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<h1>The Language of Anti-Racism</h1>
<p>Whether you’re a seasoned racial justice activist in the front lines of every protest or someone who’s in the beginning steps of racial literacy, we can all take time to evaluate the terminology we use when talking about race. In <em>Stay Woke: A People’s Guide to Making All Black Lives Matter,</em> authors Candis Watts Smith, an associate professor at Penn State University, and Tehama Lopez Bunyasi, an assistant professor at George Mason University, provide a glossary of racial justice terms to help advocates understand the double edge some of these words can present.</p>
<p>Watts Smith said the inspiration for the glossary came from her own students. She noticed two groups of students in her classes. Those wanting not to be racist, but lacking the knowledge to take steps in the right direction, and those she referred to as “woker than thou.” These were students who knew the lingo, but weren’t necessarily using words in a nuanced way.</p>
<p>“We wanted to build a tool kit for people on both sides of this knowledge gap,” Watts Smith said. “On one hand, people who are newcomers can have some information to facilitate a conversation in a more educated way, but also to challenge those who are very strict in their understanding.”</p>
<p>Here are some of the words listed in their glossary. These words fall under categories of tools of liberation—words that enhance the lives of others—and tools of oppression—ideas used to exploit or shame people based on race. No matter what level racial justice advocate you are, Watts Smith and Lopez Bunyasi say education is vital when staying woke.</p>


<div><figure><img src="https://www.yesmagazine.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/01-Antiracism-1-1024x750.png" alt="" width="512" height="375"/></figure></div>


<h3><strong data-rich-text-format-boundary="true">anti-racism</strong></h3>


<p>1. The practice of
dismantling a system marked by white supremacy and anti-Black racism through
deliberate action </p>



<p>2. A theory that explains
and exposes multiple forms of racism: overt and covert, interpersonal and
institutional, historical and present day, persistent and nascent</p>


<h3><strong data-rich-text-format-boundary="true">Black girl magic </strong></h3>


<p>1. The recognition of the
beauty, ability, resourcefulness, and perseverance of Black women in a society
marked by anti-Black sexism </p>



<p>2. An effort to highlight
the role of Black women in all aspects of U.S. life </p>



<p>synonyms: #BlackGirlMagic,
#ProfessionalBlackGirl </p>



<p>antonym: misogynoir
</p>



<div><figure><img src="https://www.yesmagazine.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/02-Black-Girl-Magic-2-1024x807.png" alt="" width="512" height="404"/></figure></div>


<h3><strong data-rich-text-format-boundary="true">colorblind racism</strong>&nbsp;</h3>


<p>1. The worldview that
suggests that since race should not matter, it does not matter </p>



<p>2. An ideology that insists
that everyone be treated without regard to race, accompanied by a denial of the
causes and consequences of racism</p>



<div><figure><img src="https://www.yesmagazine.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/03-Colorblind-Racism-1-1024x797.png" alt="" width="512" height="399"/></figure></div>


<h3><strong data-rich-text-format-boundary="true">co-optation</strong></h3>


<p>1. Taking an idea,
disassembling it, reassembling it with original pieces as well as retrofitted
ones; giving the modified thing a different name than the original and then
claiming originality </p>



<p>2. Appropriation; falsely
claiming rights to or innovation of something as one’s own</p>


<h3><strong data-rich-text-format-boundary="true">colorism</strong>&nbsp;</h3>


<p>A practice whereby
privileges and disadvantages are systematically doled out on the basis of skin
color, with a disproportionate amount of advantage provided to lighter-skinned
people </p>



<p>synonym: light-skin privilege</p>



<div><figure><img src="https://www.yesmagazine.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/05-colorism-1024x1024.png" alt="" width="512" height="512"/></figure></div>


<h3><strong data-rich-text-format-boundary="true">culture of poverty </strong></h3>


<p>1. The notion that poor and
working-class people are poor because they do not know how to work, do not have
the motivation to work, or are too dependent on public assistance </p>



