The loss of innocence in Cullen's accident and Naylor's mom, what does "nigger" mean? Unfortunately, a question many African Americans have to ask themselves in childhood is "Mom, what does nigger mean?", and the answer to this question describes the racism that still thrives in America (345). Both Gloria Naylor's "'Mommy, What Does' Nigger' Mean?'" and Countee Cullen's "Incident" demonstrate how a word like "nigger" destroys a child's innocence and introduces him to a world of racism. Although the situations that provoke the racial slur are different, the word "nigger" has the same effect on the young Naylor as it does on the child in Cullen's poem. A racist society devours the innocence of white children, and as a result, white children embody the concept of racism as they consume the innocence of black children by stereotyping them as “niggers.” The word "nigger" causes young Naylor and the child in Cullen's poem to begin to see the world in terms of “black and white,” and the racial epithet establishes an invisible barrier between the white and black worlds. Neither child ever indicates the color of the people they talk about. Naylor gives her most in-depth physical description of the child calling her "nigger" when she remembers handing the papers to a little boy behind me" (344). Naylor's vague description gives the impression that young Naylor sees no distinction important between her and the boy However, the fact that the "little boy" calls her "nigger" shows not only that the boy sees a great distinction between him and Naylor, but also that the boy is white (344). of Countee Cullen provides a similar description, without "colors", of the boy "from Baltimore", as he/she says... middle of paper... in my grandmother's living room there was a word that whites used to mean worthlessness or degradation and it made him helpless" (346). In this response to the derogatory term, Naylor's essay offers a tool to combat racism and a message of hope for innocent minority children that is missing in Cullen's "Incident": Socialization process in a racist society, a child can lose innocence, but can also gain strength and character by rising above any racist stereotype society applies to him. Works Cited Cullen, Countee. "Accident." African American Literature: A Brief Introduction and Anthology. Ed. To the Young. New York: Harper Collins, 1996. 398.Naylor, Gloria. “Mom, what does “nigger” mean?” New Worlds of Literature: Writings from America's Many Cultures, Second Edition. Eds. Jerome Beatty and J. Paul Hunter. New York: Norton, 1994. 344-47.