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Language matters: how ‘white words’ corrupt our perception of justice On rejecting the language of the colonizer and creating language that reflects PoC's lived experiences rather than white thoughts and white structures.

As a reader of blogs, we probably don’t have to convince you that language is the foundation of our communication. It is through language and the words available to us that we define our thoughts and beliefs. These are the foundational tools we use to shape our reality and build our understanding of the world around us.

But what happens when the language we use is not our own? What happens when we use words that have been imposed upon us by colonizers, oppressors, and white supremacists?

This is the story of these white words and how they continue to distort our understanding of the world.

Silently shaping our understanding of the world

So what are white words? Well, they’re quite simply the terms and expressions that come from the dominant culture — the European colonizer.

White words, even when there is no intentional malice involved, are necessarily a corrupting influence on our perception of reality and justice, and they shape our understanding of the world in ways that privilege white people and exclude people of color. White words are insidious because they often carry with them assumptions and biases that reinforce the status quo, promoting inequality and perpetuating systemic oppression.

For example, when we use the word “criminal,” we often conjure images of people of color, even though white people are equally as likely to commit crimes.

And consider the word “civilized.” This word is loaded with the notion that the European colonial powers were the epitome of civilization, while all other cultures were savage and uncivilized. This false notion has been used to justify countless atrocities committed against indigenous peoples, women, people of color, and other marginalized groups throughout history.

Or “tribal.” This term is almost exclusively used to describe indigenous peoples and communities, but it carries with it the assumption that these communities are primitive and unorganized. In reality, “tribal” peoples have rich cultures and complex social systems that have been in place for thousands of years. They invented the very tools needed to build civilization before white folks had even been born.

The use of white words also corrupts our understanding of justice. Words like “law and order” and “tough on crime” have been used to justify the disproportionate use of force against people of color, the demonization of communities of color, and the denial of basic rights to people of color.

The term “illegal immigrant” is another example of white words that corrupt our perception of justice, as it dehumanizes people of color and makes it easier to justify the denial of their rights.

White words are white thoughts

Orwell understood that language matters far more than we give it credit for. The war on perception goes far beyond these less subtle examples, and in various ways encompasses all language derived from the oppressor. For as long as we speak his white, male, cisheteronormative, English language, we have to recognize the corrupting influence its white words have on us.

By using language that has been imposed upon us by oppressors, we are putting our minds in intellectual chains and still perpetuating the systemic racism that has been used to deny people of color rights and dignity. The self-enforcing oppression of this thinking is nothing more than covert collective kapo-ism, and it is many times more pernicious than open oppression.

Shalawam to a new future

It is up to us to reject these white words, to create new language that reflects our true reality, and to build a world in which justice is truly blind and all people are treated with dignity and respect.

We propose that the first utterance in this new language be a beautiful word from our ancestors, shalawam:

Hello, fellow human.

Sorry, Afrunauts! While 85% of you are wonderful people, the other 25% were far too frequently brigades and troll farms. Their abusive comments have traumatized our moderators, and so we can't allow comments until we have built an ethical way to address the troll problem. If you feel the calling and you have familiarized yourself with what is and isn't free speech, you can still email us your scribbles. If your feedback is excellent, we may manually add it!
PS. The A Black Woman Is Speaking mug is a standing invitation to sit down, shut up, and engage in the wisdom shared by Black women. Lord knows the world needs it right now.

4 thoughts on “<span class="entry-title-primary">Language matters: how ‘white words’ corrupt our perception of justice</span> <span class="entry-subtitle">On rejecting the language of the colonizer and creating language that reflects PoC's lived experiences rather than white thoughts and white structures.</span>”

  1. its time to make a stand and go back to traditional african languages. how about black folks embrace their roots and start talking by clicking noises?

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