Description

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Racially Based Negative Connotations: What's in a Word details author John H. Manning's lifelong struggle to reduce or eliminate the use of racially based negative connotations. Once Manning became aware of these harmful associations, he found them everywhere. He heard them in schools, churches, and at social events. They came out of the mouths of teachers, ministers, news media, police officers, politicians, co-workers, neighbors, children, and even members of Manning's own family. These racial slurs are embedded so deeply in our vocabulary that they have become a part of our daily language. Although these words and phrases are degrading racial slurs directed mostly toward African Americans, blacks use them just as often as do Caucasians. Favorable words such as pure, innocent, friendly, and good are often used in association with the white race, while unfavorable words such as evil, guilty, wicked, and bad are used in relation to the black race. Once these negative undertones are learned, they are carried from one generation to another. Racially Based Negative Connotations explores the origin of these expressions and seeks to bring understanding to long-held concepts of our everyday language.