The First Time I heard the N-word: A Black Gen X Reality Check

In The Know with Tony Reeves · Nov 7, 2025 · 11m

For many of us in the Black Gen X generation, the N-word wasn’t something we were supposed to hear anymore. We were told that the world had changed—that the battles of our parents and grandparents had been fought and won. But all it took was one word to remind us that the past was never really gone.In this episode, I share a deeply personal story—the first time I heard the N-word directed at me and my mother—and what that moment revealed about the illusion of equality so many of us were raised to believe in. From the quiet lessons of our parents’ generation to the silent shock of our own…