What Do You Tell a Black Athlete After They Were Called the N-Word? Teaching Through the Unanswerable in the American South

• In Event: Enduring Erasures, Radical Futures: Black Males' Survival in Education

Abstract

This paper explores the racialized experiences of Black male student-athletes in the American South through a recent incident at a Fellowship of Christian Athletes football camp involving the use of the N-word. Framed through BlackCrit and critical memory studies, the paper asks: What do you tell a Black athlete after they are called the N-word? This work engages the complexity of racial literacy, discipline, and educational responsibility by drawing on oral history, narrative inquiry, and historical context. This case study positions schools as spaces for profound racial teaching and reflection. Ultimately, the paper argues that the path forward requires courageous dialogue, institutional accountability, and a commitment to teaching through the moments we are most afraid to face.

Author

• Jaquial Durham, Clemson University