COMBATING HUCK FINN’S CENSORSHIP: A Step-by-Step Approach to Discussing the N-Word in the Classroom

The recent censorship of Mark Twain’s classic novel The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn has once again brought the controversy surrounding the “n-word” back into America’s public consciousness. The announcement that there will be a newly printed version of the novel that replaces the word nigger—which is used 219 times in the book—with the word slave has rekindled the debate on if, when, or how the n-word should or should not be said or written. The truth is the n-word will never disappear, despite its censorship. Ever since it was first uttered in the early 1600s to its present-day incarnations, the n-word and its multiple meanings and derivatives persist. It is important to create an inclusive and trustworthy classroom environment, and this should start, preferably, at the beginning of the school year. An important aspect of creating this environment is having classroom discussions that have set guidelines and expectations.