Dawson said in a written statement that the student first used the word toward him and [said]
"[I] responded with the same disrespectful term that he hurled my way. I said: 'Well then, niggah, you get away from my window.' " ...The student, whose name was not released, denied to school officials that he used the term first. He alleged that Dawson said it while trying to get him to sit down.
District investigators interviewed several witnesses, who did not confirm Dawson's allegation about the student, who wasn't disciplined.
Officials said the teacher's use of the word in any circumstance was a serious offense. "It's insensitive, inappropriate language, and it's conduct unbecoming a teacher," district spokeswoman Lauren Roberts said.
...
Several Valley High students said yesterday that the word often is used among black students, and sometimes whites, as a term of affection. But they
were surprised that a teacher had said it. "I thought it was very offensive," said Shareka Morrow, 17, who heard about the incident secondhand. "If you're white, you don't say it."
Ray Underwood, 18, another black student, said Dawson is a good teacher who "likes rappin' " and using urban slang and most likely did not "try to hurt feelings."
Ricky Jones, chairman of the Department of Pan-African Studies at the University of Louisville, said some African Americans view the word "nigger" as a derogatory term and "niggah" as a term of affection.
But the latter can be offensive to some, and there's heated debate about whether the prevalence of the term in any form is acceptable, he said. Some argue its use by blacks helps negate the word's derogatory power.
But
few condone its use by white people, Jones said --
especially by adults who should fully understand the word's historical context. http://www.courier-journal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AI...02030403/1008/NEWS01