Where Race and Language Meet

“Dropping one term in favor of another will not, by itself, solve any great problem, but it can make finding a solution a bit more likely.”

Editor’s note: This essay is adapted from an open letter published at the platform Letter.wiki in January by the author.

While this is always a complicated and controversial subject with many aspects and facets, I believe some of Americans’ fierce arguments over issues of race in public policy can be made somewhat less fierce by changes in words and terms frequently used in discussion of these issues. I believe some of the difficulties in substantially solving policy problems (as opposed to simply taking stances with little or no effect on substance) are rooted in the use of counterproductive terms, both by advocates of major changes and by critics of such changes. While a vast and varied country like the United States, one with a long history of diversity and conflict (many of today’s phenomena have precedents in America’s past), will never have a single sociopolitical lexicon, if there is to be any hope of cooling down the temperature of our debates around racial topics (and possibly building common ground on solutions to common problems), our choices of words are very important.

I would like to make six propositions, each regarding a term or descriptor frequently used regarding race and/or racism. Broadly speaking, three of these are terms generally associated with the political left, and three are probably more likely to be used by people on the political right, though none of them is used exclusively by one side or the other. Also, while I focus here on the United States, many of these issues are applicable in some ways to other societies, especially in Europe and the Western Hemisphere.

I do not claim that these six terms should never be used under any circumstance. I put them forward because I believe that their use, on balance, is counterproductive. I also do not believe these to be the only terms that lead to unnecessary confusion and conflict. I have chosen an even number in an attempt at ideological balance. Most importantly, I do not claim that modifying word choice alone will be nearly enough to produce positive, widely accepted changes in law, policy, or society. Many subjects related to race in America deserve vigorous debate, even as we will be better off if debate becomes more respectful and less polarizing. Last but not least, I have listed the terms alphabetically.