When Latinx People Use the N-Word

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But even ignoring Ms. Rodriguez’s history, the incident sheds light on an ugly truth about the unsettling comfort many Latinx people have with saying the N-word and the right they claim to have in using it. It also underscores a complicated dynamic between two marginalized groups, and what it means for them to experience both solidarity with and division from one another.

In urban neighborhoods across the country — from Corona, Queens, where I grew up, to Compton, Calif. — African-Americans and Latinx people live in close quarters, often segregated from whites through institutionalized or historically racist practices. As such, a cultural exchange has emerged naturally over decades, one that exists across local business cooperation, community organizing, cuisines and, notably, lexicon. African-American Vernacular English and Spanish-language slang come together outside the bodega or at the park.

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