Is "What up n-gga?" a Racial Slur?

The Defendant’s mother, pictured.
In a racially charged case in New York, a white defendant is charged with a hate crime after approaching a black man, saying, “What’s up nigga?” and beating him. The black man responded, “What’s up.” The jury is expected to be presented with evidence that the N-word is no longer a pejorative term, but a simply colloquialism. In addition, the jury will hear evidence that the white defendant and his multi-ethnic friends frequently use the N-word in casual conversation, even considering it a term of endearment.

“If Mr. Minucci is convicted in the attack, but the jury decides it was not motivated by racial hatred, then he will face a lower sentence. Prosecutors hope to prove the attack was motivated by such a bias. The defense, meanwhile, is expected to suggest that a young man growing up in a mixed neighborhood in New York City uses “the N word” as a matter of course and that the word no longer carries the racially charged overtones it has historically.”

Mr. Minucci’s friends and family have said that the word is uttered today more in collegiality than hatred, and that its proliferation in rap music and everyday conversation among young people of various races and ethnicities has changed its meaning and impact.”

TheStateOf. . .The N-Word. In some ways, I hope this dude gets off. It’ll teach us a lesson.