Nigger

An Autobiography

By: Dick Gregory, Dr. Christian Gregory - introduction, Robert Lipsyte

Narrated by: Prentice Onayemi, Dr. Christian Gregory

Length: 6 hrs and 40 mins

Publisher's summary

Comedian and civil rights activist Dick Gregory's million-copy-plus best-selling memoir - now in audio for the first time, and featuring an all-new exclusive foreword written and performed by Dr. Christian Gregory, son of Dick Gregory, in which he shares why that word still carries so much weight and why his father's message of activism still endures.

"Powerful and ugly and beautiful...a moving story of a man who deeply wants a world without malice and hate and is doing something about it." (The New York Times)

Fifty-five years ago, in 1964, an incredibly honest and revealing memoir by one of the America's best-loved comedians and activists, Dick Gregory, was published. With a shocking title and breathtaking writing, Dick Gregory defined a genre and changed the way race was discussed in America.

Telling stories that range from his hardscrabble childhood in St. Louis to his pioneering early days as a comedian to his indefatigable activism alongside Medgar Evers and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Gregory's memoir riveted readers in the '60s. In the years and decades to come, the stories and lessons became more relevant than ever, and the book attained the status of a classic. The memoir has sold over a million copies and become core text about race relations and civil rights, continuing to inspire readers everywhere with Dick Gregory's incredible story about triumphing over racism and poverty to become an American legend.

©1964 Dick Gregory Enterprises, Inc. (P)2020 Audible, Inc.

Enlightening Listen

The Gregory’s did a superb job in delivering this awesome message to me who is known to America as “Nigga”. I cried, smiled, and related to the words of Mr. Dick Gregory. I will use this book as a tool to deal with life’s encounters when I am somehow placed in a position to feel less. I thank the Gregory family for sharing their father’s moments
with me.

Glad I took the time to read it

Very interesting perspective and very relevant to what's happening in society today. Great read.

Great read

All I can say is I wished this book was introduced to me when I was younger. loved it!

One of my favorite authors

I have had a weird life to say the least... I found Dick’s book about Cooking with Mother Nature at a time when I was really feeling down and out. One thing that I loved was one of the very first things in the book was a line I could agree with and I felt meant so much still today. The line was something like “not enough people think critically” - and now “thinking critically” has become somewhat of a mantra of mine. I am also now a vegetarian again and he has something to do with that.

This is the second book I am experiencing of his. To be honest I found it on accident while attempting to search for a narrator I liked that read Micromegas by Voltaire. But I was so excited to see Dick Gregory on the cover of a book that I got it immediately and put it on. This book is still very relevant today.

I grew up in an old city that had been part of integration. I wasn’t rich. At a young age I didn’t know what racism was really, though they tried to tell us about it in schools as young as 5 years old or so. I didn’t really understand any of it because my friends were all different colors and we got along just fine and liked the same things.

My mom used to tell this story about how she got embarrassed when I was about 5 years old at a gas station with her. I had been learning about segregation in school and I was confused and appalled. A black man was pumping gas near us and I loudly said to my mother “I thought black people and white people had to use different gas stations?” And she got embarrassed and apologized to the man and explained that I was confused about what I’d learned in school. I was confused, and not because I didn’t want the guy there, but because I thought that if segregation was real that it made absolutely no sense.

I remember having a lot of black, Asian, and Latino friends growing up. We all liked the same shows, same video games, same cartoons, etc. but outside of sports, if you really took notice, most characters were white. In fact it seemed most channels and advertisements were still focused on white people. I always found this annoying for some reason. I am white, but I have always acknowledged that there are many different colors of people from all over the world and I never could quite understand the concept of prejudice for skin color or racism. I hadn’t really experienced it in my neighborhood because all the kids played with whoever they wanted; and if any of the parents were racist they were too embarrassed to show it publicly.

One of my first best friends was a kid from Trinidad, who had just moved to my town from Las Vegas. He was cool, confident, and knew a lot about stuff I didn’t coming from my poor boring neighborhood. He also spoke 2 or more languages and his parents always cooked food I’d never had. I loved going over to his house. I loved it more than my house with my weird neglectful mother and my abusive step dad. My friend had a real family that actually spent time together and a culture that was more than just the American consumer dream.