<p>2. An idea that poverty is intergenerational because poverty
is (psychologically) pathological and cyclical</p>


<h3><strong data-rich-text-format-boundary="true">dehumanization</strong></h3>


<p>1. The notion that some
people are less than human </p>



<p>2. The routine association
of Blacks with demons and animals, such as apes</p>



<div><figure><img src="https://www.yesmagazine.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/04-Co-optation-1024x1024.png" alt="" width="512" height="512"/></figure></div>


<h3><strong data-rich-text-format-boundary="true">dog whistle politics</strong></h3>


<p>Coded racial appeals </p>


<h3><strong data-rich-text-format-boundary="true">epistemology of ignorance</strong>&nbsp;</h3>


<p>1. A militant, aggressive
willingness to not know </p>



<p>2. A process of knowing
designed to produce not knowing about white privilege and white supremacy </p>


<h3><strong data-rich-text-format-boundary="true">false equivalence </strong></h3>


<p>1. A logical fallacy,
whereby two opposing sides of an argument are deemed equivalent when they
actually are not </p>



<p>2. A reliance on feeble
similarities<br>
in an attempt to make moot<br>
the more important <br>
observation and effect <br>
of the glaring differences</p>



<div><figure><img src="https://www.yesmagazine.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/06-false-equivalence-1024x1024.png" alt="" width="512" height="512"/></figure></div>


<h3><strong data-rich-text-format-boundary="true">intersectionality</strong></h3>


<p>1. A theory that highlights
the heterogeneity of privileges and layers of oppression that individuals
within a group may experience </p>



<p>2. A paradigm, rooted in the
analysis of Black women’s experiences, that reveals that Black women are
“doubly bound,” due to overlapping layers of oppressions, including racism and
sexism; this paradigm asserts that race constructs the way women experience
gender, and gender influences how women experience race&nbsp; </p>


<h3><strong data-rich-text-format-boundary="true">microaggression</strong></h3>


<p>1. Small, subtle, pernicious
acts of racism </p>



<p>2. Brief remarks, vague
insults, casual dismissals, and nonverbal exchanges that serve to slight a
person due to the person’s race&nbsp; </p>



<p>antonym: anti-racism </p>



<div><figure><img src="https://www.yesmagazine.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/07-microaggression-1-1024x614.png" alt="" width="512" height="307"/></figure></div>


<h3><strong data-rich-text-format-boundary="true">nationalism</strong></h3>


<p>1. As it relates to
nation-states, a type of attachment to one’s country that is marked by
chauvinism and a sense of superiority over others&nbsp; </p>



<p>2. As it relates to broader
notions of “nation”—including the conception of a racial or ethnic group as a
type of nation—an ideology that emphasizes in-group solidarity and
prioritization and, in some cases, political autonomy</p>


<h3><strong data-rich-text-format-boundary="true">racism</strong></h3>


<p>1. A feature of a society,
whereby patterns of public policy, institutions, dominant ideologies, and
popular representations serve to perpetuate social, political, and economic
inequities between racial groups </p>



<p>2. The array of anti-Black practices, policies, and
ever-perpetuated inequalities that maintain white privilege and power</p>


<h3><strong data-rich-text-format-boundary="true">reverse discrimination </strong></h3>


<p>There. Is. No. Such. Thing. </p>



<div><figure><img src="https://www.yesmagazine.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/08-reverse-discriminatin-1-1024x614.png" alt="" width="512" height="307"/></figure></div>


<h3><strong data-rich-text-format-boundary="true">respectability politics</strong></h3>


<p>An ideology based on the
notion that by presenting oneself in the way that is pleasing to members of the
dominant group, one will be able to assuage their fears about one (and one’s
group), and as a consequence, racial animus will dissipate among white
Americans </p>


<h3><strong data-rich-text-format-boundary="true">white fragility </strong></h3>


<p>White fragility is a state
in which even a minimum amount of racial stress becomes intolerable, triggering
a range of defensive moves. These moves include the outward display of emotions
such as anger, fear, and guilt, and behaviors such as argumentation, silence,
and leaving the stress-inducing situation. These behaviors, in turn, function
to reinstate white racial equilibrium. </p>



