White Folks Reveal Racist Lingo and Signs Black Folks Knew Nothing About
From casual phrases like “It’s going to be dark” to subtle gestures and symbols, social media creators are decoding the hidden language White supremacists use to signal their prejudice. The post White Folks Reveal Racist Lingo and Signs Black Folks Knew Nothing About first appeared on The Root.
Black News 
A simple phrase like, “It’s going to be dark,” might sound harmless on the surface — until you realize the saying isn’t about the time of day at all. For years, coded lingo like this, known as “racial signaling” or “dog whistling,” has been used by racist White folks who flaunt their prejudice in public while keeping their hands and their image clean.
Now, White folks who say they’ve turned away from their racist past are stepping forward to give the low down on what’s really going on, so you can stay informed.
From unsuspecting lingo, to hand gestures, to symbols, let’s unpack the hidden language racists use to signal their prejudice — and why it’s crucial everyone learns to recognize it.
Bigoted Lingo: “It’s Gonna Be Dark”
“Some that I’m familiar with include saying somewhere is gonna be ‘dark,’ meaning there’s gonna be a lot of Black people there,” content creator Jsnewchurch revealed. “Another one I see used is a pause, or a look to convey something.”
She continued: “Another one I see used, is they’ll lean in and whisper. ‘I just don’t think that’s our kind of place,’” she gestured, giving an example of racist nudging. And unfortunately, there’s a lot more where that came from.
Racist Hand Gestures: “White Power”
Another content creator, Samwhiteout, further unveiled White supremacist “dog whistling,” revealing hand signs and a particular cue that would appear completely harmless if you didn’t know any better.
“For example, the O.K. sign became one because the three fingers look like a W and the circle in your hand looks like a P, [signaling] White Power,” he detailed. “There’s a new one, when they’re wearing a hat, they run their fingers along the brim of the hat and then flick the bottom of the hat,” he described.
“If someone’s doing that… they’re a fucking bigot and they’re a racist and white supremacist Trump supporter,” he warned. “You should do with that information what you will.”
Covert Racist Tattoos: “14 Words”
Content creator Smoothgutter highlighted the “weird symbols and numbers” that racists use, drawing from the White Supremacist “hate symbols database” online. He shared the story of a bartender who realized, too late, that he had been working at a “Nazi bar” surrounded by these codes, one of which was tattooed on a patron.
According to him, one of the strange tattoos allegedly read, “14 Words” — a code for the White supremacist statement: “We must secure an existence for our people and a future for White children.”
“This is why everyone should be seeing and reading through stuff like this and knowing what these kinds of symbols mean, because they’re hiding in plain sight,” he exclaimed.
The post White Folks Reveal Racist Lingo and Signs Black Folks Knew Nothing About first appeared on The Root.
