Though not exhaustive, this glossary provides useful terms used throughout this compendium that are widely used in decolonizing, anti-racist, and critical race theory approaches. Students in Black Subjects White Art History have used a wide range of sources and dialogues to build these definitions. We hope that it can serve as a useful starting point to further conversations.

Ancestry: the genetic credibility on which the power dynamic of wealthy and elitist white families in the United States has been sustained, with an emphasis on notions of lineal purity.

Anti-Racism: the practice of not only being non-racist, but actively against racism. It’s the difference between passively being non-racist and actively fighting against racism.

Anti-Blackness: resistance or discrimination towards black people or their values or objectives.

Artistic Revisionism: the act of or movement to include a more accurate and diverse representation of traditionally marginalized racial groups in the traditional art sphere.

Black Lives Matter: A social movement whose goal is to bring light to the racial injustices experienced by African Americans.

Centering and/or De-Centering: focusing on the stories and voices of those who are impacted by racist laws, systems, and structures at work in our society.

Colonizing: perpetuating the practice of domination that involves the subjugation of one people to another.

Colorism: Prejudice that actively disadvantages and affects those with a different skin tone, solely for that reason. Most typically referencing dark skinned individuals.

Consciousness Raising: the activity of seeking to make people more aware of personal, social, or political issues.

Cultural Appropriation/Misappropriation: adoption or presentation of elements from a minority culture by a dominant group that often doesn’t acknowledge the culture and people of origin.

Defunding: a way of diverting funding from a certain organization and adding it to other institutions such as public safety or community support.

Equity: the guarantee that everyone is provided the same opportunities in any given situation despite their race, background, or ethnicity. Instituting equity means that you understand and appreciate an individual’s uniqueness and are willing to support them through policy and practice.

Generational Trauma: trauma or psychological effects that have been passed down from the original person who was affected to following generations.

Imperialism: A policy instituted by governments in order to extend a countries power over another. Take for example Britain’s control of India.

Inclusivity: Providing equal access to opportunities and resources for those who might otherwise be excluded or marginalized like minority groups.

Institutional Bias: The promotion of a particular social group in an institution by means of their policies and practices, whether it be through conscious discrimination or unconscious, which ultimately devalues other social groups.

Institutional Oppression: prejudice, discrimination, and inequality against minority groups that is reinforced by established systems of operation.

Internalized Racism: adhering to negative stereotypes and/or beliefs about one’s own race, embodying prejudices that the oppressor would have.

Intersectionality: The interconnected nature of social categorizations such as race, class, and gender as they apply to a given individual or group, regarded as creating overlapping and interdependent systems of discrimination or disadvantage.

Land Acknowledgment: An acknowledgement given that states that the individual understands that the land they are now standing on was stolen and recognizes the original inhabitants ownership.

Marginalized Identities: Groups or communities that have been historically targeted as victims of discrimination and inequality as a result of their identity; in this case racial identity, although their are many other marginalized communities.

Marginalized/Minoritized/Under-represented Communities: Socially excluded communities from mainstream society due to race, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, physical ability, language, etc.

Microaggressions: Subtle and blended in acts of discrimination and racism that go unnoticed by some which affect those who are members of marginalized groups. These acts are often excused in society and are built into the workings of our nation.

Multiculturalism: a presence of several cultural and/or ethnic groups.

Patriarchy: A social system in which men dominate women, and there is an unequal distribution of power between the two, often leading to the oppression, exploitation, and control of women.

Racial Healing: recognizes the need to acknowledge and tell the truth about past wrongs created by individual and systemic racism and address the present consequences.

Racialized Identity: In sociology, racialization or ethnicization is a political process of ascribing ethnic or racial identities to a relationship, social practice, or group that did not identify itself as such.

Racial Justice: systematic fair treatment of people of all races resulting in equitable opportunities and outcomes. All people are able to achieve their full potential in life, regardless of race, ethnicity or the community in which they live.

Representation and Inclusion: the incorporation of all people in an equal and unbiased manner, despite their race, class, gender or background.

Social Justice: is a form of justice characterized by the distribution of opportunities, money, and privilege within a society.

Structural Inequity: Refers to a system of privilege created by institutions (education, healthcare, government policies) within an economy. It affects groups of people who are systematically disadvantaged.

Systemic Racism: is a form of racism but it's embedded in the form of our societies laws and organizations that run it. Creating discrimination in civic areas such as justice system, education, etc.

Systems of Power and Oppression: Calls attention to the historical and organized patterns of mistreatment (like systemic racism). Institutions, such as government and education, contribute or reinforce the oppression of marginalized social groups while elevating dominant social groups.

Unconscious Bias: How a person thinks can depend on their life experiences and sometimes they have beliefs and views about other people that might not be right or reasonable. This includes when a person thinks better of someone because they believe they're alike.

White Portraiture: the artistic depiction of a white individual, typically used to uphold white supremacy through a perpetuation of social status through lineage and socioeconomic status while emphasizing that individual's power through self-fashioning.

White Supremacy: the ever present belief that is in practice both on stage and behind the scenes in American Society that white people are the superior race for reasons that are inaccurate and unfair.