Going into this project, with its focus on racism and racial profiling, I knew that at some point I was going to encounter the "n word". I knew that when that time came I was going to have to make a decision on whether or not to censor the word. There are numerous reasons why I would or wouldn't censor it, with some of the reasons for choosing to censor it being to reduce the possibility that it would be quoted by a white person talking about a post or the project in general. While I don't believe that any white person reading any of these posts would then feel it appropriate to quote the post directly, the possibility to abuse it is there.
With that being said, I talked with several of my friends and colleagues on this particular issue. I thought a lot about what to do and after much deliberation and consultation, in the end decided not to censor the post. One of the reasons I chose not to censor it is that this is a direct quote from Parker, and he's telling us what he has been called. People weren't calling him "n word" out the window. Another reason I chose not to censor the post is because I feel that would lessen the impact, feel, and meaning of it. While still very unpleasant to think of as happening in this day and age, it is easier to read and distance oneself emotionally from a situation when they read that he was called the "n word" than it is to read that someone driving down the street thought it was funny or not entirely horrible to call Parker a nigger.
It's for that reason that I chose to leave the post as it is. This whole project is a teachable moment, but this post in particular is harrowing and I'm hoping that through it we can really see that we have a long way to go still, and start taking the steps to get there.