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Racial Equity Tools

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Terms citing this source

• AbleismUse

  “The system of oppression that disadvantages people with disabilities and advantages people who do not currently have disabilities. Like other forms of oppression, it functions on individual, institutional, and cultural levels.”

  : Ableism glossary entry

• African AmericanEvolving

  “Whether to use the terms African American or Black, Hispanic American, Latinx or Latino, Native American or American Indian, and Pacific Islander or Asian American depends on a variety of conditions, including your intended audiences' geographic location, age, generation, and, sometimes, political orientation.”

  : Introductory framing note (lines 91–95 in archived markdown)

• AllyUse

  “An action, not an identity. Members of the advantaged group recognize their privilege and work in solidarity with oppressed groups to dismantle the systems of oppression(s) from which they derive power, privilege, and acceptance.”

  : Glossary, "Ally" entry, definition 2

• American IndianEvolving

  “Whether to use the terms African American or Black, Hispanic American, Latinx or Latino, Native American or American Indian, and Pacific Islander or Asian American depends on a variety of conditions, including your intended audiences' geographic location, age, generation, and, sometimes, political orientation.”

  : Introductory note → many of the terms in this glossary have evolved over time

• AntisemitismUse

  “Antisemitism has deep historical roots and uses exploitation, marginalization, discrimination, and violence as its tools. … The myth changes and adapts to different times and places, but fundamentally it says that Jews are to blame for society's problems.”

  : Antisemitism glossary entry (source: Jews for Racial & Economic Justice)

• BIPOCUse

  “A term referring to 'Black and/or Indigenous People of Color.' While 'POC' or People of Color is often used as well, BIPOC explicitly leads with Black and Indigenous identities, which helps to counter anti-Black racism and invisibilization of Native communities.”

  : BIPOC entry (lines 650–654 in archived markdown)

• Black Lives MatterUse

  “A political movement to address systemic and state violence against African Americans.”

  : Glossary entry, "Black Lives Matter"

• CisgenderUse

  “The term cisgender is not a slur. People who are not trans should avoid calling themselves 'normal' and instead refer to themselves as cisgender or cis.”

  : Cisgender entry

• ClassismUse

  “Differential treatment based on social class or perceived social class. Classism is the systematic oppression of subordinated class groups to advantage and strengthen the dominant class groups. … Policies and practices are set up to benefit more class-privileged people at the expense of the less class-privileged people …”

  : Classism glossary entry (source: Class Action)

• ColonialismUse

  “Colonization can be defined as some form of invasion, dispossession, and subjugation of a people. … The colonizer/colonized relationship is by nature an unequal one that benefits the colonizer at the expense of the colonized.”

  : Glossary: Colonization

• DisabilityUse with care

  “Disability justice activists, organizers, and cultural workers understand that able-bodied supremacy has been formed in relation to other systems of domination and exploitation. The histories of white supremacy and ableism are inextricably entwined, created in the context of colonial conquest and capitalist domination.”

  : Fundamentals / Core Concepts, Disability Justice entry

• DiscriminationUse

  “The unequal treatment of members of various groups based on race, gender, social class, sexual orientation, physical ability, religion and other categories. … In the United States the law makes it illegal to discriminate against someone on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, or sex.”

  : Glossary: Discrimination

• DiversityContested

  “Diversity includes all the ways in which people differ… many activists and thinkers critique diversity alone as a strategy… "Diversity is silent on the subject of equity… the issue is not diversity, but rather equity."”

  : Glossary, "Diversity" entry

• EthnicityUse with care

  “A social construct that divides people into smaller social groups based on characteristics such as shared sense of group membership, values, behavioral patterns, language, political and economic interests, history, and ancestral geographical base.”

  : Glossary entry: Ethnicity

• Gender IdentityUse

  “People become aware of their gender identity at many different stages of life, from as early as 18 months and into adulthood. Gender identity is a separate concept from sexuality and gender expression.”

  : Glossary, Gender Identity entry

• HispanicEvolving

  “Whether to use the terms African American or Black, Hispanic American, Latinx or Latino, Native American or American Indian, and Pacific Islander or Asian American depends on a variety of conditions, including your intended audiences' geographic location, age, generation, and, sometimes, political orientation.”

  : Introductory framing note (lines 91–95 in archived markdown)

• Implicit BiasUse with care

  “Also known as unconscious or hidden bias, implicit biases are negative associations that people unknowingly hold. They are expressed automatically, without conscious awareness. … implicit biases have been shown to trump individuals' stated commitments to equality and fairness …”

  : Glossary, "Implicit Bias" entry (cites Kirwan Institute, State of the Science 2013)

• IndigenousUse

  “[Indigenous Sovereignty] is distinguishable from Tribal Sovereignty in that it is not a nation-state recognition of inherent sovereignty under nation-state dominion. Rather, it arises from Indigenous Traditional Knowledge, belonging to each Indigenous nation, tribe, first nation, community, etc.”

