Some of the words and phrases that we use every day have sinister origins.

These terms are linguistic remnants of a deeply racist past.

They may seem harmless on the surface, but their continued usage subconsciously reinforces

harmful attitudes and discriminatory beliefs.

And here are a few examples.

This is two-minute black history, but you didn't learn in school.

Though used for centuries, the word freeholder took root in the United States as part of the Constitution,

it established that only white men could be landowners.

The repercussions of this rule of law still have lingering

consequences today. Ever heard of being grandfathered in or the Grandfather

Clause? When the 15th Amendment Grandfathered Inn or the Grandfather Clause.

When the 15th Amendment was ratified, giving black men the right to vote,

Southern states retaliated by passing laws giving poor white men new voting access. They were

grandfathered into giving white votes more power. Though most people use the term sprinkles,

the word Jimmy's is interchangeable but problematic.

Jimmy's refers explicitly to chocolate sprinkles. You know, the ones

you get on your ice cream. The exact origin of the term remains up for debate. Some claim they were named after the Jim Crow laws

against black people in the South. Others claim their inventors said they reminded them of tiny black people.

Either way, we should stick to just calling them sprinkles.

Mumbo or something confusing or meaningless

didn't take this meaning until the 20th century.

A clerk observing the religious rituals of a mamamba jambu of the Mandika people relayed what he couldn't understand in language or performance

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