From: evan@hpl.hp.com (Evan Kirshenbaum)
Subject: Re: Black racism-Language
Date: Fri, 9 Oct 1992 17:55:12 GMT
Organization: Hewlett-Packard Laboratories

In article <gep=TyS00YV7I73Vxn@andrew.cmu.edu> "George W. Hunter" <gh29+@andrew.cmu.edu> writes:
>In reference to a response by David A. Johns@elm.circa.
>
>  Regardless of when we blacks or Africn Americans decided what would be
>appropriate term to classify ourselves by; we were black.  I know this
>may sound a little elementry, but we were always black.  So a
>description of us as a peoples would be.....black.  After looking in the
>dictionary, there is no arguing that the terms associated with "black"
>are extremely negative.  Why is this; why is the term "black" considered
>not pure and "white" pure? 
>
> The development of new terms in language reflect the sentiments and
>feelings of the people who use that language, but more importantly the
>acceptance of these new terms relies upon the willingness of the
>literate public to broadly accept and use these terms.  
>
> It is naive to imply that in the United states over the last 300+ years, when
>these terms were developed, there is no actual, overt or otherwise,
>significance to the implication that these "black" negativisms reflect a
>social attitude which is wholy negative toward the black peoples.  These
>terms didn't just develop in a vaccum.  To assume the inferences pose no
>sociological implications and had nothing to do with the fact that we
>were black and in general, the majority, literate public dispised us and
>thought subordinate and impure because were black is ludicrous.  Please
>don't give yourself a false sense of security and delude yourself to
>this misunderstanding.  Please in the immortal words of Spike Lee "wake
>up".  

When I first saw this, I said to myself, "that can't be right", the
word "black" has had those connotations long before English speakers
had much contact with Africans (let alone before there was a United
States).  Getting out my trusty OED (ok, my neighbor's trusty OED), I
did a little checking.  Surprisingly, while the meanings are older
than implied above, they are not as old as I thought they were.

"Black" describing the color comes from Old English "blaec" and
appears, for instance, in Beowulf.  The first written appearance of
the word "black" is from 890 (and, interestingly enough--if I read it
right-- describes the color of someone's face).  The first description
that uses it to describe someone non-white ("Blac as a bloaman") dates
from 1225. [At least I think that's how it's being used.]

"Foul, iniquitous, attrocious, horribly wicked" doesn't show up until
1581.  "Having dark or deadly purposes, malignant; pertaining to or
involving death, deadly; baneful, disasterous, sinister" shows up in
1583 (Shakespeare: 1589).  "Indicating disgrace, censure, liability to
punishment" in 1612.

Some common constructions: "Black art", 1590. "Blackball", 1770.
"Black dog" (a bad coin), 1706.  "Blackguard", 1532.  "Blacklist",
1692.  "Blackmail", 1552 (although it may not have initially had
negative connotations).  "Black mark", 1845.

I still have a hunch that the color black did not get its connotations
*from* association with dark-skinned people, but rather, given the
connoation, it was seen as "proof" of the inherent wickedness and
inferiority of such people when they were encountered.  The terms have
more the feel of religious than racial origins.  I don't, however,
have enough of an anthropological background to back this up.

This is not to say, of course, that, given these connotations, people
predisposed to consider blacks inferior did not use this as
justification and that derogatory terms were not developed that
referred directly to black as the color of people's skin.  (Much the
same thing happened with yellow: it meant "jealousy" (or "cowardice"?)
in 1602 and wasn't applied to people's skin until 1808.)

Speaking for myself, I don't think that there is much connection in my
mind between the metaphorical uses of the word and the use describing
skin color.  I would expect this to be the case for most English
speakers these days, white and otherwise.  (Terms that are obiously
derogatory and racially based--I honestly can't think of one at the
moment--notwithstanding.)

Evan Kirshenbaum
    HP Laboratories
    3500 Deer Creek Road, Building 26U
    Palo Alto, CA  94304

    kirshenbaum@hpl.hp.com
    (415)857-7572