So, my little piece over at Books on the Radio got a nod from The Week magazine as one of the three “Best Opinions” on the web about the Huckleberry Finn “We don’t need the word ‘nigger'” revisionist fiasco.
Back when I was the girl merchandising the magazines at Duthie Books, I’d put The Week next to TIME, the Economist, MacLeans, and the New Yorker.
And you know what I never wanted to write when I was younger? A book. Know what I wanted to write? Op-ed, like writing idol Hunter Thompson.
So, when a thinktank like The Week says I’ve got one of the best opinions out there right now on a subject like racist rhetoric — when Dad raised me on slavery history and civil rights — it’s a really fucking nice night Chez Steff.
Better than money, man.
I’m just recording it here for posterity. I, Steffani Cameron, have The Week’s Best Opinion tonight.
2011 looks fun. Yep.

Censoring Huck Finn is a mistake: The way Huckleberry Finn “captures, in a beautiful and heart-rending story, the racial hatred and poison that marred America’s early days” is what makes it a classic, says Steffani Cameron in Books on the Radio. Censoring the language dilutes the significance of the “biracial friendship” between Huck and Jim, a slave trying to reach a free state. The “soul-crushing, race-dividing epithet” gives educators an opportunity to discuss with students “how powerful” words can be.

–The Week’s Best Opinion “Books” round-up