Words have no meaning without context. Once stated, it seems obvious, but in certain situations this truism appears to be forgotten. During a Family Action Network event with Evanston Township High School while on tour for his newest book, We Were Eight Years In Power, Ta-Nehisi Coates responds to a question from the audience on the issues of the use of the N-word. With examples he reminds us of how we know the importance of context to be true. In his low-key conversational delivery he then extends the analysis to explain the contexts at play in the use of this hot-button vocabulary item.
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