This can’t be emphasized enough: history matters. History is especially important when making judgements about whether or not common terms like “cracker,” “white trash,” and “redneck” are “racist against white people.” That’s exactly what Franchesca Ramsey is doing in her new video with MTV News, proving that even terms that seem “racist” on the surface have deep histories in classism and white supremacy.

Ramsey is known for being funny and quick-witted. But, her Decoded series shows how simple, everyday experiences can carry deeply racist undertones. In this new video, she shows that terms that are typically used to stereotype white people actually aren’t racist because white people were the people who actually created the terms. Surprised? Probably not.

In the end, what this video shows is that calling something or someone racist without rooting that concern in historical context just muddies up any conversations which might be had about racial aggression and animus. It’s impossible for non-white people to be “racist against white people” and suggesting so is just a distraction.

Watch the video below:

Photo: YouTube Screenshot

Author

  • Jenn M. Jackson was born and raised in East Oakland, California, a fact which motivates her writing and academic ambitions. She is a scholar, educator, and writer whose writing addresses Black Politics and civil and public life for young Black people with a focus on policing and surveillance. She is also the Editor-in-Chief of Water Cooler Convos, a culture platform for Black millennials. Her writing has been featured in Washington Post, BITCH Magazine, Marie Claire, EBONY, The Root, Daily Dot, The Independent, and many others. Jackson is a doctoral candidate at the University of Chicago studying American Politics with a focus on political participation and engagement, public opinion and social movements. For more about her, tweet her at @JennMJack or visit her website at jennmjackson.com.