Analysis | Some collegiate-level textbooks still use outdated racial terminology

Several textbooks are using terms that are not socially acceptable like “Blacks,” when the appropriate term to use is “Black,” “person of color” or “African-American.” UNSPLASH

Many American K-12 history and civil rights textbooks have been known to misrepresent Black and African-American history and their presence in the U.S., with educational texts proven to hold biased ideologies within history curricula. 

Collegiate-level textbooks published as recently as 2020 have also continued to use outdated racial and cultural terminology, pertaining especially to the Black and African-American community. 

According to Southwestern University’s Debby Ellis Writing Center and University of Wisconsin-Madison, the words “person of color,” “African-American” and “Black” are acceptable terms to refer to people of African ancestry, with “Blacks” being noted as an outdated term.

Yet, fifth and sixth-edition collegiate-level textbooks like “American Politics Today” and “Public Speaking in a Diverse Society” contain non-preferred and offensive terminology, including the use of the term “Blacks.”

In an excerpt from American Politics Today, it states that “given that the Republican Party did not exist in most southern states, blacks were effectively disenfranchised.”

In a different excerpt from Public Speaking in a Diverse Society, it states that “for example, speakers should refer to co-cultures in appropriate ways, such as blacks.”

Taylor Twamugabo, a freshman studying African-American rhetoric at Chapman University, said that as a Black student she affirms the acceptable and preferred terminology. 

“The correct terminology for Black Americans today would be African-American, Black American, or Black person (singular),” Twamugabo said. “For example, a Black man doesn’t always have to be an African-American man or a Black American man.”

According to Twamugabo, it is very disheartening to know that incorrect terminology is still being used in college settings through these new-edition textbooks.

“The worst part about it to me is that for so long I believed that blatant racism and ignorance were a thing of the past, and that while there are still racist institutions in place and people out there, that some parts of our society have been able to move past it to some extent and do the bare minimum for marginalized communities,” Twamugabo said.

Harvard graduate Alexis White studied education policy and management, especially pertaining to how American democracy is defined by race and class. She also studied critical race theory, which explores the way that culture informs both community and schooling. 

White said that racism is still a really pervasive issue and using correct terminology in current textbooks is one step toward racial equality.

“(Textbooks have) editors, developers and product managers who are all in charge of making sure that the books that we put in front of the American public are up to snuff,” White said. “I think that there needs to clearly be some overturn with the talent that is on these teams. I think that we are a country that likes to believe that we are a place where equality and equity are possible, and one of the ways that you have to start is by using correct terms to put races on the same level.” 

White continued with propositions on how to increase equal representation in newer textbooks. 

“Always making sure that we are inclusive of younger, fresher voices, eyes and perspectives, I think, is important, so incorporating the next generation of learners and leaders would be a really good idea, and also getting more diverse people into positions where the decisions are going to be made,” White said.

According to a School of Education Article published by American University, the use of outdated terminology and ideals in university textbooks is diminishing the efforts of racial equality, solidifying the fact that this issue must be combatted. 

“Bias in history textbooks perpetuates widespread ignorance about racism and its legacy in the US today,” the article reads. “Graduate programs that train future educational leaders have a responsibility to use an antiracist pedagogical approach. Confronting bias in history textbooks and curricula is essential for coming to grips with racial disparities in education today.”

Although there is proven bias and misrepresentation in K-12 education, as well as presently outdated terminology in collegiate-level texts, students like Twamugabo and educators like White have open minds about the importance of correct terminology in moving toward racial, ethnic and cultural equality throughout the U.S.

“I believe that it is important to use the correct terminology when talking about these subjects because it sets a basis of respect when discussing things that differ among many people,” Twamugabo said. “If people cannot even use the correct terminology to describe people who are different from them, then we can never even begin to expect anyone to treat others with respect and dignity or fix any of the issues from the past that came from those differences.”