The Nth Degree: Examining Intra-racial Use of the N-Word in Employment Discriminal Cases

In his book, Nigger: The Strange Career of a Troublesome Word, Harvard Law Professor Randall Kennedy observes that the N-word “is and has long been the most socially consequential racial insult. . . . [but today] when African Americans are speaking to each other, “ni**er,” and especially its more genial cousin, ‘ni**a’ can be an affectionate greeting, a compliment, or a term of respect.” For example, Jay-Z and Kanye West won a Grammy for their hit song, “Ni**as in Paris.” Yet soon after, federal courts in New York and Alabama concluded that intra-racial use of the N-word is sufficient, under certain circumstances, to create a racially hostile work environment. Likewise, some black entertainers like Oprah Winfrey publicly decry the N-word as a tool of racial oppression. As Oprah explained, the N-word “carries such a sense of hatred and degradation” that to her, its use evokes images of “black men who were lynched and that’s the last word they heard.” But if members of the black community cannot reach a consensus on proper use of the N-word, how can courts and juries be expected to determine whether its intra-racial use is sufficient to create a racially hostile work environment, and how should that determination be made? Should the race of the speaker and target of the speech be taken into account in determining the existence of a racially hostile work environment? If our legal system presumes that the N-word is per se racially offensive, regardless of the race and intent of the user, does that restore “power” to a hurtful word that an empowered new generation of black Americans has stripped of its old meaning and refashioned into a term of endearment and solidarity? These questions highlight the continuing confusion and controversy arising from the black community’s attempts to bring new and positive meaning to an old and infamous word. Our Article explores the N-word debate and the questions to which it gives rise in the employment context. We conclude that the federal courts in New York and Alabama correctly determined that intra-racial use of the N-word can create a racially hostile work environment because that holding comports with longstanding legal recognition of intra-racial, same-sex, and third-party associative employment discrimination. Second, it is proper to apply a reasonable person standard, not a reasonable black person standard, to measure the objective severity of the harassment in cases involving intra-racial use of the N-Word in part because the shameful history of the N-Word underscores the extent to which a reasonable person of any race would likely object to the word’s use at the workplace, even where the speaker is black. Third, social science research indicates that black individuals’ implicit anti-black biases may lead to ill-intended use of the N-word against other blacks. Finally, applying the same standard to intra-racial and interracial use of the N-word, regardless of the speaker’s intent, promotes fairness, consistency, and judicial efficiency

Equitizing Engineering Education by Valuing Children’s Assets: Including Empathy and an Ethic of Care when Considering Trade-offs after Design Failures

The broad case being made in this paper is that recognizing student assets—rather than focusing on deficits—is essential for making engineering education more equitable. The paper begins with our exploration of an epistemic practice of engineering, ‘‘making trade-offs,’’ as enacted by kindergartners after experiencing design failure and during redesign. We then acknowledge through a reexamination of data that our understanding of children’s grappling about a trade-off was incomplete without considering another asset that children brought to the design experience: ‘‘enacting empathy and an ethic of care.’’ We argue for the inclusion of this asset as an epistemic practice of engineering. Doing so has implications for improving learning experiences, research, and equity in engineering education

Perspectives on Failure in the Classroom by Elementary Teachers New to Teaching Engineering

This mixed methods study examines perspectives on failure in the classroom by elementary teachers new to teaching engineering. The study participants included 254 teachers in third, fourth, and fifth grade who responded to survey questions about failure, as well as a subset of 38 of those teachers who participated in interviews about failure. The study first examines the literature about failure in the contexts of engineering and education. Failure is positioned as largely normative and expected in engineering, whereas in education, learning and failure have a more tenuous relationship. Identity, failure avoidance, failure as part of the learning process, growth and fixed mindset, resilience, perseverance, and grit are addressed in a discussion of failure and education. Quantitative and qualitative research methods were utilized to examine how participants: reacted to the words failure or fail, reported allowing students to fail or revise their work, considered how failure should be avoided in education, considered how failure may be construed as a learning experience, and reported using the words failure or fail in their classrooms. Conclusions from the study include that: failure has a largely negative connotation within education and by teachers, which influences how teachers use the words fail and failure and create failure experiences for their students; many teachers practice resilience and perseverance and encourage similar practices in their students with respect to mistakes in the classroom, which serves as a helpful yet somewhat inaccurate analogue for failure in engineering design; and there is evidence that many teachers have adopted a growth mindset and encourage this mindset in their classrooms – however, there are some challenges to a true adoption of this mindset by teachers

Elementary Teachers’ Reflections on Design Failures and Use of Fail Words after Teaching Engineering for Two Years

This mixed-methods study examines how teachers who have taught one or two units of the Engineering is Elementary (EiE) curriculum for two years reported on: students’ responses to design failure; the ways in which they, the teachers, supported these students and used fail words (e.g. fail, failure); and the teachers’ broad perspectives and messages to students about failure. In addition, the study explores how strategies, perspectives, messages, and fail word use may change after two years of engineering instruction. This study builds on previous work about elementary teachers’: perspectives on failure prior to teaching engineering, and responses to and perspectives on failure after teaching EiE unit(s) for one year. Data collected included 74 surveys, containing both quantitative and qualitative items, and ten in-depth, semi-structured interviews. Quantitative data were analyzed via non-parametric methods, and qualitative analysis involved an iterative search for codes and themes. The convergent mixed-methods design enabled comparison across quantitative and qualitative findings. Findings included that the elementary engineering classroom is a complex space in which teams may or may not experience design failure; for those teams that do, they—and, in turn, their teachers—may respond to this experience in a wide range of ways. Also, after two years of teaching engineering, teachers felt more comfortable preparing students for design failure experiences, and responding when design failure occurred. Most also felt more comfortable using fail words, and when they used these words, learned to do so with context and care

Barriers to colorectal cancer screening among American Indian men aged 50 or older, Kansas and Missouri, 2006-2008

American Indian (AI) men have some of the highest rates of colorectal cancer (CRC) in the United States but among the lowest screening rates. Our goal was to better understand awareness and discourse about colorectal cancer in a heterogeneous group of AI men in the Midwestern United States. Focus groups were conducted with AI men (N = 29); data were analyzed using a community-participatory approach to qualitative text analysis. Several themes were identified regarding knowledge, knowledge sources, and barriers to and facilitators of screening. Men in the study felt that awareness about colorectal cancer was low, and people were interested in learning more. Education strategies need to be culturally relevant and specific

Views, Barriers, and Suggestions for Colorectal Cancer Screening Among American Indian Women Older Than 50 Years in the Midwest

OBJECTIVE: Although colorectal cancer (CRC) mortality rates in the US population have shown a decline, American Indian (AI) CRC mortality rates appear to be increasing. CRC screening rates of AIs remain low when compared with other ethnic groups. The research team explored women's perceptions toward CRC screening, existing barriers, and suggestions to promote education and screening among AI women in Kansas and Missouri. METHODS: Using a community-based participatory research approach, the authors conducted 7 focus groups with AI women older than 50 years (N = 52) to better understand their perceptions of and attitudes toward CRC screening. RESULTS: Women recognized barriers to screening, such as embarrassment, privacy issues, fear, insurance, and cost. They countered perceived barriers through inventive suggestions for education and awareness via social support systems and intergenerational relationships. DISCUSSION: CRC screening interventions for AI must be culturally tailored