“Coon.” For some Howard University students, the word is used in everyday conversation.
As in, “That person’s coonin’.” Or doing the Chicken Noodle Soup dance. That’s “coonin’,” too.
“I guess we use it in the same sense people use the ‘N word,’” says Alesha Johnson, a sophomore broadcast journalism major.
Others though, cite the word’s derogatory history and say they would never take part in its use.
“I think it’s positively asinine that students use it. The ‘n’ word is one thing,” says Zelena Williams, a freshman print journalism major. “You can’t say you’re doing the same thing you’re doing with the ‘n’ word.”
The term’s usage as a slang word became popular on Howard’s campus in the spring of 2005, and it has carried on among many students.
Whether students use the word depends mainly on the student’s personal interpretation of its history and meaning.