I remember when I first experienced real racism and prejudice, or at least when I was first aware of it. I had moved from my neighborhood in Florida to a new town in north Atlanta. Georgia was a whole different thing and I’d never seen a city so big and houses so nice. We had an apartment. It had carpet on the floor! We had a community pool! It was so nice in that area. Still is. But...

I remember my parents started making more money and moving up in life. New school. I remember realizing right away this school was different... There were so many white people and very few blacks, Latinos, Asians, etc... I was constantly finding myself in awkward situations hearing some rich white kid using the word “Nigger” in a connotation I knew wasn’t right. I kept speaking up to these people like “wait..? So like you’re actually racist? But you listen to music made by black artists..?” - the whole thing was weird.

I hadn’t realized in my previous neighborhood that racism and segregation was still a thing in the year 2,000! Well they actually had buses picking up kids on the other side of town to bring them up to these nice schools. A lot of the parents didn’t like this and you could tell by what their kids said at school. I will wrap this up; my point is ideas like racism, pride, and prejudice are taught and learned; but if you honestly do not agree with the concept then speak out. Don’t be afraid, don’t be ashamed, don’t be anything but progressive for the ideals of great men like Dick Gregory, who people like me can agree with the simple concept that nobody should be judged by the color of their skin. And the more awkward white folks try to act about it then the less this gets addressed. You can bury your head in the sand til shit hits the fan like a coward or you can speak up for injustice.

It’s sickening to me that any person should be treated as less or thought of as less than any other person for any reason! I mean unless they’re an evil person doing harm to people.

Listening to this story reminds me in part of some of my early life moments. I can relate to being poor. I can relate to the embarrassing moments that some may feel in certain situations. I can really relate to Dick Gregory as a person. But what I cannot possibly relate to is the fact that an entire nation treated people “like him” as less for simply having a darker color of skin. They still continue to do so today.

And I am tired of the awkward social justice warrior rich white kids who have never even been to a black home acting so offended by things and yet really aren’t doing anything to help solve anything because they are acknowledging “inequality” more than “equality”; just as much as I am irritated by the modern proud white Americans that are closet-racist proud idiots acting like this isn’t an issue anymore... I’m 30 and my grandmother was able to tell me about segregation when she was about 50. She lived through it. It wasn’t that long ago. This affects generations of people.

People may be proud and prejudice in a way they may not even realize; as if it’s been programmed into them; look at the television... it’s finally kind of getting better... Even as non-prejudice as I am, there have been times where I was happy to be white simply because I knew the area I was in and that it may still be dangerous for blacks. The KKK is still a thing in the south. There are towns of openly racist people. There have been many times I’ve been ashamed to be white just because some assholes years ago created all these modern hypocrisies and atrocities. It’s time people just treat each other as people based on their character and get over their fear based in ignorance.

I have had to speak up to my own family sometimes for saying things that were prejudice or carried a negative connotation; and every time I did they were thrown off and ended up agreeing with me and realizing I was right. And it isn’t about protecting the weak or saving anyone; it’s about correcting generations of poor programming into a society that is supposed to be based on liberty and justice for all.

This book is a great story for anyone. I think it is particularly important for US citizens to read. I especially think it is a great book for children to read and I believe it should be made a required reading book because otherwise Dick Gregory will not have been entirely successful with his intention of title choice. He meant to desensitize people to it; to destroy the power the word had. In a world where people are still afraid to even use the title of a book in reference in fear of seeming racist, it seems we still have some healing to do as a humanity...

THANK YOU

could not put it down!!!! loved it all around. I felt as though I was there!!

Dick Gregory Beautiful Life Book

This book takes you into the life of a young black man in 1920's. How it was everyday for black people. Open your mind, and see where the United States of America history come from.

Powerful!

I loved everything about this book. I wish there was a part two. The life of my fellow St. Louisian deserves the full scope! I hated for it to end. So many powerful and unforgettable lines moments.

Still strifing

The mental illustration was strong . Dicks Biography was delivered with a solid narrartor.. It shows we still have a ways to go should be mandatory reading in H.S

PLEASE DON'T OVERLOOK THIS BOOK!

I only wish I had heard of this book sooner. I will for sure be having my teenage sons listen to this as well. I couldn't hit pause and listened to it straight through. I was so moved so many times throughout this and was given another perspective.

Phenomenal

I made her a book 5 stars but it’s rare that I take the time to write a review. I love this book with everything in me. I will listen to it again from the beginning right away. I wanna hear everything that I may have missed as a passively listen the first time around. You don’t know till you know.