Mark Twain knew that the word” nigger” is a controversial and offensive word for many people, especially, African American. The word is still being used, is still used offensively, and why the word has to be talked about early enough so that people know the sheer amount of weight behind this word. But, the problem is that the n-word is not been substituted with an inoffensive word, instead the substitution is the word “slave” which is another offensive word. The word is obviously part of our history and that history shouldn’t be forgotten. It shouldn’t be used pejoratively, but some do and people always will. Now a publisher has attempted to whitewash Huck Finn by replacing the word “nigger” with “slave.” Why? "The n-word speaks to a society that casually dehumanized the black community. Slave was just a job description. In the debate of whether to replace the “N” word with slave, we must ask ourselves, “is that word any better?” Would we want to be called either word? It is a word created by man, and really was not originally created for its current use. But of course, now that it has been labeled a “bad word”, and has a condescending affect, its meaning is offensive. To edit the original version that changes the entire nature of the book is just wrong
This may be risky because the new version of the text might replace all previous ones. In attempting to win new readers with a school friendly version all past and potential readers could be deprived of a piece of American literary history when the publishing company decides to only print the new one from now on and the older copies become contraband because of censorship. The publishing company or perhaps Twain's descendants, whoever holds the copyrights in this case might have sold out a priceless trove of knowledge with this genuine era masterpiece. Its frequent use of the N-word has been viewed by many as racist and a cause of the lowering of self esteems for the colored people. The NAACP has specifically targeted this book and urged that it be removed from the required reading list. As much as they claim they are not aiming for censorship, they are doing exactly that by asking for the banning of the book.
However, well-informed students who have been educated in American history when reading the book will have come to the acknowledgement that in the time of slavery, "nigger" was a reproachful word commonly referring to a black person. However, we are no longer in the times of slavery. "Nigger" like any other word can only be interpreted by the way it is taken. I believe this book is in no way offensive, should not be banned, and readers should not be refrained from reading such stories.
I did not appreciate anyone using that word because in this society it has interpreted the wrong way. I think it’s only acceptable to use it the way Twain used it – to draw attention to the shocking dehumanization behind it, and the evil of talking and thinking about black people that way
According to Trey Ellis (2011) stated”
There are vast differences between calling a character “nigger” and calling them “slave.” They are not interchangeable. Writers choose their words thoughtfully. Our words create, color, layer and texture and contextualize the stories we tell. The notion that one can change one of those carefully chosen words -- much less 219 of them -- to suit their perception of contemporary mores and eliminate the possibility of hurt sensibilities is an abdication of a teacher’s responsibility to illuminate and guide students through an unfamiliar and perhaps difficult text.

David Howard, head of the Office of Public Advocate, said he used the word "niggardly" in a Jan. 15 conversation about funding with two employees said:.
"I used the word 'niggardly' in reference to my administration of a fund," Howard said in a written statement yesterday. "Although the word, which is defined as miserly, does not have any racial connotations, I realize that staff members present were offended by the word.
This is true because you can only be offended depending on how you take things. A white person calling a black person nigga is different than a black person calling a black person nigga.

References

Ellis, T. (2011, January 15). Huck Finn and the N-word is more complicated than it might seem. In TreyEllis.com. Retrieved April 6, 2011, from http://treyellis.com.
Fisher, S. (2011, January 6). The words of Pap Finn's rant. In New York Times. Retrieved April 6, 2011, from http://www.nytimes.com.
Gates, H. L. (2010). What's in a Name. In L. Kirszner & S. Mandell (Eds.), Patterns for College Writers (11th ed., pp. 5-7). Boston, MA: Bedford/St. Martin's.
Pitts, Jr., L. (2011, January 10). Censoring 'Huck Finn': wrong, wrong, wrong. In Miami Herald.com. Retrieved April 6, 2011, from http://www.miamiherald.com/leonard_pitts.
___ (2008, October 8). N-word has no place in society. In Miami Herald.com. Retrieved April 6, 2011, from http://www.miamiherald.com/leonard_pitts.