Upcoming ‘Huckleberry Finn’ edition replaces ‘n-word’
A new edition of Mark Twain’s “Huckleberry Finn” is being published in February, replacing the “n-word,” which shows up 219 times in the original edition. Instead the publisher, New South Books, uses the word “slave.” New South’s editor-in-chief, Randall Williams, told The Takeaway that removing the racial slur isn’t censorship.
However, in a society where kids encounter this word in so many different contexts, including pop-culture, among friends, and in the “real world” – does the move to edit Twain’s masterpiece make sense? David Wall Rice, an assistant professor in the Department of Psychology at Morehouse College in Atlanta explores the complex situation.
The story you just read is available to read for free because thousands of listeners and readers like you generously support our nonprofit newsroom. Every day, the reporters and producers at The World are hard at work bringing you human-centered news from across the globe. But we can’t do it without you: We need your support to ensure we can continue this work for another year.
When you make a gift of $10 or more a month, we’ll invite you to a virtual behind-the-scenes tour of our newsroom to thank you for being with The World.