HI, WE’RE F.U.N: FCK YOU NIGGAS

Words by Carrie Stetler | Images by Akintola Hanif

F.U.N. is a skateboard crew of middle schoolers and freshmen from suburban Essex County. To join, members have to do a “six-stair’’ and skate together at least three times a week unless “you’re hurt or you have family stuff.’’ They don’t really like to explain what F.U.N. stands for. Perhaps because it’s an acronym for "Fuck U Niggas*. “Some people think it’s racist, but we’re not trying to be racist,’’ they insist. The dozen or so members of F.U.N are mostly white. A few are Asian and one is a dark-skinned Dominican. Other members aren’t sure if he considers himself Black. Anyway, he doesn’t mind the name, they say (he wasn’t around for the interview).

HYCIDE: The name isn’t supposed to be hostile against

black people?

Adrick: No, it just means people who hate us.

HYCIDE: So you’re using “nigger” like “fuck you, bitches”?

Several members: Yeah.

Adrick: (correcting me) It has to be an “a” at the end. No hard “r”.

HYCIDE: But a lot of black people still get angry when people who aren't black use that word.

Gorilla: If I went up to a Black person and said, “Hey, nigga. Wassup?’’ and they were like 14 or 17, they wouldn’t care. If they’re 60 or 80 they would.

Bieber (named for resemblance to Justin Bieber): My older brother uses it with his Black friends. They are ok with it. It’s like saying “bro.’’

Gorilla: It’s a form of respect.

HYCIDE: But even if you don’t mean it in a racist way, you’re using it to refer to something negative. It’s like saying something is “gay” when you’re not calling someone homosexual.

Gorrilla: But you can’t use “nigga’’ the way they use “gay.’’ You can’t say ‘’that’s nigga’’ You can’t use it like that. (meaning, then it would be insulting to Black people).

HYCIDE: Do other kids where you live use “nigga’’ the way you do?

Gorilla: No. Sometimes they use it in a racist way (with a hard “r’’)

HYCIDE: Why do you think you like to use it?

Gorilla: It’s stuck in my head. You hear it in songs all the time.

HYCIDE: Have you ever thought of changing the name?

(About half of F.U.N. say no. The other half are wavering).

Adrick: Yeah, just to make it sound more appropriate for when we enter competitions and they ask us our name.

HYCIDE: What would you change it to?

Sloth: Maybe we should change it to “Fuck you Naggers.’’

Adrick (sarcastically): “Friendly United Nation.’’

* In 1619 John Rolfe referred to enslaved Africans as 'negars', a derivative of the Latin word niger which means black. Originally, negar was not a derogatory term but during slavery, racist whites manipulated the meaning to imply an ignorant or lowly person. It was a term reserved for Blacks (by whites) to justify enslavement, to dehumanize and devalue Africans' historical worth. Culturally it was necessary for whites to believe that Africans were inherently subhuman or non-human in nature. In the U.S. constitution, Africans were declared to be three-fifths of a man.

For those sensitive to, or ignorant of the uses and connotations of the word nigga, HYCIDE would like to suggest the following material: 1) That Nigga's Crazy by Richard Pryor 2) Every Tupac record ever made 3) Nigger: The Strange Career of a Troublesome Word by Randall Kennedy 4) Nigger: An Autobiography by Dick Gregory and 5) Malcolm X: A Life of Reinvention by Manning Marable. These selections can provide some context about the history of the word and how people have popularized its use.