Nina Nan,

I respectfully would like to request that if and when you use that now retired racial referent for African Americans, you capitolize the 'n'. There is toooo much negative history and connotations associated with 'negro' {spelled with a small 'n'}.

While some are starting to refer to these religious songs as "African American spirituals", as an African American myself I personally have no problem with the use of the phrase "Negro Spirituals" as long as the 'N' is capitolized.

That said, my racial group is no longer referred to as 'Negro'.

The formal term is African American {spelled with capitol beginning letters}.

It is also 'politically correct' to use the more informal term "Black people". I prefer to capitolize the 'b' in 'Black' when referring to the racial group. And, to be consistent, I also capitolize the 'w' in 'White'. However, either practice is acceptable.

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And with regard to your question:

In African American vernacular, 'to study' something means to pay attention to it; seriously think about it; be concerned about it, be interested in it.

So IMO, "I ain't gonna study war no more" means "I'm not gonna be interested in waging war.

This means much more than being a conscientous objector and refusing to fight once a war has started. It means that the person will direct his or her energies to studyin peace {working for/promoting peace} instead of instigating {inciting} and engaging in warfare.



Azizi Powell