<div><figure><img src="https://www.yesmagazine.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/09-white-fragility-1024x1024.png" alt="" width="512" height="512"/></figure></div>


<h3><strong data-rich-text-format-boundary="true">white privilege</strong></h3>


<p>1. An advantage, good, or
resource that people with ascribed white racial identities receive and/or have
greater access to and that people with ascribed nonwhite racial identities are
denied and/or have less access to, primarily as a consequence of their ascribed
racial identity and not because of what they do or do not do as individuals </p>



<p>2. A condition of whiteness,
whereby one is not, nor needs to be, cognizant of the racial dynamics that
systematically benefit white people and disadvantage people of color</p>


<h3><strong data-rich-text-format-boundary="true">white supremacy </strong></h3>


<p>1. The systematic provision
of political, social, economic, and psychological benefits and advantages to
whites, alongside the systematic provision of burdens and disadvantages to
people who are not white </p>



<p>2. A set of norms and
expectations predicated on white habits, or the preferences, tastes, emotions,
and perceptions of white Americans </p>



<p>3. The belief that white
people are inherently superior to people of color and should dominate over
people of color </p>



<p>synonyms: racialized
social system, whiteness </p>



<p>antonym: anti-racism </p>

<p>This article originally appeared in <a href="https://www.yesmagazine.org">Yes! Magazine</a> at <a href="https://www.yesmagazine.org/issue/world-we-want/2020/02/19/antiracism-language">https://www.yesmagazine.org/issue/world-we-want/2020/02/19/antiracism-language</a>.</p><link href="https://www.yesmagazine.org/issue/world-we-want/2020/02/19/antiracism-language" rel="canonical"/><p>Yes! Magazine is a nonprofit, independent media organization dedicated to telling stories of ... . Learn more at <a href="https://www.yesmagazine.org">Yes! Magazine</a></p><img id="republication-tracker-tool-source" src="https://www.yesmagazine.org/?republication-pixel=true&post=77166&ga4=G-74QJNNY44Z" style="width:1px;height:1px;">

The Language of Anti-Racism
Whether you’re a seasoned racial justice activist in the front lines of every protest or someone who’s in the beginning steps of racial literacy, we can all take time to evaluate the terminology we use when talking about race. In Stay Woke: A People’s Guide to Making All Black Lives Matter, authors Candis Watts Smith, an associate professor at Penn State University, and Tehama Lopez Bunyasi, an assistant professor at George Mason University, provide a glossary of racial justice terms to help advocates understand the double edge some of these words can present.
Watts Smith said the inspiration for the glossary came from her own students. She noticed two groups of students in her classes. Those wanting not to be racist, but lacking the knowledge to take steps in the right direction, and those she referred to as “woker than thou.” These were students who knew the lingo, but weren’t necessarily using words in a nuanced way.
“We wanted to build a tool kit for people on both sides of this knowledge gap,” Watts Smith said. “On one hand, people who are newcomers can have some information to facilitate a conversation in a more educated way, but also to challenge those who are very strict in their understanding.”
Here are some of the words listed in their glossary. These words fall under categories of tools of liberation—words that enhance the lives of others—and tools of oppression—ideas used to exploit or shame people based on race. No matter what level racial justice advocate you are, Watts Smith and Lopez Bunyasi say education is vital when staying woke.

anti-racism

1. The practice of
dismantling a system marked by white supremacy and anti-Black racism through
deliberate action

2. A theory that explains
and exposes multiple forms of racism: overt and covert, interpersonal and
institutional, historical and present day, persistent and nascent

Black girl magic

1. The recognition of the
beauty, ability, resourcefulness, and perseverance of Black women in a society
marked by anti-Black sexism

