A growing number of public and private institutions are now reevaluating their use of language
“Sold down the river.”

“Cakewalk.”

“Master and slave.”

American English is riddled with words and phrases with racist origins or undertones.

Since the killing of George Floyd by police in Minneapolis and the flurry of protests his and other Black Americans’ deaths have inspired, a growing number of public and private institutions are reevaluating their reliance on language with racist connotations or history.

Read the full story.

Read more:
List: There is no shortage of common words and phrases with racist connotations
– BU engineering student persuades book publisher to remove ‘master and slave’ language
Mass. Appeals Court: The phrase ‘grandfather clause,’ racist in origin, will no longer be used

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