ABSTRACT
African American actor-playwright Ossie Davis, in his telling exercise on the King’s English, “e English Language Is My Enemy!” (1967, 18) simply examined Roget’s Thesaurus of the English Language, comparing connotative positive and negative associations of “whiteness” and “blackness.” His ndings revealed that of 134 synonyms for whiteness, 44 are favorable or pleasing (e.g., purity, cleanness, immaculateness, bright, shining, ivory, fair, blond, stainless, clean). Of the 120 synonyms for blackness, 60 are decidedly negative (e.g., sinister, deadly, dirty, foul, evil). It is no stretch to link our past and present associations of angels with whiteness not only in their usual white robes, but also with their usually white skin. e antithesis of angels’ whiteness is blackness.
