The landmine in labeling someone ‘black’

The Washington Post ^ | December 25, 2014 | Esther J. Cepeda

[2ndDivisionVet]

Baltimore — More than 500 protesters marched from Empowerment Temple Church on Primrose Avenue north on Reisterstown Road to Reisterstown Road Plaza for "Black Lives Matter Sunday." On Reisterstown Road, near the entrance to the shopping center, the protesters formed a circle and many laid down to stage a die-in to show solidarity with Michael Brown.

CHICAGO — Everyone understands that words matter. Observers of my writing know that I hopscotch my way through racial and ethnic labels quite a bit, using the conventions of my source materials whenever possible so as to not tinge my point with an easily misperceived term.

But labels can be landmines. They can be perfectly acceptable to some in a particular group and at the same time deeply insult others. As it turns out, which racial label is used in communicating neutral information can also have a wide-ranging impact on those who are taking in descriptive information about a group or a person.

In a recent study — “A rose by any other name?: The consequences of subtyping ‘African-Americans’ from ‘Blacks’” — researchers Erika Hall, Katherine Phillips and Sarah Townsend found that these two racial labels have a disparate impact on how minority social groups are perceived by whites.

The researchers conducted four distinct studies in the realms of employment, media and criminal justice to determine the perceptions of the two labels in different contexts.

The data they collected point to whites believing that the label “Black” evokes a mental representation of a person with lower socioeconomic status, education, positivity, competence and warmth than the label “African-American.” And whites “will react more negatively” toward “Blacks” than toward “African-Americans.”(continued)

[MaxMax]

[I want the USA back]

Blaming Whitey gives them an excuse to continue their self-defeating behavior.

[trebb]

Shows insecurity on their part. I don’t care how people label me.

Same here - everyone has opinions but some folks' opinions are worthless...I'm comfortable in my "White Privileged" skin.

[Lion Den Dan]

My black friend says those in the inner city are basically trapped, they need to get out of there, it be LA, Baltimore, Chicago, they need to get out to open spaces. I agree, the biggest trap is the inner city.

Out to the open spaces, right. I live in the wide open spaces and don't want them here. There are not enough money making, tax paying other people to support those negroes.

[Rodamala]

in NJ... and threw in Hunterdon you clarify it wasn’t in Newark.

[383rr]

Inner city a trap? Nope, don’t buy it, we NEED to quit buying it. Let’s say, for example, you and I and a lot of folks with the same mindset live in this “inner-city”. Do you think it would be the same then? No, it would be just like the communities we live in and are a part of now. It’s DEMOGRAPHICS. It’s the people, not the place. Until they decide to join society and become productive members,(and I’ll guarantee thats not on the agenda) nothing will change. It’s absurd to think that concrete, pavement and glass and steel are whats “holding them back”. It’s ridiculous.

[Mariner]

"Well, that works for some. But, for many and possibly most, you can take the person out of the inner city but you can’t take the inner city out of the person."

Language skills are developed very early in life. By the time a kid is 8yrs, they are set.

For life.

Sadly, many black kids are raised on ebonics and that's all they will ever know.

Even if taught proper english they will speak it with an ebonic accent and always lapse to pure ebonics when under pressure or very comfortable.

And everyone else in America equates ebonics as stupid.

I know I do.

[Fightin Whitey]

layabouts

Looks like the back room at the Post Office at about 2 p.m.