Oreo Cookie (slang)
Encyclopedia : O : OR : ORE : Oreo Cookie (slang)
In African-American vernacular slang, Oreo Cookie (alternatively Oreo or Coconut) is a pejorative term for another African-American who is thought to have largely eschewed African American culture in order to ingratiate themselves to the white majority. It is a metaphor based on the fact that an Oreo Cookie is dark on the outside, but white on the inside. It is often used by lower-class blacks against professional and educated blacks, often those who work for whites or who work in industries that they feel exploit African-Americans.
The opposite of this term is "Uh-Oh! Oreo," a term used to describe someone who is "white" on the outside, but who acts "black" on the inside, roughly synonymous with "wigger".
Although the term 'Uncle Tom' has been used for decades to describe blacks who ingratiated themselves to whites, that term evoked a person who hid or downplayed their intelligence or education. 'Oreo Cookie' was developed as a metaphor for a new generation of educated African-Americans starting in the 1960s.
It also refers, pejoratively, to a biracial person of black and white heritage.
Notable Incidents
Maryland Lt. Gov. Michael Steele, and a reporter, claimed, in 2004 after a candidate debate at Morgan State University (whose student body is traditionally, predominantly, of African-American ethnicity), that he had been "pelted"[link] with Oreo cookies by the audience as a racial attack on his status as a Republican who is himself African-American.Equivalent terms
- Apple - is used for American Indians who are perceived to be Indian on the outside and white on the inside
- Coconut - refers to people who are "brown" (Hispanic, Hawaiian, Black, Indian) on the outside and "white" (Caucasian) on the inside
- Banana or Twinkie - refers to people who are Asian on the outside and white on the inside
- Egg - a term to describe someone who is white on the outside, but thinks of themselves as Asian on the inside.
- Uh-Oh Oreo - refers to Whites who think of themselves as Black on the inside, essentially a Wigger.
References
- [Washington Times - 'Party trumps race' for Steele foes] - by S.A Miller
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