TWO "N" Words?

I was reading this article on The Chronicle of Higher Education this morning and feel that it touches on an issue with which nearly all English professors (and even middle and high school level English teachers) deal. "The Trouble with the Other N Word" I am white. My students, upwards of 97%, are not. The U.S. Virgin Islands are historically black. It is fundamentally wrong to describe my students as "African-American." Why? Oh, let's see: 1. Even those born in the "U.S." Virgin Islands (post our $25 million purchase of the islands in 1917) prefer to be designated as "West Indian" (believe it or not, many "Diversity" surveys include this designation as distinct from African-American); 2. Not ALL of my students are from the U.S. Virgin Islands; in fact, many of them are from 'down island,' Puerto Rico, Dominica, Haiti, or Africa; and 3. The U.S. Virgin Islands is a non-voting territory in the U.S. Congress--that means no vote in the electoral college--and are about as different from mainstream U.S. culture as it gets, so no, my students do not self-designate as "African-American." Having said all that...we read Harlem Renaissance literature, as well as Caribbean literature dating from the early 20th century. Both "N" words are used in both of these. The blatantly inappropriate "N" word (if you have to ask which one that is...) is used by West Indians just as alternately negative and colloquial as it is by mainstream African-Americans (listen to any hip-hop or rap radio station if you don't believe me). Again, let me remind you: I am white. This puts me in a unique position. First, you must realize that I am the minority here--at the University and on St. Thomas. Second, as a professor, I believe that my role is to open up my students to different worldviews--this is not the same as blatantly insulting them. This creates an interesting cultural paradox for me: My students (once they get to know me) trust me to be honest with them. AT. ALL. TIMES. This is a promise I make to them on the first day of class, every semester. I also promise my students that they will not offend me, and while I will not intentionally offend anyone during the duration of the course, I will apologize once and only once in the event I do so unintentionally: "Sorry" (and that's all you get). Even in my composition courses without literature components, we discuss topics that are racially, culturally, spiritually and politically sensitive. (After all, isn't that what college is for--to learn about others' points of view and the way the world works?) I have not asked my students for their thoughts on the current debate over whether to censor the "N-word" out of Mark Twain's Huckleberry Finn , but a senior advisee from last year did bring it up with me while she was reading it in a capstone Humanities seminar. She has family ties in the Caribbean, but has also lived in a number of places throughout the contiguous U.S. and will be moving back stateside to work on her Master's (so proud!). She was bothered by the use of the "n-word," but when we talked about it, she eventually verbalized that what really bothered her was the ease and innocence with which the word was once tossed about, even in 'polite' society: her discomfort (and no small amount of genuine P.O.'ed-ness) came from the realization that HISTORY, not Mark Twain, was insulting. Once she was able to express this to me (and herself), she grew pensive. I asked her what she thought about publishers who wanted to censor the word from the text...and she thought it would be akin to editing history. I have to agree with her. This still leaves me with the question of whether "Negro" is just a thinly-veiled way of saying the BIG "N" word...but unlike the author of the article, I think I will be able to ask my students their opinion, and proceed accordingly.