GLOSSARY OF TERMS

Below is an alphabetical, non-exhaustive list of terms that often come up in conversations about whiteness and racism in the United States. The definitions offered here are not meant to be definitive, but are rather a starting point for those who wish to begin understanding controversial topics and exploring them in good faith. Multiple links are included under each term to other articles and web pages with more information. You may also consult our Resources by Subject page.

ABOLITION

The original abolitionist movement in the United States was about abolishing slavery. In the 21st century, there are increasing calls to abolish prisons or abolish the police (or defund the police), based on the belief that the current American carceral system is an inherently racist and classist system that uses violence to perpetuate control of the powerful against the poor. Police brutality, in this view, is a feature of the system rather than a glitch, and mass incarceration is about punishment rather than rehabilitation.

There are 2.2 million Americans incarcerated as of this writing, roughly half of whom are imprisoned for nonviolent crimes related to poverty (e.g., inability to provide bail, homelessness, theft, drug abuse). Between 60-80% are Black and Latino. Abolitionists see policing and incarceration in historical context as an evolution and extension of slavery, by which some people are enriched by forcing other people to do labor without pay through a loophole provided by the Thirteenth Amendment.

For other resources on this topic, go here or here.

ALLY/ALLYSHIP

To be a “white ally” is to be a white person who plays (or tries to play) an active role in racial justice movements, protecting and advocating for the rights of Black and brown people. (This is related to being a “straight ally” for LGBTQ+ people.)

Ideally, a white ally is aware of their white privilege, listens to people of color, works hard to identify and eliminate their own racism, and shows up to support BIPOC causes, businesses, and protests. (In the past, some might have been called “race traitors” by fellow white people.) Less ideally, white allies apologize for being white, center themselves in conversations about race, or try to take the lead as “white saviors” instead of following the lead of those they seek to support. There is also the risk of “performative allyship,” or trying to appear like an ally by saying and posting the right things (see “virtue signaling”) without actually doing anything helpful about racism. For this reason, many find the term problematic and seek to avoid it.

For more on being an ally, go here.

ANGRY BLACK WOMAN

Black women face many stereotypes that make life more difficult, one of which is that they are quick to anger for no good reason—more so than men, certainly, but also more than white women. This then allows people to dismiss Black women’s statements or emotions as unworthy of attention or credibility. (White men who show anger are often admired for being passionate about something important and true.) Most famously, Michelle Obama faced constant scrutiny of her public speaking engagements and was often described by detractors as “angry,” regardless of how reasonable her words or how measured her delivery.

While most of us like to believe we do not harbor such unfounded beliefs about groups of people, multiple workplace studies have demonstrated this belief about Black women to be widespread. Rather than deny that we hold any such stereotypes, white people would do better to be on the lookout for ways such beliefs might affect our attitudes and behaviors, and to correct ourselves as appropriate.

For more on this topic, go here.

Antiracism

To be antiracist is not merely to be “not racist.” It is to acknowledge the historical reality of racism and to work actively against current racism in all its forms. This includes not only individual racism (beliefs one may hold about the superiority of one race over another), but also interpersonal, institutional, and structural forms of racism (unjust practices and/or policies that privilege one race while hindering another). 

Historian Ibram X. Kendi says, “To be antiracist is a radical choice in the face of history, requiring a radical reorientation of our consciousness.”

For more information, go here.

Bias

Bias is essentially prejudice, or a distorted judgment for or against someone or something. It can be explicit or implicit. Explicit bias refers to conscious actions against a person based on stereotypes, such as refusing to hire someone because of their race. Implicit bias refers to the pervasive, unconscious stereotypes, feelings, and attitudes that all of us carry, which tend to favor our own in-group over other groups. Even a person who does not consciously wish to be racist may still harbor subconscious or implicit bias, which can have small and large consequences in everyday life—from classrooms to businesses to court rooms. So it is important for individuals to work toward uncovering and becoming aware of our own implicit biases, so that we can then unlearn it.

For more information, go here.

