whitelash

Alternative forms

• white lash, white-lash

Etymology

Blend of white +‎ backlash.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈ(h)waɪtlæʃ/

Noun

whitelash (plural not attested)

1. A backlash by white people against other ethnicities. [from 1970]
   • 1970, John H. Britton, Jet magazine, January 1970, p. 7:

     This was the blacklash. The whitelash came, too, and blood flowed in the streets.

   • 1996, Classroom Activities on Wisconsin Indian Treaties and Tribal Sovereignty, p. 266:

     There are four ‘whitelash’ bills currently before Congress, designed to seriously undermine Native American rights [and] sovereignty, and treaty land.

   • 2001, Fiona Mackay, Love and Politics: Women Politicians and the Ethics of Care, p. 75 (n3):

     There has been a particularly acute white backlash or 'whitelash' in the United States against affirmative action programmes which promote women and black men.

   • 2016, Zack Beauchamp, Vox, Donald Trump’s victory is part of a global white backlash:

     "We cannot understand Donald Trump’s victory, then, without understanding this global wave of what CNN anchor Van Jones memorably summed up as a “white lash.”"

Further reading

• Van Jones states on CNN news: ‘This Is a White Lash’.

Anagrams

• whaleshit