2. An effort to highlight
the role of Black women in all aspects of U.S. life

synonyms: #BlackGirlMagic,
#ProfessionalBlackGirl

antonym: misogynoir

colorblind racism

1. The worldview that
suggests that since race should not matter, it does not matter

2. An ideology that insists
that everyone be treated without regard to race, accompanied by a denial of the
causes and consequences of racism

co-optation

1. Taking an idea,
disassembling it, reassembling it with original pieces as well as retrofitted
ones; giving the modified thing a different name than the original and then
claiming originality

2. Appropriation; falsely
claiming rights to or innovation of something as one’s own

colorism

A practice whereby
privileges and disadvantages are systematically doled out on the basis of skin
color, with a disproportionate amount of advantage provided to lighter-skinned
people

synonym: light-skin privilege

culture of poverty

1. The notion that poor and
working-class people are poor because they do not know how to work, do not have
the motivation to work, or are too dependent on public assistance

2. An idea that poverty is intergenerational because poverty
is (psychologically) pathological and cyclical

dehumanization

1. The notion that some
people are less than human

2. The routine association
of Blacks with demons and animals, such as apes

dog whistle politics

Coded racial appeals

epistemology of ignorance

1. A militant, aggressive
willingness to not know

2. A process of knowing
designed to produce not knowing about white privilege and white supremacy

false equivalence

1. A logical fallacy,
whereby two opposing sides of an argument are deemed equivalent when they
actually are not

2. A reliance on feeble
similarities
in an attempt to make moot
the more important 
observation and effect 
of the glaring differences

intersectionality

1. A theory that highlights
the heterogeneity of privileges and layers of oppression that individuals
within a group may experience

2. A paradigm, rooted in the
analysis of Black women’s experiences, that reveals that Black women are
“doubly bound,” due to overlapping layers of oppressions, including racism and
sexism; this paradigm asserts that race constructs the way women experience
gender, and gender influences how women experience race

microaggression

1. Small, subtle, pernicious
acts of racism

2. Brief remarks, vague
insults, casual dismissals, and nonverbal exchanges that serve to slight a
person due to the person’s race

antonym: anti-racism

nationalism

1. As it relates to
nation-states, a type of attachment to one’s country that is marked by
chauvinism and a sense of superiority over others

2. As it relates to broader
notions of “nation”—including the conception of a racial or ethnic group as a
type of nation—an ideology that emphasizes in-group solidarity and
prioritization and, in some cases, political autonomy

racism

1. A feature of a society,
whereby patterns of public policy, institutions, dominant ideologies, and
popular representations serve to perpetuate social, political, and economic
inequities between racial groups

2. The array of anti-Black practices, policies, and
ever-perpetuated inequalities that maintain white privilege and power

reverse discrimination

There. Is. No. Such. Thing.

respectability politics

An ideology based on the
notion that by presenting oneself in the way that is pleasing to members of the
dominant group, one will be able to assuage their fears about one (and one’s
group), and as a consequence, racial animus will dissipate among white
Americans

white fragility

White fragility is a state
in which even a minimum amount of racial stress becomes intolerable, triggering
a range of defensive moves. These moves include the outward display of emotions
such as anger, fear, and guilt, and behaviors such as argumentation, silence,
and leaving the stress-inducing situation. These behaviors, in turn, function
to reinstate white racial equilibrium.

white privilege

1. An advantage, good, or
resource that people with ascribed white racial identities receive and/or have
greater access to and that people with ascribed nonwhite racial identities are
denied and/or have less access to, primarily as a consequence of their ascribed
racial identity and not because of what they do or do not do as individuals

2. A condition of whiteness,
whereby one is not, nor needs to be, cognizant of the racial dynamics that
systematically benefit white people and disadvantage people of color

white supremacy

1. The systematic provision
of political, social, economic, and psychological benefits and advantages to
whites, alongside the systematic provision of burdens and disadvantages to
people who are not white

2. A set of norms and
expectations predicated on white habits, or the preferences, tastes, emotions,
and perceptions of white Americans

3. The belief that white
people are inherently superior to people of color and should dominate over
people of color

synonyms: racialized
social system, whiteness

antonym: anti-racism

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