Bigotry

A bigot is what many people mean when they say “a racist.” In is a person who is obstinately, stubbornly, and usually openly biased toward their own group—in the U.S. this typically means white Christians. At the same time, a bigot is prejudiced against other kinds of people—typically Black and brown people, Jews and Muslims, or non-white immigrants. More common prior to the 1980’s, the term experienced a revival around the 2016 election of President Trump, who openly stoked white anger against immigrants, non-white, and/or non-Christian people in the U.S. as a political strategy.

For more information, go here.

BIPOC/POC

These acronyms stand for Black, Indigenous, and People of Color, i.e. people who are not identified as white. It is often used as a replacement for “minorities” or “marginalized” people. “Black” refers here not only to the descendants of those who were enslaved and brought to North America from the 1600s—1800s, but also to others within the African diaspora. “Indigenous” refers to those who lived in North America before European colonization and genocide; this includes tribes in the continental U.S. as well as Native Hawaiians, Alaskans, and Pacific Islanders. POC includes Asians, Latinx/Latina/Latino, and people of mixed race or identity. It is best to speak of a particular group whenever possible. But BIPOC is a provisional way of naming a diverse group of racial and ethnic identities quickly, rather than use a term like “non-white,” which may be perceived as prioritizing whiteness. For more information, go here.

Black Lives Matter (BLm)

This movement began as a hashtag (#BlackLivesMatter) in 2013 following the acquittal of Trayvon Martin’s killer. Alicia Garza, Patrisse Cullors, and Opal Tometi used it as a platform for raising awareness about police brutality against Black people, and began organizing protest marches after police killings in places like Ferguson, Missouri. Eventually it became a 501(c)(3) charitable organization. The founders describe BLM as “an ideological and political intervention in a world where Black lives are systematically and intentionally targeted for demise. It is an affirmation of Black folks’ humanity, our contributions to this society, and our resilience in the face of deadly oppression.” 

The common retorts that “All Lives Matter” or “Blue Lives Matter” seek to erase the particular ways in which Black people have been uniquely oppressed throughout U.S. history, and continue to suffer statistically disproportionate police brutality in the United States.

For more information, go here.

CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT

The Civil Rights Movement refers to the collective political actions in the mid-20th century (1950s and 1960s) that led up to the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965. These include the Montgomery Bus Boycott and the Bloody Sunday march for voting rights across a bridge in Selma, Alabama. This movement was largely religiously motivated, especially associated with Protestant Christianity, but also with Islam, Judaism, and even Hindu thought. (A number of political assassinations are associated with this period in American history, including those of Medgar Evers, Martin Luther King, Jr. and Malcolm X.)

Although slavery had been legally abolished in 1865 following the Civil War, Black Americans had continued to endure the horrors of discrimination and segregation in the form of Jim Crow laws. Widespread lynching in the South also contributed to the Great Migration of millions of Black people to northern states. The Civil Rights movement was an important next step in securing the rights of basic citizenship for Black Americans—though it was far from the final step toward genuine equality under the law.

For more on the Civil Rights Movement, go here.

Colorblind

When overt racism becomes socially unacceptable, some well-intentioned people will claim they don’t see race at all—that they are “colorblind” and see only individual people, regardless of race. Unfortunately, this is a luxury not afforded to BIPOC, who are keenly aware of the concrete and subtle ways their physical appearances shape and limit their economic, social, and political options in the U.S. Colorblindness in this context functions as a way for (white) people to avoid having to think or talk about race and the realities of racism. Rather than trying to erase others’ racial/ethnic backgrounds—which are nothing to be ashamed of—a better option for white people is to acknowledge our membership in a historically-defined racial group, so we can then equip ourselves to become antiracist. 

For more information, go here.

CRITICAL RACE THEORY (CRT)

Critical race theory is a way of looking at history, society, and economics. It has its origins in the late 20th century at the intersection of Marxist historical critique, legal theory, and biology. It is based on the notion that race is a social construct, designed to maintain certain people’s power over other people, rather than a genetic reality. With regard to U.S. history, critical race theory sees racism as the norm rather than the exception—something virtually every non-white American knows but few white Americans see.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, critical race theory or “CRT” came under attack by conservative politicians who blamed it for Black Lives Matter protests, among other issues. This grew into further political pressure on public schools, libraries, and universities where students might be learning about slavery, genocide, or other parts of American history that made white students uncomfortable. Proponents of critical race theory maintain that it is about looking at the facts, even if those facts undermine a narrative of American exceptionalism. Only by seeing American realities as they are can we move toward greater justice for all.

