Is the word ‘picnic’ racist? How to deal with questions about language right now.
by Elizabeth Wellington, Posted: August 1, 2020
“The word, picnic, carries with it the memory that there was a time when white folks gathered to eat outside, burning black flesh would be on the menu,” explained Treva Lindsey, an associate professor of women’s studies at Ohio State University.
And a global pandemic disproportionately killing people of color coupled with the unjust deaths of Breonna Taylor and George Floyd have left many Americans asking: How did we get here? The answer: systemic racism. Systemic racism is made up of structures baked into our country’s institutions — like banking, education and yes, language — that devalue Black people.
https://www.inquirer.com/news/language-race-systemic-racism-tipping-point-picnic--20200801.html