AAPI stands for Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, which includes a vast array of nationalities, cultures, and languages. Some argue that both “AAPI” and “Asian American” flatten and/or erase important cultural, economic, educational, religious, and other differences that exist between groups and communities. Nuanced coverage will take care to explore those differences when and where relevant. Taking into account an individual’s preference and being as specific as possible ensures coverage accurately reflects how someone self-identifies.
Category: Race and Ethnicity
Hispanic, Latino/a, Latine, Latinx
While the US Census Bureau uses “Hispanic,” and Pew Research Center uses “Hispanic” and “Latino” interchangeably, some draw a distinction between the two terms, arguing that Hispanic refers to individuals from Spain or from Spanish-speaking countries in Latin America, while Latino signifies individuals from Latin America regardless of language. Several gender-neutral alternatives to Latino/a have gained use recently, including Latinx, Latin, and Latine, though they are not always popular with the communities they purport to describe. As with any identifier, being as specific as possible and taking into account an individual’s preference whenever possible ensures coverage accurately reflects how someone self-identifies.
medical racism
People of color have long faced different types of discrimination within the medical system, which contributes to disparities in health outcomes, treatment, and life expectancy. Mistrust is based not only on historic instances and generational and community information but also on ongoing implicit bias in the health care system that impacts the care received by a person of color. Consideration of the forces that continue to shape the experiences people of color have within the health care system is important when writing about someone’s experience with an illness or disability.
Pacific Islander
Pacific Islander refers to an Indigenous inhabitant of Melanesia, Micronesia, or Polynesia. Though Pacific Islanders are sometimes grouped with Asian Americans when discussing in a general sense, as in the term AAPI, some activists think this grouping can flatten the significant differences among subgroups of Asian Americans and especially ignore the unique experiences and needs of Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders. As with any such identifier, if necessary and relevant to coverage to include, being as specific as possible and taking into account an individual’s preference whenever possible ensures coverage accurately reflects how someone self-identifies.
Indigenous
Indigenous can refer to the original inhabitants of a place, and to their customs, language, and other cultural markers. In the continental United States, Indigenous peoples are also referred to broadly as Native Americans, American Indians, and First Americans. Those who are Indigenous to Alaska are typically called Alaska Natives. There are several Indigenous Pacific Islander populations in the US, including Native Hawaiians, the CHamorus of the Mariana Islands, and Samoans. While Indigenous can be used as a broad category, it’s clearest to specify the population being referred to whenever possible, and to take into account an individual’s preference whenever possible.
African American
The term African American is used to describe people and cultures of African descent with longstanding roots in the United States. Though African American and Black are often used interchangeably, the former may be understood as a marker of an ethnic and cultural identity as opposed to a strictly racial one. More recent immigrants in particular may identify with country- or ethnicity-specific categories (e.g., “Haitian American,” “Afro-Latine”). As with any such identifier, when necessary and relevant to coverage to include, taking into account an individual’s preferred terms wherever possible ensures coverage accurately reflects how they self-identify.
anti-Black / anti-Blackness
“Anti-Black” is used to describe actions, attitudes, systems and behaviors geared toward subjugating, dehumanizing, and/or discriminating against Black people or Blackness. When exploring disparities in health, income, education, and more among Black communities, it’s important to explore the effects of anti-Blackness, at both a systemic and an individual level.
Race and Ethnicity, Borders and Populations, Disabilities, Neurodiversity, and Chronic Illness, Gender and Sexuality
hate crime
A hate crime as defined by the Justice Department is “a crime motivated by bias against [perceived or actual] race, color, religion, national origin, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, or disability.” Since the legal standard for a hate crime is narrow and may be difficult to determine, especially in a breaking news situation, adding hedging language such as “possible” or “alleged” may be necessary until further information is available.
racism
Racism in the United States is a system and structure that entrenches a power differential between groups based on race that subjugates, marginalizes, and oppresses people of color while upholding white privilege and white supremacy. Using euphemistic language — calling something “racially charged” or “racially tinged” when it’s clearly racist, like the use of a racial slur — can appear to downplay the negative effects of the actions or words and excuse the offending conduct/party. It’s more precise to put the focus on the actions or words rather than the person; saying someone made racist statements is clearer and in many cases more accurate than declaring someone is “a racist.”
antiracism / antiracist
Antiracism is active resistance to racist policies and practices. The burden of education about racism and systemic inequities, in this view, should not rest solely on those most directly affected.
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