For more information, go here.

Cultural appropriation

This refers to when a member of a dominant group (e.g., white people) unjustly use the cultural symbols, fashions, or identities of a dominated group in a way that harms them (e.g., Native Americans, Black people, Asians). Sometimes this takes the form of supposedly trivial things like Halloween costumes. More famously, certain American athletic teams have come under fire from those who oppose the use of cultural names or racial slurs for economic gain, while also erasing the white supremacy and colonialism related to their history. (Teams like the Washington Commanders and Cleveland Guardians have changed their names in response.) Sometimes, those accused of cultural appropriation will protest that they are celebrating these cultures, who should therefore be flattered. But a significant imbalance of power between the borrowing group and the group being borrowed from is key to the injustice.

For more information, go here.

Diversity

Diversity refers to the simple fact of having variety. In the U.S., for example, we might speak of racial diversity, linguistic diversity, economic diversity, religious diversity, political diversity, and/or gender diversity. Americans come from a diverse range of backgrounds and bear a diverse range of worldviews. The term diversity is often used in conjunction with Inclusion (particularly in workplaces/schools) and/or Pluralism (particularly in politics/law). More on these terms below.

Food insecurity

The USDA defines food insecurity as “household-level economic and social condition of limited or uncertain access to adequate food,” which is generally associated with poverty. In the U.S., food insecurity is also closely associated with race; Black and Hispanic people consistently experience twice as much food insecurity as white people, even when controlling for individual factors. Food insecurity can thus be seen as an aspect of structural racism and discrimination.

For more information, go here.

Inclusion

“Diversity and inclusion” or “diversity, equity, and inclusion” (DEI) are often grouped together, usually in the context of workplaces and educational settings. Diversity is a simple fact of people being different; this is a necessary but insufficient condition for inclusion. Inclusion means not only that a group of employees or students is diverse, but that the formal and informal policies and procedures of the organization allow all of those diverse people to flourish—regardless of ability, gender, race, class, and so forth. Inclusion involves consciousness of the ways bias and prejudice affect the experiences and opportunities of people in the community. It means creating an organization in which minority groups are not excluded or disadvantaged by the majority.

More recently, some organizations have moved away from the term “inclusion,” which still implies insiders and outsiders, opting for or adding the term “belonging” (DEIB), which gets closer to describing what the ultimate goal is.

Intersectionality

Legal scholar Kimberlé Crenshaw defines intersectionality as “overlapping and intersecting social identities and related systems of oppression, domination, or discrimination.” In her groundbreaking 1989 analysis, she identified the ways in which Black women can experience unique forms of legal discrimination at the intersection of being both Black (which white women do not experience) and for being women (which Black men do not experience). A Black woman who believed she was denied a promotion due to being Black or a woman, for example, might find herself with no legal grounds to stand on if her employer could prove that both white women and Black men sometimes got promotions. The law failed to recognize the ways in which two or more types of discrimination can intersect and add additional barriers for some people. Many others have since built upon this concept, highlighting additional aspects of identity that may exacerbate social oppression. These may include disability, sexual orientation, religion, ethnicity, age, immigration status, class, or other factors.

For more information, go here.

Justice 

Justice is a notoriously difficult word to define because it depends so much upon where one stands in relation to a particular question. In so far as justice refers to social justice or distributive justice, it means everyone has what they are due and what they need in order to have the opportunity to live a meaningful and fulfilling life. Justice is not a simple matter of fairness or equality, but is instead about treating individuals in ways that are appropriate to their situation (for example, making sure buildings have ramps or elevators for those who can’t use stairs). Justice seeks to help people meet their needs so they can thrive. Christians might define justice as loving one’s neighbor as oneself, or doing to and for others what we would want them to do to and for us.

KAREN

The meme of a “Karen” signifies a privileged, entitled white woman who views the world as owing her something. At her most laughable, a Karen wants to speak to the manager if she thinks a lower-level employee is not giving her the respect she is due. At her most threatening, a Karen weaponizes her white women’s privilege against people of color, usually by calling the police. (Some have noted that what started as a humorous meme also has the potential to be used as a sexist, ageist term of disregard for all white women over a certain age.)

