There are ways in which someone can use language to cover up their true intentions behind their words. By using coded language it makes it seem as though one is talking about various policies but in a politically correct way. “Racial codes allow these deeply racialized social issues to be discussed in seemingly race-neutral terms, thereby preserving color blindness as an important moral stance” (Burke 2017; 290). Burke (2017) makes it clear that studies on coded language have not been fully fleshed out and that it is an area in need of general improvement and development, yet the majority of studies that have been done have looked specifically at the right and their use of terms that have been deemed racist.
One sign of inequality and a symbol of racism that still exists within the larger society is the existence of certain sports teams, one of those being the Cleveland Indians (Bunting 2018). The name and mascot of this team are both Native American symbols, which shows that society is not completely equal because several teams still use these symbols that stereotypically depict Native Americans. Code words and symbols help to reassure racist tropes and keep people on edge, believing that they are not safe around black people (Burke 2017). This type of language and use of symbols is helping to perpetuate a system of racism and keep racial tropes prevalent in society.
One of the most obvious uses of coded language has been through the phrases “law and order” or “controlling crime.” Trump’s presidency was filled with examples of this type of coded language, making it an easy case study to point out how this type of language can represent racist policies and underlying racism. Including saying he was going to build a wall, a way to control immigration, be the “law and order” President and “control crime,” meaning control minorities, ban Muslims, etc (Bonilla-Silva 2019). There is also the consistent language used when talking about the black and Latino community as lazy amongst other things helping to continue these racist tropes (Bunting 2018). This type of language is racist without being explicitly racist and can show others that it is acceptable to use this type of language.
In comparison, some people will use more explicit language to describe members of other groups. One of the most common examples is the use of the “n-word.” Pryor (2016) studied how the North was able to use that word to keep black people from climbing the ladder and making them feel less than. The use of the word dates back to the 1600 calling black laborers coming over from Europe the “n-word” (Pryor 2016). This article is important because it shows that even though the North, which fought the Civil War for the freedom of slaves, was still racist and entrenched in older views. “In 1837, Hosea Easton, a black minister from Hartford, Connecticut, was one of the earliest black intellectuals to write about the word n*****’’ (Pryor 2016; 203). While they were in the South they would be considered slaves but in the North, they worked for Whites freely without complaining, this helped to continue the slave system without it being explicitly slavery and allowed for the continuation of the n-word (Pryor 2016). This is one of the ways how people can explicitly express their racism.
