Words wield immense power in shaping our perceptions, emotions, and interactions. In this post, we gather texts, images, and thoughts that illustrate that “Language is a political instrument, means, and proof of power” (James Baldwin, “If Black English Isn’t a Language, Then Tell Me, What Is?”, 1979).

Click in each title to see more:

• How Woke Went from “Black” to “Bad”
• Evolving from violent language
• Inclusive language during the month of Ramadan

How Woke Went From “Black” to “Bad”

It’s hard to get people to demonize human beings and lives and history. But it’s easy to get them to demonize a word. And if you can use that word as a placeholder for those people, for caring about those people, then it’s easy to demonize instead of saying, ‘We’re just gonna stop caring about people.’

Michael Harriot

Check out the full article “How Woke Went From “Black” to “Bad”” By Ishena Robinson: https://www.naacpldf.org/woke-black-bad/

The Empathetic Museum. [@empatheticmuseum] (January 10, 2023). “It’s hard to get people to demonize human beings and lives and history. But it’s easy to get them to demonize a word.” [Image: “If You’re Woke You Dig It” by William Melvin Kelley, 1962, New York Times]. Instagram. https://www.instagram.com/empatheticmuseum/p/CnQmCMzr8A0/

Evolving from violent language

The Empathetic Museum. [@empatheticmuseum] (February 10, 2023). “The power of language” [Image]. Instagram. https://www.instagram.com/empatheticmuseum/p/CofhU-TvPVK/

Inclusive Language during the month of Ramadan

1. Why is Ramadan called Ramadan?

Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic lunar calendar, and it lasts either 29 or 30 days, depending on when the new crescent moon is, or should be, visible.

The Arabic term Ramadan connotes intense heat. It seems that in pre-Islamic Arabia, Ramadan was the name of a scorching-hot summer month. In the Islamic calendar, however, the timing of Ramadan varies from year to year. This year, Ramadan begins March 23. An Islamic year is roughly 11 days shorter than a Gregorian year.

2. What is the significance of Ramadan?

Ramadan is a period of fasting and spiritual growth, and is one of the five “pillars of Islam,” the others being the declaration of faith, daily prayer, almsgiving, and the pilgrimage to Mecca. Able-bodied Muslims are expected to abstain from eating, drinking, and sexual relations from dawn to sunset each day of the month. Many practicing Muslims also perform additional prayers, especially at night, and attempt to recite the entire Qur’an. The prevailing belief among Muslims is that it was in the final 10 nights of Ramadan that the Qur’an was first revealed to the Prophet Muhammad.

3. What is the connection between soul and body that the observance of Ramadan seeks to explain?

The Qur’an states that fasting was prescribed for believers so that they may be conscious of God. By abstaining from things that people tend to take for granted (such as water), it is believed, one may be moved to reflect on the purpose of life and grow closer to the creator and sustainer of all existence. As such, engaging in wrongdoing effectively undermines the fast. Many Muslims also maintain that fasting allows them to get a feeling of poverty, and this may foster feelings of empathy.

The Empathetic Museum. [@empatheticmuseum] (March 23, 2023). “Why is Ramadan called Ramadan? Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic lunar calendar, and it lasts either 29 or 30 days, depending on when the new crescent moon is, or should be, visible.” [Image]. Instagram. https://www.instagram.com/empatheticmuseum/p/CqJXqa1Pt_k/