Ebook I wrote and produced
CHANGE
the Language Paradigm
SKYWALKER PAYNE
Change the Language Paradigm
Over 20 years ago, as an employee of the University of Texas in Austin, I first
heard the oxymoronic expression minority-majority. Later, I met black and
brown college students who said, “I am a minority.” I recalled the words of
Steven Biko on the psychological power of language to keep people oppressed
and wrote an essay, “The Minority Myth.” Yet, educated black and brown
professionals continue to say, “I am a minority” as if ignoring the inherent
meaning of “less” that is at the root of the word. The defense and abuse of the
word minority is one example of the perpetuation of intellectual institutional
racism in the USA. By examining the inherent problems with the use of
minority alternatives arise, such as using precise and specific language in
sociological research, instituting the use of the language of inclusion, and
promoting positive descriptive language. Such alternative actions could
contribute not only to significant language change but also to progressive social
change.
Verbal Hypnotism
". . .these labels, together with ideas, opinions, beliefs, emotions and their
associated behavior constitute the sociological, psychological factor of racial
matters." Jean Toomer
At the turn of the 20th century, Jean Toomer, author and philosopher,
recognized that the easier course was to use labels rather than to discover the true
nature of an individual. Ironically, in a country that stresses rugged individualism
the tendency to classify people based on the age old prejudices of appearance,
wealth, education, skin color, ethnicity, and of course language continues. This
tendency is most negatively illustrated in the continued overuse of the word
minority as a noun rather than as an adjective.
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Change the Language Paradigm
Problems arise with the use of a word which by definition means less than to
label unique, individual human beings who come from many different
backgrounds, encounter different problems, and often speak different languages.
The pejorative nature of minority is increased with the use of double-speak, such
as minority-majority. Placing minority before majority enables people to
consider these populations as less than making their numerical majority
insignificant because the minority-majority is still seen as less than the "majority"
in education, economics, and political power. Thus, such language use maintains
the status quo which is to keep power in the hands of the current power-holders
Therefor, in response to the ludicrous suggestion to “let’s remove the race
category from the census,” researchers of this 21st century multicultural nation
should be as scientifically precise as they can by using specific ethnic, racial or
national identifying language. “What minority?” is the question many ask. As
racial and ethnic intermarriages continue to increase, the question of racial
identification alone becomes more complex. Is a person with one white parent
and one black parent a member of the white majority or the black minority?
However, as long as social problems are identified as problems of racial
minorities, the so called majority doesn’t have to concern itself with addressing
the minority’s problems. The greatest number of people in poverty among that
group classified as the minority in poverty in the USA are white people. Yet,
because the wealthy ruling elite and mass media propagate negative reports about
affirmative action for minorities the white poor fail to align politically with
people of color who are poor. Additionally, to further the confusion caused by
the blanket use of minority are the minority groups of gays, bi-sexuals,
transgenders and differently-abled people (which really encompasses most
human beings, but in this case, is a better label than “disabled or retarded”).
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Change the Language Paradigm
A prime example of the social and psychological confusion misuse of minority
causes is the alarming growth of disproportionate minority confinement. What
goes on in the minds of black youth who have been called minority (and other
dehumanizing terms) to enter an institution where they find themselves in the
majority population? More journalists might want to explore the problem of “the
disproportionate confinement of black, brown, and poor people” and thus
educate the general public of this quickly growing inequity and injustice in this
century. Therefor, any system that attempts to classify people who are different
as a minority based on a norm that is in flux can only be flawed.
Unfortunately, journalists are among the most flagrant abusers of this word. The
most absurd justification for this abuse of language was given by a U.S.News and
World Report director of data research in 2003 defending that publication’s
refusal to call whites at historically black campuses a minority when they were
numerically in the minority. The researcher explained, "It’s done from the
context of what society, broadly speaking, generally considers a minority, and
what higher education calls a minority." In other words he was saying, "From
the context of the white men who are writing, researching, and publishing this
ranking of Campus Diversity no way exists, in our minds, for the white man to
be a minority.”
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Change the Language Paradigm
The Changing Paradigm
The Federal Civil Rights Act of 1964 designated four specific minority groups Black, Hispanic, Asian or Pacific Islander, and American Indian. Some scholars
say the word minority began to become a pejorative term in the late 1960’s,
during the rise of black power when people recognized the implied power
relationships between a major group and a minor/lesser group. Other scholars
agree that language use in the USA is now experiencing a major shift,
particularly in terms of identifying and naming diverse populations. In 1999, the
Encarta World English Dictionary included in its definition of minority,
“Offensive term for minority member, now avoided by careful speakers because
it can cause offense.” In the late 1990’s the federal government directed agencies
to drop the word minority. The Census Bureau doesn’t use the term minority
because as one demographer pointed out, “just who are you really talking
about?”
In 1988 the San Diego Unified School District officially stopped the usage of
both minority and majority. In July 2001 the San Diego City Council banned
use of the word minority from municipal documents and discussions. George
Stevens, the city’s deputy mayor, introduced the legislation because, “Minority
means less than and language has strength.” When talking with youth
throughout the city he found minority was seen as a negative term by black and
Latino youth. The same youth said teachers expected less of them and didn’t
push them to succeed as much as white students. Stevens asked, “When you’re
called a minority, why should you be expected to achieve like a majority?”
