If the N-word was put on trial, what would be the outcome? Philadelphia native Kyle Bowser focuses on this issue with his popular Trial By Jury franchise. WHYY and the University of Pennsylvania School of Social Policy and Practice will host a screening and live audience discussion on Bowser’s Trial By Jury: The Case of The N-Word which puts this often provocative and polarizing word on trial. What will the verdict be? A mock jury of selected audience members will decide. Will yours be the deciding vote?

Trial By Jury: The Case of The N-Word

From its inception, The N-word has both empowered and demoralized. It has become a linguistic lightning rod, separating friend from foe and defining respective politics and ideals. In Trial by Jury: The Case of The N-Word, Tiffany Johnson, a 9-year-old girl learns the “N-Word” during a Black History Month lesson. The school’s choice to include the word in its elementary curriculum disturbs her parents, who had taken precautions to shield her from this epithet. The parents file a lawsuit against the school, seeking damages for intentional infliction of emotional distress. Trial by Jury: The Case of The N-Word depicts the trial and subsequent jury deliberation. The audience then has a chance to have a live open forum to express opinions on the issue.