For more, read here.

Microaggressions

These are small, sometimes unintentional comments or actions related to someone’s social identity (race, gender, ethnicity, body size/shape), which have the effect of bolstering the dominant group while degrading other groups. Sometimes such comments are meant positively, such as, “You don’t sound Black,” with the implication that “sounding white” is the right way to talk. The subtlety of microaggressions is often a sore point for white people who thought nothing of the comment they made, or might even have thought they were being nice.

White people who find ourselves accused of committing a microaggression should do our best to learn from it. We can listen, take responsibility, and apologize, even if no offense was intended. We can use the opportunity to reflect on others’ experiences and become more aware of our own prejudices and biases.

For more information, go here.

Pluralism

Pluralism is a political notion that sees diversity as a positive aspect of a democratic society. Interfaith America activist Eboo Patel, citing Diana Eck, notes that while diversity is simply a fact of life in the U.S., genuine pluralism is an achievement—one that requires continuous effort. Instead of accepting in-groups and out-groups as the norm, pluralism is the conscious, deliberate engagement with and celebration of difference. Pluralism trusts that diverse people can and should peacefully coexist and share power, and are stronger together than separately. Pluralism as a practice comes from the belief that respect for diversity can enhance the common good through connections and relationships.

Prejudice

Prejudice refers to unfounded opinions, assumptions, or feelings that we have about someone based on overt or unconscious stereotypes. We attach these opinions to someone without thinking, simply because of the group to which they belong and our previous beliefs about that group (e.g., Black people, poor people, women, Muslims, gay men, and so forth). Prejudice is not quickly undone with science or statistics. The only true antidote is time, education, serious reflection, and interpersonal relationships with people who are different from us. A definition is here. See also Bias, Bigotry, Colorblind.

Racism (Systemic or Structural)

Systemic or structural racism is the cumulative effect of policies, actions, and attitudes that advantage white people while disadvantaging people of other races. In this sense, racism is not just a matter of individual intention or personal feelings. It can be perpetuated even unintentionally because it is embedded in the system in which we all live—such as through housing policy, health care, educational opportunities, even the locations of grocery stores. Individual acts or policies can be described as “racist” because of their negative impacts, but systemic racism accumulates over time and often has outsized harmful effects beyond what can be attributed to any individual source, person, or action. Because there is no way to truly act in racism-free ways within a racist system, it is necessary for actions and policies to be actively antiracist in order to work against the effects of systemic racism.

Redlining

This refers to racial discrimination in mortgage lending, for purposes of creating and maintaining racially segregated neighborhoods. Governments and banks drew red lines on city maps, indicating who had lending privileges in particular areas. Black neighborhoods that were redlined were considered risky investments, so Black homebuyers were forced to accept predatory loans or were refused loans altogether. The ability to get home loans has contributed significantly to the growth of white wealth, while severely restricting Black Americans’ ability to buy homes, accumulate wealth, and pass these on to their children. The economic inequalities of the 21st century can be directly traced to the racist housing policies of the 20th century.

For more information, go here.

REPARATIONS

For centuries, the United States supported and profited from enslaving Black people, stealing billions of dollars’ worth of Black labor. Following the Civil War, Black Americans continued to experience discrimination and oppression under Jim Crow conditions. Even after the Civil Rights movement, Black Americans have continued to suffer disproportionately (and white Americans to benefit disproportionately) from American inequality in virtually every area of social life, including housing, education, jobs, incarceration, and healthcare.

Reparations refers to the still somewhat controversial idea that the United States must actively repair the economic harm done to Black Americans throughout U.S. history by literally paying them back. It is not enough merely to say that everyone is equal now; there must instead be an attempt to create the kind of level playing field that has never existed in this country. (This might or might not come not necessarily in the form of cash payments.) A federal bill to study reparations, H.R. 40, was introduced in the House of Representatives in 1989 and has been reintroduced annually but remains stalled. In the early 2020s, a number of individual cities and states have taken steps toward reparations, with mixed results.

