The new terminology is a slang term rooted in African American culture — labeling young Black people who potentially engage in destructive activity, made popular on social media.
Leo Williams, mayor of Durham, North Carolina, is catching heat for referring to the city’s young people as “YNs,” a slang term meaning “young n***as” during a town hall discussion about gun violence, with voters labeling it as “offensive,” Blavity reports.
The town hall took place on July 3 at Rookie’s Sports Bar, where Williams addressed pressing issues in Bull City, including crime, violence, and the city’s youth. Out of everything the mayor discussed, one comment stood out. “We’re dealing with some YNs out here just doing their own thing, stealing [guns] out of cars, and they don’t know how to communicate,” Williams said…