By Eric Williams
After I had a heated debate with my very intelligent brother, Kevin Edwards, who just so happens to be a nuclear medicine technician in Philadelphia, I had to sit down to write this scathing column about Damon Wayans and his sad attempt to trademark the term “Nigga” for his proposed clothing line and retail store.
Incredibly, Wayans and a whole lot of other people of color – like my brother – see absolutely nothing wrong with promoting the use of a degrading racial slur that has been used as a verbal weapon against Blacks for centuries.
I, however, see this subject through the eyes of someone much older – someone, like, Wayans’ father or grandfather, possibly, who, I am fairly certain, had to battle racism and the “N” word on an almost daily basis when they were both young men, which, coincidentally, makes me wonder how Wayan’s family members feel about the subject. But that’s a story for another day.
Let me make my argument against Wayans and his supporters.
When I initially broached the subject with my brother, he was totally unaware of the ongoing saga and the national media attention that it has been garnering. However, he quickly rose to Wayans’ defense by saying things like, “We have other more important issues to worry about, and “Maybe he has another purpose for all of this.” As a matter of fact, one of my brother’s comments became the basis and headline for this article.
Incredibly, I couldn’t – and still can’t – fathom where this line of thinking could originate in a person of color. I agree with my brother’s comment that African Americans have a lot more important issues to deal with, but realistically, this exact thought process – combined with a lot of other factors – is at the very core of what is ailing African Americans across the country.
How can our young people – who use this word so freely these day – and really don’t care about how it was used to degrade their ancestors – ever understand where they are going if they never take the time to research their past?
What’s even more bothersome is that it seems most of our young people today don’t seem to care about anything that went on in the world before they came into existence.
It is truly a sad day when our government, which is in its own state of full-blown ineptness, has to save us from ourselves. Thankfully, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has adamantly rejected Wayans twice so far, which says a lot in itself, since he obviously didn’t get the message the first time.
Trademark examiner Kelly Boulton rejected the registration dated Dec. 22, citing a law that prohibits marks that are "immoral or scandalous." A previous attempt by Wayans was turned down on identical grounds six months earlier.

"While debate exists about in-group uses of the term, 'nigga' is almost universally understood to be derogatory," Boulton wrote to Wayans' attorney, William H. Cox, according to the application. "The very fact that debate is ongoing regarding in-group usage, shows that a substantial composite of African Americans find the term 'nigga' to be offensive," Boulton wrote.
Wayans wasn’t the first person, however, to attempt this boneheaded stunt.   
In 1995, Marc Anthony Fitzgerald and Fred Harris of Houston sought to trademark the words "Naturally Intelligent God Gifted Africans" as an acronym. In 1999, Scapheld Productions in Cincinnati sought to trademark the phrase, "Rilniga -- any individual true to his actions and or statements." In 2000, Damon James of Houston put "Field" in front of the word and tried to trademark it. In 2001, Wayde Jeffery Davis of New Orleans tried to trademark a 78-word phrase that ended with the N-word. In 2003, Keon Rhodan of Charleston, S.C., wanted to trademark the term “Nigga Clothing” with no success.
So, while Wayans doesn’t corner the market on stupidity, he certainly has the highest profile of any of the predecessors who tried to patent the N-word before him.
As to my brother’s other suggestion that Wayans could have some deeper, hidden motive for wanting to make the term his own, I question his intelligence. It’s not like Wayans is starving or anything. Unlike the others who tried before him, he is already a millionaire a few times over and doesn’t need the money. Wayans' intentions are crystal clear from looking at his application. He wants a retail store "featuring clothing, books, music and general merchandise." He also wants to go global with online shopping.
One of the things that bothers me most is that many of our youth today say the word is a term of affection. While I agree to a certain extent that Hip-Hop has redefined it, I find  that rationale  extremely bogus as well, because the majority of Black youth who use that word so freely amongst themselves, would go berserk if a Caucasian used that same term with racist connotations.
Wayans’ application, whether right or wrong, really serves no purpose except for monetary gain.  It is a sad day when a Black man has to sell his own ancestry down the river for a couple of bucks. If Damon Wayans can look himself in the mirror and sleep well at night knowing this, then I say let him live with that, and everything else that comes along with it.