Say Her Name

This began as a social media hashtag (#SayHerName) in 2014, both in response to police killings of Black women and as a corrective to the fact that the Black Lives Matter movement had so far largely focused its protests around Black men. Unarmed Black women and girls, such as Sandra Bland and Breonna Taylor, also disproportionately fall victim to racial profiling and police brutality. See also Intersectionality.

For more information, go here.

Virtue Signaling

In a political context that is deeply polarized, people may sometimes feel the need to express what side they’re on. Others may then accuse them of “virtue signaling,” or finding conspicuous ways to publicly demonstrate goodness or political correctness. One might be accused of virtue signaling or grandstanding on social media (such as adding #BlackLivesMatter or other hashtags to one’s profile) or perhaps even in person (such as wearing a mask when masks are not required, or taking a knee during the national anthem at a sporting event). Whether or not one actually believes the things one says/wears/writes is mostly irrelevant to accusers, who see it as posturing. In most cases, it tends to be conservative or right-leaning people who accuse progressive or left-leaning people of virtue signaling, though occasionally progressives might use it against those they see as not truly progressive.

For a fuller treatment of virtue signaling, go here.

White Guilt

White guilt is an emotional reaction by a white person to recognition of racial inequality or injustice. The emotional response is connected to a sense of morality that understands racism as morally wrong, but isn’t sure how to make amends. Often, expressions of white people’s emotional discomfort can put white people at the center, thereby detracting from a focus on BIPOC experiences of racism. It is sometimes also an occasion for white people to try to deny the racial discomfort they feel. (As a phenomenon, “white tears” can be either a subset of white guilt or a denial of white guilt.)

Black people and people of color are not responsible for absolving white people of white guilt. White guilt is the responsibility of white people and white communities to manage and work through. Ideally, it can become fuel for more productive, concrete responses to dismantling structural racism.

For more information, go here.

White Privilege

White privilege refers to structural advantages that white people have by virtue of our race—advantages like not being viewed as inherently a threat by police because of race; seeing other people who look like us represented frequently in mass media and among political leadership; not being subject to the lasting effects of historic discriminatory policies like redlining; and so on. White privilege doesn’t mean that white people can’t still face real challenges—we absolutely can and do! White privilege merely refers to the fact that white people’s challenges tend to come from factors other than race.

Writer John Scalzi describes privilege (especially for straight white men) using the metaphor of playing a video game on the lowest difficulty setting. Others describe it as an invisible knapsack of advantages that white people tend to take for granted.

Whiteness

While race has no biological meaning, it has very strong social meanings. In the United States, “white” is an identity people hold, which also acts as the standard or norm for all things American. Everyone else is measured against this norm, which is not only cultural but also economic and political. The norm of whiteness is so deeply embedded as to be largely invisible to people who identify as white. It is this invisibility that allows white people to think of ourselves as unique individuals, as opposed to members of a racial group. (For example, more than half of school shooters in the U.S. are white; yet such shooters are almost always presented as troubled individuals, rather than as members of a violent group.)

For more information, go here.

Woke/Wokeness

The term “woke” has roots among Black Americans in the early- to mid-1900s, as a call to Black activism amid oppression. The term had a resurgence with the Black Lives Matter movement and following the 2016 presidential election. It is also associated with The 1619 Project of the New York Times, which “aims to reframe the country’s history by placing the consequences of slavery and the contributions of black Americans at the very center of our national narrative.”

The encouragement to “stay woke” is a call to be alert to the truth of social injustice, especially against Black people by white people. More broadly, “wokeness” is associated with a desire to be inclusive of all kinds of people when thinking about society and history—people of all races, abilities, economic classes, sex and gender orientations, immigration statuses, and so on. In recent years, some white people who would prefer not to talk about race have latched onto the term as an insult (“the woke mob”), even leveraging a crusade against wokeness as a political strategy. Others respond that “You cannot love America and avoid the topic of race;” to ignore race is to ignore a definitive factor in American history and identity.

While white folks might aspire to being inclusive and alert to racism in all its forms, it’s best not to claim wokeness for ourselves. We should instead focus on learning to be antiracist, through a lifelong process of waking up to the many ways in which whiteness has benefited us and harmed others.

For more information, go here.