The Case Against “Coon”

The term “coon” (short for racoon) stems from American slavery. Traversing from plantations to pop culture, it is based on white society’s idea of Black intellectual inferiority.

When this charge is levied within the Black community of the present day, it’s an accusation that the person is performing anti-Black stereotypes for white people. It has become less about intelligence or being inarticulate, it’s more that the…