What to check on the race box is a reminder of how much of a hot button issue affirmative action is. Of the teens we spoke with, most said that believed that college admissions should be based on who, not what color, people were. A few felt the issue is more complicated. Society demands that you call yourself something. A very powerful force that is keeping prejudice alive is language.
Words can shape thoughts and spread opinions and beliefs.
Words can be used to intimidate and frighten, or be threats of violence. More than anything else words reinforce stereotypes and racism. Kathlyn Gay, in her work Bigotry , describes how prejudice is very much a part of American culture. The word white, or whiteness as a concept, usually symbolizes a positive quality, while black or blackness connotes a negative. Just take a quick look through a thesaurus or dictionary and you will find such terms a blacklist, blackmail, black deeds, black sheep, black mark, and so on-all linked to unfavorable images.