Kappernick former quarterback of the San Francisco 49ers kneeled during the national anthem to protest police brutality, and has been labeled, bad nigger (Boyce, 2017). Kappernick has received death threats and it has been recommended that he leave the country (Boyce, 2017). Andrews (2014) argues the Bad Nigga is now the Good Nigga (e.g. Uncle Tom) and he believes the “Good Nigga” keeps blacks from advancing. Today in Ebonics, reporting and saying, hey he or she is a “bad azz nigga or bad nigger”, it could be that he or she is simply fly, got it going on, got that paper, he or she be clean (e.g. have nice clothes), he or she is just dangerous, he or she is someone you just bet not mess with etc. 

Chimpout. (2020). Texas: Another cop killed by a filthy nigger!http://www.chimpout.org/forum/showthread.php?26854-Texas-Another-cop-killed-by-a-filthy-nigger!&p=105404#post105404

References

Arrested Development. (2016 December 4).Arrested Development ‎– Fishin 4 Religion – 3 Years, 5 Months And 2 Days In The Life Of… [You Tube]. https://youtu.be/RXuTllIYA_o

Andrews, K. (2014). From the “bad nigger” to the “good nigga”: an unintended legacy of the black power movement. Race and Class, 3, 22.

Boyce, T. (2017). Putting Learning into Practice: Integrating Social Media, Crowd Learning, and #ColinKaepernick in an Introductory African American History Class. Radical Teacher, 109(1), 21–28. https://doi-org.ezp.waldenulibrary.org/10.5195/rt.2017.394

Chimpout. (2020). Texas: Another cop killed by a filthy nigger! http://www.chimpout.org/forum/showthread.php?26854-Texas-Another-cop-killed-by-a-filthy-nigger!&p=105404#post105404

Gerber, K. (2018). Christian Slavery. Conversation and Race in the Protestant and Atlantic World. University of Pennsylvania Press.

CNN. (2013 July 1). Where did the N-word come from?[You Tube]. https://youtu.be/OFnF1c2Tbfw

#JacksMedia. (2019 April 19). Unforgivable Blackness: The Rise and Fall of Jack Johnson – Boxing Documentary. https://youtu.be/q0gRGoDchMU

Madigan, T., (2013). The Burning: The Tulsa Race Massacre of 1921. Mc Millian.

National Humanities Center (1938). THE ENSLAVED FAMILY. T The Making of African American Identity: Vol. I, 1500-1865. http://nationalhumanitiescenter.org/pds/maai/community/text3/religionslaveswpa.pdf

Neumann, C. E. (2019). Jack Johnson. Salem Press Biographical Encyclopedia.

Rainy Day Boxing. (2020 July 4). Jack Johnson | Black Boxer Who Lived Without Fear. https://youtu.be/yD9pWduebqk

Rolston, S. (2013). Prison life writing, african american narrative strategies, and bad: The autobiography of james carr. Melus, 38(4), 191-215,261. https://ezp.waldenulibrary.org/login?qurl=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.proquest.com%2Fdocview%2F1500355320%3Faccountid%3D14872

Wikipedia contributors. (2020, October 1). Historically black colleges and universities. In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Historically_black_colleges_and_universities&oldid=981233455

Wolpher, D. L. (Executive Producer). (1997). Roots [TV series]. Wolper Productions; ABC.