I mean, for people with short attention spans, quoting Tupac’s acronym (Never Ignorant Getting Goals Accomplished) is relatively, simple  The average first grader can quote that in his sleep. However, to do a deep, historical and etymological breakdown that goes back centuries takes more than just the proverbial “street smarts.” It requires somebody to pick up a book, or at the very least, put his Google skills to the test.

Now, the argument over a positive interpretation of the N Word did not start with Kendrick Lamar. In 1934, noted historian, JA Rogers made a similar attempt to defend the use of the word “negro” in his work “100 Amazing Facts About the Negro: With Complete Proof”  by saying that it had royal origins.

More recently, scholars such as Kaba Hiawatha Kamene ( Dr.  Booker T Coleman ) and Hip Hop artist Hakim Green (Channel Live)  have also attempted to give the word a noble  heritage using the works of Gerald Massey and writings such as the Kebra Nagast as evidence that a ni**a has not always been the dude with a white t-shirt and jeans hangin’ down below his  knees. According to  the them,  the original Nagast wore crowns and royal garments.

The flip side of the argument, as advanced by lecturers, The Irritated Genie and community activists such as Kwabana Sakidi Jijaga Rasuli is that the ancient Ethiopic word ain’t got jack to do with the N-word that was yelled at our ancestors as they were being hanged from trees.

According to most dictionaries, the word “negro” comes, directly , from the 15th century Portuguese slave traders and was not a noun but an adjective meaning “the black,” as in a color. But when white southerners tried to say it with s#### in their mouths, it came out “ni**er.” And because of the Stockholm Syndrome, we changed it to “ni**a.”   So we are, clearly, dealing with two different words.

And even if it did have noble beginnings, the term is now being used to identify white supremacy’s greatest creation, “the Ni**a” – a self- hating monster who is programed to kill other black people, whether it be man, woman or child. Or, in the eyes of trigga happy cops “ a natural born criminal who is worthy of instant execution.”

But, hypothetically speaking, suppose that the Honorable Marcus Garvey’s  use of the word “negro” could be traced back to the royal lineage of the throne of Ethiopia to, at least , the time of the Queen of Sheba (Makeda) while racists and white supremacists are using the word that came from the Portuguese slave traders.  If we are truly going to differentiate the terms and come up with a “positive term of endearment,” it would only make sense that we use the Sankofa principal and go back to the historical Ethiopian origins of the word.

That is why Kimathi Melaku El, minister of education of The Black Talmidim, says that the group is calling for the black community to permanently replace “ni**a” with Negus. They are also asking that people use the hashtag #replacewithnegus on social media and substitute the word “ni**a” in song lyrics and popular phrases  with “Negus.” (For instance, “N***a With Attitude”  becomes “Negus  With Attitude,” etc.)

				From N*** to Negus
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Some may argue that with the recent police killings, the black community has bigger things to worry about than a word. But , isn’t it easier to feel that you can get away with killing a ni**a than getting away with assassinating a king ?

Kwame Ture once said “every Negro is a potential Black man.”  So, just maybe every n#### is a potential Negus.

Min. Paul Scott is founder of the Messianic Afrikan Nation. He can be reached at in**@*****************ed.com Follow on Twitter @truthminista