Editor's Note: Warning - this story contains sensitive or offensive content in quoting characters in a television show.
Wednesday night’s episode of NBC’s The Carmichael Show, “Cynthia’s Birthday,” presented a unique perspective on the use of the n-word.
Jerrod Carmichael's family is appalled that his white friend, Drew, who owns the fancy restaurant they are going to for Cynthia's birthday, greets him as “my nigga.” There is discussion about leaving over the remark, but Jerrod defends his friend, saying that he’s “completely cool with it.” Jerrod’s father, Joe, (David Alan Grier) on the other hand claims that Jerrod was “racially slurred,” an occurrence “much worse than a terrorist attack.”
Joe: Well, unfortunately, it's much worse than a terrorist attack. Jerrod was racially slurred when you were in the bathroom.
Cynthia: Lord, no! On my birthday?
Joe: I'm afraid so.
Jerrod: Dad, stop. I wasn't slurred, okay? Yes, my friend Drew called me "Nigga," but he said it in a sweet and loving type of way.
Cynthia: Jerrod, you know I don't like that word at all, but we cannot stop your generation from saying it.
Bobby: Yeah, Mom, but it's a twist to it. Drew is white.
Cynthia: Sweet shepherd of Jesus! On my birthday?
Maxine: Jerrod, how can you be so nonchalant about that word? It has such an intense history of hate. It's the last word that so many black people heard as they were being hung from trees.
Jerrod: Okay, I don't think the problem in that scenario is the word, Maxine. I think it's the hanging. All right? If you ask me, the black community gets way too caught up on that word. It's just a distraction. We should focus on things that actually matter, like, I don't know, voter suppression, instead of Hulk Hogan, or Dog the Bounty Hunter, or Justin Timberlake saying the "N" word.
Cynthia: Oh, no! JT said it, too?
Jerrod: Well, he hasn't said it... yet, but come on. Look, the point is, you guys saying black people don't read like that is way more offensive than someone saying the "N" word. I've known Drew for a really long time. He's had nothing but black friends. He's dated nothing but black girls. I mean, the man has on a fresh pair of Jordan 11's with a suit right now. He's embraced black culture more than anyone.
Maxine: Well, just because you appropriate our culture doesn't mean that you can use our words. He is not black. And if you haven't experienced the pain of that word, then you do not have the right to say it.
Jerrod also tells Maxine, “By making a big deal about this word, you're just giving it power. You're basically giving someone a weapon to hurt you with. We can't control who says the word, but we can control our reaction to it.” He continues, “I think everyone should just use the word constantly. So much until it dilutes its power, makes it meaningless.”
At the end of the episode, the family is kicked out of the restaurant after Maxine angrily screams, “We are not niggers!” at Drew. The family berates her and says she said it with "actual hate" in her voice, but Maxine argues that she was aiming her hatred at Jerrod’s friend. Joe responds, “Hate is hate, and it's hurtful on all of us.”
It’s refreshing to see a show that can acknowledge the dark history of the “n-word" while arguing that even though bigotry cannot be controlled, a calm reaction can strip bigots of their power and end a cycle of hate that hurts us all.
