Glossary Free

We the contributors of The International Handbook of Black Community Mental Health confess that we have a preference for people of colour. The authors also acknowledge that there are varied ways in which people of colour self-define themselves across the diaspora. However, the reader will encounter a myriad of descriptions within the chapters they read. Therefore, we include a brief and accessible glossary will help ground both the academic and non-academic audience of the Handbook with meanings and terms that are newly introduced, specialised, and/or uncommon. Race and culture are socially constructed terms. As such, we learn about ourselves by socialising with one another. Providing the reader with the following may enable the reader to have a deeper understanding of the social dynamics related to mental health.

African American:

Is a term that refers to people of African heritage in part or in full and typically applies to slave ancestry.

Afrophobia:

Is a perceived fear of the culture and people of African descent regardless of origin. Afrophobia is a specific form of racism that results in discrimination, oppression, and other inequitable opportunities including employment, housing, and education.

BAME:

Black Asian Minority Ethnic (BAME) is an acronym for people of Black, Black British, Bi-racial, Caribbean multi-racial, the Black Asian, South Asian, and West Indian descent who live in the United Kingdom, that is, British Isles.

Colour:

Colour, also correctly spelled as colour, is the British spelling of the word.

Coloured:

In the United Kingdom coloured refers to a person of European and non-European heritage, while in the United States, coloured is an antiquated term that has been used to refer to a person who is mixed with European and or Black/African ancestry and sometimes East Asian heritage.

In South Africa the term ‘coloured’ was used to describe mixed race people.

Coloured was also a term used by some white people (and black elders) to describe black people from the Caribbean.

Critical literacy:

Examining who made the message, who sent the message, and from whom the message intended.

Critical race theory:

Critical race theory is a lens that examines historical, economic, and equity issues based on legal implications of race.

Cultural competence:

The mindful acknowledgement of diversity in beliefs and behaviours that impact communication, while seeking to promote positive and ethical outcomes.

Deconstruction:

Understanding the relationship between text and meaning.

Diaspora:

Defined by the African Union (AU), the diaspora consists of people of African origin living outside of the continent, irrespective of citizenship and nationality. The AU is divided into five regions of the continent of African Northern, Central, Eastern, Western, and Central. In 2003, the AU recognised the people of the diaspora are the sixth region. There is a common and fractured collective identity of the people of the diaspora based on common experiences due to colonialism, oppression, and perseverance. The term diaspora can also refer to the displacement of other groups including Jewish people and South Asia.

Doctrine:

Religious beliefs, teachings, and text upon which Christians (and other religious groups) practice their faith.

East Asian:

Includes people with China, Hong Kong, Macau, Japan, North Korea, South Korea, Mongolia, and Taiwanese heritage.

Embodiment:

The physical and visual manifestation or representation of an idea, spirituality, or faith.

Gender identity:

A strongly held belief that you are either male or female based on biological and social influences.

Minoritised:

Is a term that signifies the fact that term minority is not a voluntary one and that people who are designated as a minority have that term enforced on them by another group and is not reflective of their humanity or potential. Minoritised people can often be the majority of the population but regulated to minority status by others.

People of colour:

Refers to persons who are not of ‘White’ or European descent.

Reflexivity/Reflexive practice:

Used in systemic practice to showcase how the practitioner shapes practice and practice in turn shapes the practitioner and the lens through which decision-making occurs. Adding a spiritual component to this considers the third dimension to the reflexive process.

Reverential power:

A deep (and sacred) respect and admiration for deity that honours the spiritual nature of the relationship.

Shadeism:

Social, political, and economic discrimination based on the perception of race and the darkness of skin tone. Shadeism is common in Asia, Latin America, the United States, and the West Indies.

Social construction:

The joint creation of meaning through language, discourse, and associated power as a social theory.

South Asian:

Includes people with Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Sri Lanka, India, the Maldives, Nepal, and Pakistani heritage.

South East Asian:

Includes people with Brunei, Burma (Myanmar), Cambodia, Timor-Leste, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnamese heritage.