// Workers AI · dad joke modeWhat did Schvartze say to Yiddish? "You're a black hole of knowledge.
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Schvartze (from שוואַרץ, shvarts, "black"; cf. German: schwarz) is a racial slur for black people.[1][2]
Etymology
[edit]Schvartze is derived from the Yiddish word שוואַרץ, shvarts, which means "black", cognate to the German schwarz.[3] The term was rare prior to the middle of the twentieth century.[4] An article for the Washington Jewish Week refers to it as "the S-word".[5]
Black Jewish writer Michael W. Twitty noted in 2017 a handful of public instances in which the term was used. He notes that he had never heard the term used in earlier stages of his life and spoke against a return of the word's use, comparing it to the term "kushi".[6]
Responses
[edit]In 1991, the stand-up comedian Jackie Mason was criticized by African-American organizations including the NAACP, when he called New York City mayor David Dinkins "a fancy shvartze with a moustache";[7][failed verification] Mason later apologized.[8][failed verification] In 2009, Mason referred to Barack Obama as a shvartze during one of his stand-up routines, which prompted members of the audience to walk out.[9]
In 2021, the Republican Jewish Coalition and other Jewish groups in North Carolina urged Lieutenant Governor Mark Robinson to apologize for antisemitic comments, including a Facebook post that said the film Black Panther was created by an "agnostic Jew" and a "satanic Marxist" in order to extract "shekels out of your Schvartze pockets." Robinson refused to apologize.[10][11]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ↑ "schvartze". Oxford English Dictionary. Retrieved 2023-12-28.
- ↑ "schvartze". Collins English Dictionary. Retrieved 2023-12-28.
- ↑ "schvartze (n.)". Online Etymology Dictionary. Retrieved 2023-04-26.
- ↑ https://www.oed.com/dictionary/schvartze_n?tl=true
- ↑ "The Real "S" Word". Washington Jewish Week. Retrieved 2023-04-26.
- ↑ Twitty, Michael W. (January 31, 2017). "Opinion:Kippahed While Black: The Troubling Resurgence of 'Shvartze' and 'Kushi'". The Forward. Retrieved 2023-04-26.
- ↑ Chadwick, Alan (June 13, 2006). "Metrolife: Jackie Mason". Metro. Retrieved April 27, 2023.
- ↑ Thomas S. Hischak (2003), Enter the Players: New York Stage Actors in the Twentieth Century
- ↑ Bill Hutchiinson. "Comments about President Obama by Jackie Mason draw racism charges". New York Daily News, March 16, 2009. Retrieved April 27, 2023.
- ↑ "NC leader: 'Agnostic Jew' made Black Panther to reach 'Schvartze pockets'". The Jerusalem Post. 19 February 2021. Retrieved 2023-04-29.
- ↑ "North Carolina's lieutenant governor has Jewish community on high alert". JewishInsider.com. 19 February 2021. Retrieved 2023-04-29.