We talked with Al Young, associate professor of sociology and African/Afro-American studies at the University of Michigan, about the words we use to talk about race and current events.

Here are some of the words we talked about:

Is what happened in Baltimore a “riot” or an “uprising?”

“Black-on-black crime” as statistically correct, but no more so than other intra-group crime. 

What are the assumptions behind saying, an “unarmed black man”

Were the recent murders in Charleston, South Carolina a “hate crime” or a “terrorist attack?”

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