Black Like Me | Glossary

buck: (n) a black man; used as a racial slur to denigrate black men

caritas: (n) charity, especially when done out of love and caring for humankind

de jure:(adj) based on the laws or on actions taken by the government

defraud: (v) to get something by deceiving a person or organization

effigy: (n) a usually crude rendering or figure made to look like a hated person

epithet: (n) a phrase or word used abusively to disparage someone or some group

gallows humor: (n) grim humor expressed during a terrifying or hopeless situation

holocaust: (n) the slaughter of a vast number of people

lynch: (v) to illegally put someone to death, especially by hanging

mongrelization: (n) the cross-breeding of types of persons, especially of races

paternalism: (n) a system or authority meant to govern individuals or groups of people in the manner of a father

prurient: (adj) having, characterized by, or encouraging lascivious or unwholesome interest in sex, especially in the sexuality of others

gauntlet: (n) a crowd or mob of people that represent a threat or ordeal that one must pass through

religiosity: (n) strong or intense religious belief

tract:(n) a pamphlet or treatise on a particular topic often in the form of political or religious propaganda

uppity: (adj) acting in a manner suggesting arrogance or superiority

vitiligo: (n) a skin disorder in which pigment is lost on areas of the skin and which results in white spots or patches

white supremacist: (n) a person who believes in the natural superiority of white people, generally in relation to black people