By the 1950s, the word was fueled with hostile racial undertones.
#WHERE DID EENIE MEENIE MINEY MO COME FROM SERIES#
“Uppity” meaning: arrogant, or haughty, first used in the 1880s via “Uncle Remus” stories-a series of songs and folk tales written in slave dialect. These words were predominantly used to refer to Black people - particularly slaves and sharecroppers - who were forced to pick cotton. When we shine the magnifying glass on the objectifying roots of this phrase, the whole American history book sparks on fire. “Cotton Pickin’” is a phrase that some people utter when they get mad or frustrated, used in place of “gosh/god dang/damn it”. FYI: The technical term for drowsiness after eating is postprandial somnolence. Terribly, “-itis” originally was used as a suffix to the N-word, alluding to a stereotype of laziness. “The Itis” aka a “food coma” is a common phrase to describe the feeling of sleepiness after eating. The poem has many versions used in different regions, but the roots consistently make clear references to slavery and discrimination of Black people. In historical references of this song, the word “tiger” is replaced by the N-word. While the song has been modified regionally over time, the common modernized version goes: “Eenie, Meenie, Miney, Moe” is a line from a popular children’s rhyme, with meaning rooted in the slave trade. These statutes, implemented in the 1890s and early 1900s, were called “grandfather clauses.” Eenie, Meenie, Miney, Moe Many poor southern White people were not able to meet such expectations, so seven states passed laws that made men eligible to vote if they had been granted the right to vote before 1867 or were lineal descendants of voters back then. During that time, literacy tests, poll taxes, and other tactics were designed to deprive Black people of their constitutional rights. Black people were then kept from voting in large numbers in Southern states for nearly a century more. The 15th Amendment, which prohibited racial discrimination in voting, was ratified by the states in 1870. Historically, the notion was birthed after a brief period of relatively open voting, with the goal of enfranchising poor White people, while simultaneously stripping Black people of their rights.īlack people in the United States were enslaved prior to the 1860s. “Grandfather clause” and “grandfathered” are terms used to avoid change in expectations when a new set of rules are set in place. As you read this article, we invite you to reflect on how racism and oppression have shaped the world we live in today.
Racism is so deeply ingrained in our culture that you may say or hear racially offensive phrases and not even realize it. Etymology is the study of the origins of words and the way in which their meanings have changed throughout history.