| Term | Definition |
| Activist | Someone who takes actions to bring about social change. This can take many different forms and can be done by anyone. |
| Anti-Oppression | Strategies, theories, actions, and practices that challenge systems of oppression on an ongoing basis in daily life and social justice/change work. It aims to recognize oppression, mitigate its effects, and equalize the power imbalance in communities. |
| Interpersonal Racism | Racism that occurs between individuals through their beliefs, attitudes, and actions that support or perpetuate racism. It can be both active and passive, unconscious and conscious. |
| Performative Activism | Participating in activism solely to increase social capital rather than genuinely being devoted to the cause. Performative activists focus on making others acknowledge that they are not racist themselves instead of contributing to tackling structural racism. |
| Power | The ability to decide who has access to resources, direct or influence the behavior of others, oneself, and/or the course of events. Power is unequally distributed in society, and it operates through mechanisms such as wealth, whiteness, citizenship, patriarchy, heterosexism, and education. |
| Prejudice | Pre-judgment or unjustifiable, usually negative, attitudes of one group toward another based on stereotypes. These negative attitudes deny the individuality of members of certain groups and their right to be recognized and treated based on their individual characteristics. |
| Privilege | Unearned social power accorded by the formal and informal institutions of society to members of a dominant group, putting them at an advantage over those who do not have it. Privilege is often invisible to those who have it, but it perpetuates inequality in society. |
| Racism | Refers to individual, cultural, institutional, and systemic ways by which differential consequences are created for groups historically or currently defined as white being advantaged, and groups historically or currently defined as non-white as disadvantaged. Systemic or institutional racism refers to large-scale societal mechanisms that produce and perpetuate inequities for racial minorities. |
| Systemic & Institutional Racism | Refers to racism that exists within and between institutions/organizations across society, perpetuating inequities for racial minorities through large-scale societal mechanisms independent of individual intentions and actions. Examples include housing discrimination, social segregation, and mandatory minimum sentences. |
| Transactional Activism | Transactional activism refers to the expectation or demand for a reciprocation of speaking out on issues affecting different races. In discussions of race and racism, if one speaks out on issues affecting another race, there is an expectation for others from that race to speak up about issues affecting them as well. Failure to do so may result in criticism. |
The Black Identity
| Term | Definition | Context |
| ADOS | Refers to American Descendents of Slavery, a socio-political division used in discussions of reparations and readdressing injustices for descendants of slaves in America | Used mainly in conversations of reparations and readdressing injustices for descendants of slaves in America, however, it has received controversy due to the idea of dividing the Black community. |
| African [origin] | Refers to a person with African ancestral origins who self-identifies or is identified by others as African. | The term African [origin] is used in the context of scientific writing on race and ethnicity to refer to a person with African ancestral origins who self-identifies or is identified by others as African but usually excludes those residents of Africa of other ancestry, for example, Europeans and South Asians and sometimes excludes North Africans, for example, Algerians. Geographically based. |
| African-American | Refers to people and their offspring with African ancestral origins who/family migrated directly from sub-Saharan Africa to America. | It has been the preferred term in the USA since the 1970s. As most African Americans in the USA originated from sub-Saharan Africa, the term is not applied to Africans from northern African countries such as Morocco. Most African Americans are descendants of persons brought to the Americas as slaves between the 17th and 19th century (distant ancestry). |
| African-Black Diaspora | Refers to the long-term historical process by which people of African descent have been scattered from their ancestral homelands to other parts of the world. | As defined in the Britannica, the African diaspora refers to the long-term historical process by which people of African descent have been scattered from their ancestral homelands to other parts of the world. (N) |
| Black | Refers to persons with sub-Saharan African ancestral origins with brown or black complexion. In some circumstances, usually in politics or power struggles, it signifies all non-White minority populations. | In practice, the term Black refers to persons with sub-Saharan African ancestral origins with brown or black complexion. In some circumstances, usually in politics or power struggles, the term signifies all non-White minority populations. (N) |
Importance of Terminology
Understanding and using accurate terminology is crucial in conversations surrounding racism, social justice, and activism. Terms used in these discussions hold historical and cultural significance that can convey different meanings when used inappropriately. It is important to recognize that words do not exist in a vacuum, and their usage can reflect societal attitudes and beliefs towards different groups.
The modern African diaspora is characterized by the movement of people among various societies and the shared experience of racial oppression and resistance to it. Members of diasporic communities possess a sense of “racial,” ethnic, or religious identity that transcends geographic boundaries and shares cultural similarities. It is important to understand the historical context and emotional attachment that members of diasporic communities have to their ancestral land and the oppression and alienation they may face in their new societies.
One common misconception is the disagreement between using the terms African-American versus Black. While Black generally refers to anyone of African descent, some prefer the term African-American to describe people born within the United States with African descent or second-generation children of African immigrants. Another important factor is being born and raised in American systems of inequality, which Ados recognizes. Ados are disconnected from their heritage and share the same historical trauma; thus, the further specification is necessary.
Understanding and using accurate terminology within the context of racism, social justice, and activism is critical. These terms hold historical and cultural significance and can reflect societal attitudes and beliefs towards different groups. It is essential to recognize the emotional attachment and shared experiences that members of diasporic communities have and to avoid common misconceptions regarding specific terms such as African-American versus Black or Ados. By using accurate terminology, we can better understand and address the issues surrounding racism and work towards social justice and equity.
References
Agyemang, Charles, Kamaldeep S. Bhui, and Karlijn A. C. Bruijnzeels. “Negro, Black, Black African, African Caribbean, African American or what? Labeling African origin populations in the health arena in the 21st century.” Journal of Epidemiology & Community Health 2005;59:1014-1018. https://jech.bmj.com/content/59/12/1014.info.
Anti-racism Resources. Accessed May 4, 2023. https://guides.library.unlv.edu/c.php?g=331225&p=2226603.
Anti-Oppression Resources for UNLV Students: Glossary. Accessed May 4, 2023. https://www.unlv.edu/sites/default/files/page_files/27/Anti-Oppression%20Glossary.pdf.
Palmer, Colin A. “Defining and studying the modern African diaspora.” The Journal of Negro History 85, no. 1-2 (2000): 27-32.
Smith, Tom W. “Changing Racial Labels: From ‘Colored’ to ‘Negro’ to ‘Black’ to ‘African American.’” The Public Opinion Quarterly 56, no. 4 (1992): 496–514. http://www.jstor.org/stable/2749204.