Is 'thug' a racial slur?
Has “thug” become the new and slightly more acceptable N-word?
President Obama and Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake both used the term to describe mostly African-American looters in Baltimore. Other black politicians, plus some linguists, poets and other experts, say many people are now using “thug” as a pejorative term to demean a whole class of black Americans.
Others are not so sure, arguing that “thug” is still a race-neutral term that refers to all sorts of people, from 1930s Mafia leg-breakers to Nazi brownshirts to anyone who takes something from others through violence or intimidation.
About the Author
Ernie Suggs is an enterprise reporter covering race and culture for the AJC since 1997. A 1990 graduate of N.C. Central University and a 2009 Harvard University Nieman Fellow, he is also the former vice president of the National Association of Black Journalists. His obsession with Prince, Spike Lee movies, Hamilton and the New York Yankees is odd.
