The Nigger Bible

The Nigger Bible is a book by Robert H. deCoy, published by Holloway House in 1967. It is a social and linguistic analysis of the word "nigger" and of the origins and contemporary circumstances of the black peoples of America. The form is varied and might be described as a series of reflections. In the preface, Dick Gregory writes: "In abolishing and eliminating the Caucasian-Christian philosophical and literary forms while recording his black experiences, this writer has removed himself from their double-standard frames of reference."

The book examines not just the word "nigger", but attempts to tease apart the cultural, philosophical, and scriptural origins of what the author calls an "Alabaster Man", one that experienced the conclusions and prejudices at the root of their oppression. It examines, among other texts, the Christian bible and its terminology. the book explores the power of words, and re-interprets and critiques core western religious and philosophical constructs, including those that are central to much of the modern African-American religious experience.

DeCoy re-examines the word "nigger", demystifies it, and attempts to embed critical thinking skills about black personality types and categories. The author deconstructs the Christianity of "Niggers" (including, in his view, Black Muslims) as well as the values of the New Left. The book contains an analysis of the cultural and racial significance of Mardi Gras.

Chapters

• Preface by Dick Gregory
• Foreword: The First Nigger Testament
• 1: The Word Was Not for a Nigger
• 2: (1) Words in Testament to My Nigger Son, (2) The First Dictionary of Nigrite Words
• 3: Separation is "The Nigger Salvation"
• 4: What A Nigger Needs Most is a God
• 5: (1) Prelude to a Nigger Genesis, (2) deCoy's Song of Genesis
• 6: A Sermon to My Nigger Soul: (1) The Prayer, (2) The Text
• 7: What is this Power of Positive Thinking?
• 8: History Does Not Happen, It is Made
• 9: The Departure or "The Northward Flight of the Niggers"
• 10: Proverbs and Notes to My Nigger Son
• 11: Letters to the Nigger Children: (1) Discard the "Act of Christening," (2) Justice is a "White Woman," (3) Epistles to My Nigger Beings, (4) Niggers, God, Church and Ministry
• 12: A Drama in Nigger Neurosis
• 13: A Journey Back to the Mother City
• 14: The Mardi Gras! (1) National Observance of the Nigger Dream, (2) Oh Come to a Mardi Gras Morning
• 15: The Black Blueprint
• 16: Two Parables: (1) Dream of the Alabaster Daughter, (2) Super Spade at the Pearly Gates
• 17: special words, names and other for niggers

External links

ISBN 0-87067-926-0 — a 1972 paperback reissue