Synopsis

Timings start at the beginning of the programme and are approximate.

00.00
Ashley Walters (Asher D) explains what has motivated him to go on his mission. He used the N-word in his lyrics and he doesn't agree that it should cause such a scandal.

01.19
Ashley goes to Brixton to meet with his crew. They have in the past been portrayed as gangsta rappers. Ashley himself spent seven months in Feltham Prison for carrying a loaded firearm. This changed his life as he realised how much he risked losing. He tells the viewers what he has done with his life since getting out.

06.00
He goes to visit his mother to discuss the use of the N-word. He feels it has become a term of endearment but she reminds him of the history of the word. He wonders why she and his grandparents should still be so hung up about using it when they fought to change those attitudes.

10.10
Football has done a lot in the last twenty years to change attitudes to racism and create greater tolerance. Ashley meets former Arsenal captain, Paul Davis, who has known Ron Atkinson for twenty years but feels that all the good work has been undone by his use of the N-word. It was very disappointing because Ron Atkinson was seen as somebody who wanted to open up the game to all players and this comment made people wonder what was really in his mind all along. In the 1980s there were a lot of racist taunts from the stands. He doesn't like those words. He says you can't make a negative word into a positive one. Ashley thinks that takes the power away from those trying to use it in a derogatory way. Paul is worried about his young children and would not want them to be called that name outside the black community.

13.30
Ashley meets MC Nasty, a fellow wordsmith and rapper with his crew, The New Age Army, in Brixton. He continues his debate and meets with both opposition and support. MC Nasty realises that he has a big influence over the little kids who listen to his music. They look up to him and you can't pass on negative thoughts to them. He feels it is his responsibility to push common sense.
Ashley is surprised that not everyone from his generation agrees with him. He realises that he, too, has a responsibility as an artist not to use a word he might be wrong about. However, he still doesn't view the word as derogatory.

17.30
He interviews Leroy Logan, Superintendent at the Met and Chair of the Metropolitan Black Police Association. He has the power to arrest someone who uses that word as it's classed as racist. When he joined the police force in the 1980s, a lot of racist comments were heard but that's not acceptable now. He would now try to stop colleagues from using the N-word but he can't stop a black person using it to another black person. The context is important but he still doesn't think the N-word is ever appropriate. He wouldn't accept it from his friends, family or colleagues. He understands Ashley's point of view but feels that Ashley needs to understand the implications of using the word.

19.28
He interviews Simon Wooley, from Operation Black Vote. For him, the word is a profanity and causes offence. It engenders a feeling of oppression and humiliation and has implications of third class citizenship. He acknowledges the fact that Ashley is trying to re-appropriate the word as people did the word 'black', which used to be derogatory. However, this word was never a negative word to start with whereas 'nigger' has always been so. Ashley argues that he doesn't feel the same emotion towards the word, and that it's become a habit. Simon Wooley argues that if black people are calling each other 'nigger', why shouldn't white people? It's dehumanising because of its history.

22.00
Ashley talks to his best friend, Dooz about the influences hip hop has had on them. It influences everything in their lives and they take on all aspects of it without realising.

24.00
Garage star, MC Shystie, says that the N-word is negative although she realises people are trying to make it fashionable. These people need to realise where the word comes from and who invented it. She keeps it out of her lyrics.

26.05
Ashley reflects on whether the word can be successfully reclaimed.

26.30
Ashley goes to visit the Fairbridge multicultural youth project in South London and talks to the young people there. They say that the problem lies with the older generation who don't see beneath the colour. Young people now talk more openly about things like sex and there are fewer problems with racism.

28.50
Ashley visits YCTV youth television in West London. Those who work there think it's a negative word because of its origins. Those who do use it don't think about its true meaning. One contributor gives the example that some people curse a lot within the family but when they are in public this is no longer acceptable. You can't redefine the N-word - it's simply not acceptable. Ashley begins to realise that context is important.

31.15
Ashley goes to Bromley to visit a football project. These contributors mention the history of the word, its links to slavery and negative overtones. It's a word that should be forgotten about. They say that Martin Luther King would be disappointed if he came back and heard the word being used today. Black people struggled to shake off the word and using it now is like undoing all their work. It is still offensive for some people.

36.55
Ashley realises that he didn't know much about the history of the word. He visits the Maritime museum and speaks to the curator, Alex Robinson, about the slavery exhibition there. She explains that a slave was treated as property and one was even called 'Nobody' by his master. In 1750, England had a population of five and a half million, yet three times this number were transported as slaves. Ashley is shocked by everything he sees and hears and he starts to analyse how he uses the N-word, but as he says, it takes a while to change opinions.

40.45
While he is in Liverpool, Ashley interviews Gloria Hyatt, a Head Teacher who is recognised for her work on racism. She explains the origins of the word. It was used by the slave master to make his slaves feel less than human. In this way it was easier to enslave people, to degrade them. How can that word be one of celebration? She uses the analogy of a fat kid who calls himself fat to make himself feel better. This is not a positive solution. The word does not belong in a rap song or as a term of endearment. Young people listen carefully to his words.

45.13
Ashley reflects on that conversation. He realises that he may have been wrong and says it is down to teachers to educate kids about their history, especially black history. He wishes he knew more.

46.12
Ashley travels to Plymouth to talk to young children about their experiences. Some say they hear white children calling each other Nigger and one boy says that even in Year 3, children are a giving the name Nigger to dark-skinned children. Ashley is affected by what he hears and feels guilty.