  : Entry 'Indigenous Sovereignty' (archived markdown line 2128), quoting Indigenous Environmental Network, June 2020

• Institutional RacismUse

  “Institutional racism refers specifically to the ways in which institutional policies and practices create different outcomes for different racial groups. The institutional policies may never mention any racial group, but their effect is to create advantages for whites and … disadvantage for people … of color.”

  : Glossary → Institutional Racism (Fundamentals / Core Concepts)

• IntersectionalityUse

  “Intersectionality is simply a prism to see the interactive effects of various forms of discrimination and disempowerment. It looks at the way that racism… interacts with patriarchy, heterosexism, classism, xenophobia…”

  : Fundamentals / Core Concepts: Intersectionality

• IslamophobiaUse with care

  “Note that although Islamophobia is in common usage, the -phobia suffix tends to suggest individual bigotry to the exclusion of systemic and structural forces. The form anti-Muslim is generally preferred.”

  : Islamophobia glossary entry (source: Political Research Associates)

• Latino / LatinaEvolving

  “Whether to use the terms African American or Black, Hispanic American, Latinx or Latino, Native American or American Indian, and Pacific Islander or Asian American depends on a variety of conditions, including your intended audiences' geographic location, age, generation, and, sometimes, political orientation.”

  : Introductory framing note (lines 91–95 in archived markdown)

• LatinxEvolving

  “Whether to use the terms African American or Black, Hispanic American, Latinx or Latino, Native American or American Indian, and Pacific Islander or Asian American depends on a variety of conditions, including your intended audiences' geographic location, age, generation, and, sometimes, political orientation.”

  : Introductory framing note (lines 91–95 in archived markdown)

• minorityNon-preferred

  “Many of the terms in this glossary have evolved over time. For example, given the changing demographic trends in the United States, the word 'minority' no longer accurately reflects the four primary racial/ethnic groups. The terms 'emerging majority' and 'people of color' have become popular substitutes.”

  : Introductory framing note (lines 91–95 in archived markdown)

• Native AmericanEvolving

  “Whether to use the terms African American or Black, Hispanic American, Latinx or Latino, Native American or American Indian, and Pacific Islander or Asian American depends on a variety of conditions, including your intended audiences' geographic location, age, generation, and, sometimes, political orientation.”

  : Introductory note → many of the terms in this glossary have evolved over time

• NonbinaryUse

  “Refers to people who do not subscribe to the gender binary. They might exist between or beyond the man-woman binary. Some use the term exclusively, while others may use it interchangeably with terms like genderqueer, genderfluid, gender nonconforming, gender diverse, or gender expansive.”

  : Glossary, Nonbinary entry

• people of colorUse

  “Racial justice advocates have been using the term 'people of color' (not to be confused with the pejorative 'colored people') since the late 1970s as an inclusive and unifying frame across different racial groups that are not White, to address racial inequities.”

  : People of Color entry (lines 3211–3215 in archived markdown)

• RacismContested

  “universally agreed upon language on issues relating to racism is nonexistent. We discovered that even the most frequently used words in any discussion on race can easily cause confusion, which leads to controversy and hostility. It is essential to achieve some degree of shared understanding …”

  : Glossary introduction

• ReservationUse with care

  “Indian reservations are recognized as what can be termed 'nations within.' Each has its own government and sovereign powers to make laws, tax, etc. and most also have their own tribal justice system, also based upon their inherent powers.”

  : Tribal Sovereignty entry

• Sexual OrientationUse

  “The sexual attraction toward other people or no people. While sexual activity involves the choices one makes regarding behavior, one's sexual activity does not define one's sexual orientation. Sexual orientation is part of the human condition, and all people have one.”

  : Sexual Orientation entry

• Systemic RacismUse

  “The institutional policies may never mention any racial group, but their effect is to create advantages for whites and oppression and disadvantage for people from groups classified as people of color.”

  : Glossary: Institutional Racism

• TransgenderUse

  “A term describing a person's gender identity that does not necessarily match their assigned sex at birth. … 'Trans' is often considered more inclusive than transgender because it includes transgender, transsexual, transmasc, transfem, and those who simply use the word trans.”

  : Transgender entry

• Two SpiritUse with care

  “Two-Spirit is an umbrella pan-Native American term. It describes gender identity, gender expression, and/or sexual orientation. … keep in mind that Two-Spirit is not for non-Native people. You can't appropriate our culture because our identities as Two-Spirits on Turtle Island have always been.”

  : Glossary entry: Two Spirit

• White SupremacyUse

  “While most people associate white supremacy with extremist groups like the Ku Klux Klan and the neo-Nazis, white supremacy is ever present in our institutional and cultural assumptions that assign value, morality, goodness, and humanity to the white group …”

  : Glossary: White Supremacy