The Use of Racial Language in the Pleiad

Content Warning: For educational purposes and historical accuracy, some artifacts include racist or otherwise harmful language.

This archive project will analyze word choice used to describe race by various Pleiad authors over time. These language choices play a vital role in how people communicate with one another, especially when addressing racial or ethnic identity. The standards for what is appropriate when referring to race has changed since the late 1900s and this is evident in the Pleiad. For American society to become truly antiracist, it is necessary to understand how appropriate language has evolved when discussing race or ethnicity and why certain words and/or phrases are (in)appropriate. Words matter and the ways that people speak about and to one another has lasting impacts on emotional well being. Publications are a representation of culture, meaning that the language used in American culture will be used in publications, and the language that publications use expose the public to its practices. When harmful language is used in publications, it perpetuates an acceptance of racist language practices. Subsequently, racism is normalized. Using inclusive, antiracist language in both journalism and everyday life, creates welcoming and safe spaces for all people.

The history of racist language, most notably the use of the N-word, dates back to the settlers of Jamestown in 1619. This group used this word to refer to "the enslaved Black". The N-word was derived from the Latin word meaning "black". This word was consistently used by white slave owners to refer to the Black people they enslaved and furthermore, assert dominance over them. The N-word reinforces the idea of Black inferiority and white supremacy. Through 1915, the word was constantly used in the media and popular culture, most specifically in film. This word can also be connected back to anti-black characters from the 1920s-1950s, like the piccaninnie, little black sambo, and mammies. The NAACP has deemed the N-word offensive in any context except for its use in referring to history or its prejudicial nature (NAACP).

This article recapitulates an address given by Doctor John Hope Franklin to a chapel group on campus. In this address, Dr. Franklin talks a bit about Black history, touching on topics like the right to vote and petitions to be able to enlist in the United States Military. In his address, he quotes different Black historians, authors, and organizations. When referring to Black people, he uses the term highlighted above. This article shows how this word is used frequently in society at this time, as this word is used very clearly in both the heading and the text. During the 1960s, this term took on negative connotations and the reduction of its use began after Black leaders advocated for alternative terms. This artifact demonstrates the usage of a word that was commonly used to describe a group of people with no awareness or care for how that group may be affected by its use. Regardless of its popularity as a word at the time, journalists could have made a different word choice that would have been more respectful towards the group being referred to.

This article is describing an Athletic Circus that took place in Goodrich Chapel on campus. The student journalists talk about the different acts of the circus and groups of performers involved, one of those groups being "The Sigma Chi boys" that "appeared as 'The Southland Ministrels', consisting of eight black N-words and a middle man". The year that this article was published is key in understanding the usage of the N-word in this article. In 1915, the film Birth of a Nation came out, as this film depicted a white man "protecting" white women from Black people, specifically men. Birth of a Nation also features white actors portraying Black people by using blackface and the Klu Klux Klan as saviors to the white population. This article reflects the time it was written in, where the N-word was not only widely used by white people, but widely acceptable and evident in everyday culture. The distortion and stereotyping of Black people flooded throughout this time, and it is evident not only this article, but the event that this article is re-encapsulating.

This editorial piece is about in address given by Reverend Ralph Abernathy on campus about the divide amongst races in American and why it is problematic. Here, the student journalists refer to Black people with the highlighted wording when they are not quoting Abernathy, which is a huge progression in their rhetoric. Though this is the correct word, writers failed to capitalize the word. Black media outlets have been referring to Black people with the capital B since the 1960s, as the lowercase b is seen as in insult. This did not funnel into white media sources until about 2020 when George Floyd was killed by police. Albion College is a predominately white institution (PWI), so it is understandable, though not acceptable, that the student journalists would have been ignorant to this capitalization. The pluralization of "blacks" could have been avoided at times, but in contexts within this text where it is relevant or necessary for the construction of the idea, like the sentence "so long as blacks and whites think of each other as blacks and whites [...]", it is acceptable to use. This idea uses pluralization to articulate that these two racial groups are incredibly separated, and unity amongst all people has a lot of progress to make.

This article was written by student James White, published on April 26, 1968. Here, the student journalists use this word to address the students of color on campus who are affected by different challenges in their Albion College lives. Though this word is used in the headline, in the text of the article, two Black students, Emmett and Williams, say that they will not be using this word when referring to Black students in their letter to the college because "it is a name imposed on the Black race only when they were brought to the Americas". During the time that this was written, the assassination of Martin Luther King Junior was 22 days prior and the Civil Rights Act of 1968 was signed into law just 15 days prior to the release of this article. The correlation between current events at this time and the rhetoric used in this article is evident. This article demonstrates that racist language continues to be used time and time again, even when it is blatant or explicitly stated that people do not want to be referred to by this term.

