I sympathize with Armstrong's project, that is, her willingness to pull up the roots of "nappy"'s significance, but I think she–her article–lead to an awful conclusion, and that may be because her starting point is off. She gives more privilege to the notion that "nappy" is awful and offensive than a description. The term "nappy" preceded transplanted black folks (unlike the word "nigger"), and I don't think it should be put on the same plane, or considered more "fraught with racist and oppressive overtones."

This reminds me of Michael from Good Times saying, "But Dad, 'boy' is a white, racist word." No, Michael, "boy" isn't. "Boy" is a word sometimes spoken by white racists.