magic Negro
n.— «The enabling mechanism of this conversion is our old friend from “50s liberal movies, the Magic Negro, as descended from Sidney Poitier in “The Defiant Ones.” His job is to prevent the white man from drowning in the bile of his own hatred. So in the racially intense caldron of a California prison, this film asks us to believe, a Magic Negro sees the good hidden in Derek and massages it gently to his surface. He even intercedes with the other black convicts to go easy on this white racist who has killed two young black men. File this one in the “as if” file.» —“‘History X’: Hate With a Passion” by Stephen Hunter Washington Post Oct. 30, 1998. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)
Further reading
In the 15th century, the word respair meant “to have hope again.” Although this word fell out of use, it’s among dozens collected in a new book of soothing vocabulary for troubled times. Plus, baseball slang: If a batter...
There was a time when William Shakespeare was just another little seven-year-old in school. Classes in his day were demanding — and all in Latin. A new book argues that this rigorous curriculum actually nurtured the creativity that later flourished...