This article was written about a student, John Rich, who spent a summer in Mississippi. Here, this student is interviewed about his experiences in the south, specifically regarding racism and civil rights events. Similarly to previous articles, this variation of the N-word is used frequently throughout the text, even though this student is not appearing to try and bring down people of color, but rather describe his experiences. This article adds to the others that describe Black people with this word, when it is a word that they do not want to be referred to as. Since this article was written in October of 1964, the Civil Rights Act outlawing discrimination based on race had been in effect since July. It is unclear when the student spent his five weeks in the south that summer, but this Act more likely than not had something to do with the language that was used by those he was quoting and his words himself. This term, as mentioned in the very first artifact, had a negative connotation at this time, yet it was still used frequently.

This feature article, written by Naima Davenport, is a great example of how language used to describe race in the Pleaid has changed up to the present! They are a student of color and their experiences as just that are reflected in this article. Here, Black is capitalized, as "the lowercase black is a color, not a person" (Daniszewski). This language is inclusive and recognizes the dignity and individuality behind each person, resulting in the capitalization of Black. The pluralization of different groups is specific, like "Black students" or "Black subcultures", describing the group and further detailing the idea. This language is inclusive and recognizes different Black students' experiences with this topic.

This article talks about Black students at Albion College who have participated in summer research through the Foundation for Undergraduate Research, Scholarship, and Creative Activity and their projects, highlighting Black success on campus. Similarly to the previous article, this student journalist, Irene Corona-Avila, does a wonderful job in being specific when describing different Black people being mentioned in the text. The specificity of each person identifies their distinct qualities and emphasizes what they do and why it is important in the context of the article, specifically Black women and their poetry. This language is clear and

As the topic of this article is a tough one, addressing Black women's experiences in healthcare, the language used to refer to these women who have had these experiences is inclusive and correct. There is capitalization for every reference to "Black" and their intersectional identities are expressed throughout the article. These titles can include their gender, title, and race, all of which are important details and add to the inclusivity and diversity of the article.

Asim, Jabari. “Dr. Laura Schlessinger and the N-Word’s Long, Painful Trek through History - WSJ.” The Wall Street Journal, 20 Aug. 2010, www.wsj.com/articles/BL-SEB-44302.

Corona-Avila, Irene. “FURSCA Profile: Black Student Researchers Pave the Way.” The Pleiad, 28 Feb. 2022.

Davenport, Naima. “Opinion: How Healthcare Professionals Fail Black Women and AFAB People.” The Pleiad, 3 Nov. 2023.

Davenport, Naima. “Photos: Highlighting Black Hairstyles On Albion’s Campus.” The Pleiad, 23 Feb. 2024.

History.com Editors. “Segregation in the United States - Meaning, Facts. & Legacy.” History.Com, A&E Television Networks, 28 Nov. 2018, www.history.com/topics/black-history/segregation-united-states.

Kennedy, Randall. “Washingtonpost.Com: Nigger: The Strange Career of a Troublesome Word.” The Washington Post Online, 11 Jan. 2001, www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/style/longterm/books/chap1/nigger.htm.

“NAACP Official Position on the Use of the Word ‘Nigger’ and the ‘n’ Word.” NAACP, 13 June 2022, naacp.org/resources/naacp-official-position-use-word-nigger-and-n-word.

Olesen, Jeff. “America’s Colorful Past.” The Pleiad, 27 Feb. 1981.

Walker, Janett. “The N*word - Anti Racist Cumbria.” Anti Racist Cumbria -, 19 Sept. 2023, antiracistcumbria.org/the-nword/.

Walker, Janett. “The N*word - Anti Racist Cumbria.” Anti Racist Cumbria -, 19 Sept. 2023, antiracistcumbria.org/the-nword/.

White, James. “Senate Supports Campus Negroes.” The Pleiad, 26 Apr. 1968.

Witters, Joseph. “Big Circus in Town.” The Pleiad, 14 Dec. 1915.

“‘Negroes Have Helped Struggle For Freedom’ Dr. Franklin Says.” The Pleiad, 13 Jan. 1967.

“‘The Fear Was the Hardest Thing...’” The Pleiad, 2 Oct. 1964.

Brinley McCaig is a first year student at Albion College from Ann Arbor, MI. She is an Anthropology/Sociology major with an undecided minor. Brinley is in the Prentiss M. Brown Honors Program and the Ford Institute for Public Policy and Public Service. Brinley's race and gender has brought insight, and lack thereof, to her archive project, as she is a white cisgender female. She is passionate about the sociology of race, gender, and sexuality, inspiring her work for this project.