Understanding racism today requires that one understand the subtleties of the language of those who perpetuate it.
Please contribute to the glossary in the comments section. I will add confirmed, relevant and accurate tropes to the glossary. Please read the entire article first.
Please note the difference between individual uses of prejudiced language and institutional racism. I encourage readers who have not yet already, to investigate this subject, which I’ll inevitably be posting on. The following post addresses use of racially prejudiced language and ideas in the context of institutional racism.
INTRODUCTION
As a result of the abolition of slavery, then later desegregation and the Civil Rights Movement, and finally the combination of contemporary cultural pressures and demographic shifts, the language of racial prejudice and bigoted assumptions has changed dramatically, especially over the last 50 or so years. Words that start with N are no longer the haute couture of racists and privilege-denying whites. Although the old words are cropping up in specific places which guarantee anonymity and/or acceptance, the use of subtlety, context, subjective subtext and nuance have taken the place of open slurs and language. Continue reading