In 2003, Boston City Council President Charles C. Yancey, felt that minority “. .
.is anachronistic and demeaning.” The City Council unanimously supported his
proposal to ban the word minority from official city documents. But, their vote
was vetoed by the white mayor.
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Change the Language Paradigm
In the summer of 2003 the census released figures that revealed the white
population of the state of California was only 47%, less than one-half of the total
population! The response of the press was to fall back into the comfort of the
impossible descriptive of a “minority-majority state.” Most census and population
forecasters predict that eventually, white people will become a numerical
minority in the USA. Therefor, the values and cultural expression of this country
will change over time from one dominated by the western white male paradigm,
to that of a multicultural, multi-gender paradigm if it is to continue to evolve as a
living representative democratic culture.
Language Consciousness
“There are no accidents in language. Language is the growing, changing,
evolving process of our conscious development. . .” Victor Villasenor
Well meaning people of all races are the first to say, “But we need the term in
order to document social inequities.” However, if scientific studies of society are
to be done, they should be conducted with as much rigor and preciseness as any
other science. In states where people of color are significant numerical minorities
and poor whites are even more invisibly marginalized the catch all term minority
can produce a skewed statistical picture of the problems of the diverse realities
lived. On the other hand, the black medical doctor with a private practice in a
white suburb is a member of the numerical black minority in the community but
he is also part of the upper economic majority class setting social policy. Racial,
sexual, ethnic, economic, and health data are essential to learning how people
live in terms of scientific studies and social programs. Specificity is the key to
combating diverse social problems which have been lumped together under an
amorphous minority.
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Change the Language Paradigm
The USA is not the only country that must confront the use of the term
minority. Muslims in India, indigenous and religious sects in Japan and Turkey
are among the countries that have taken the easy route to classify people who are
different, indigenous, poor, of a different religion, or another language group.
These countries too, in the 21st century, struggle with how to address diverse
people and their needs and rights.
Usage of words changes over time. For over 200 years the use of nigger was
common among whites and blacks, not as a pejorative, but as a country, southern
pronunciation. By the beginning of the 20th century polite society frowned on
the word, then black people in America called themselves colored, Moorish,
Negro, Black, Afro or African American. Black was how Gwendolyn Brooks,
Pulitzer Prize winning poet, chose to identify herself because use of this
descriptive makes black Americans part of a great world majority.
Every country has people who are darker, different, and the so-called "black
sheep." Calling oneself a black person creates a great unity going beyond ethnic,
geographic, or tribal divisions. If Africans had recognized their common needs
and not sold their people for money and guns to kill each other, Europe might
have become known as the “third world.” The world white minority might then
not have succeeded in imposing its values, economics, and military might upon
the majority, black, brown, yellow, and red populations.
If the Census Bureau and government documents do not use minority as a
descriptive of people, why do media, educators, politicians, business leaders, and
social workers continue to stigmatize living, human, feeling beings by telling
them they are less? The big question remains "who or what are they less than?"
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Change the Language Paradigm
Liberating Language
“Of what race am I? To this question there is and can be but one true answer--I
am of the human race, I am an American. . . I would liberate myself and
ourselves from the entire machinery of verbal hypnotism. I am simply of the
human race. . .I am of the human nation. . .I am of Earth." Jean Toomer
Private businesses have begun taking a progressive lead through their human
resources departments to address how people are labeled. Some surveys have
shown that employees find the use of minority “offensive, a ploy to label people.”
Upon a logical and thorough reflection, the language of inclusion is the only
language to use. The 21st Century USA is a multicultural, multiracial, and
multiethnic nation. Thus, language must be inclusive. The language of inclusion
is the language of a true democracy which finds its wealth by investing in the
capital of all of its citizens, trying to ever expand and grow that capital by
offering opportunities and compassion to all. Communities, schools, businesses,
and government can work from a policy of inclusion that welcomes everyone
and asks people how they wish to be called, how they choose to identify
themselves. This inclusive philosophy recognizes the need to be willing to
become culturally competent in as many cultures as one meets in order to avoid
falling into the acceptance of stereotypes and/or engaging in prejudicial actions.
Renee Sneitzer, a black woman who traveled from the projects of New Jersey to
become the first black prosecutor in Black Hawk County, Iowa sees language
change as one tool for helping to combat the problem of disproportionate
confinement of black, brown, and poor people. Her guiding quote is “People
will rise to greatness if greatness is expected of them.” Thus, she suggests that
rather than calling people “poor, disadvantaged, or at risk” for whom society,
fate, or forces beyond their control have cast into negative life situations to
recognize them as the individuals and communities “with the greatest potential
for growth and success.”
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Change the Language Paradigm
Imagine the change that will occur in the minds of the public when journalists
write stories with headlines such as, “Black and Brown Youth Exploit their
Potential for Growth and Success.” Imagine the positive impact on justice when
legislators pass penal laws to “increase the potential for growth and success of
people incarcerated.” Imagine the decrease in police brutality and arrests if police
were trained to view nonviolent youthful drug users as “offenders with the
greatest potential for growth and success.” Imagine the improvement in families
if social workers were taught to view their clients as “families with the greatest
potential for growth and success.” The use of positive language will create
positive results. The challenge now is to take this knowledge and use all
resources at hand to institute changes in the language paradigm.
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