For the mammal, see Blackbuck. For the RAF operation, see Operation Black Buck.
In post-Reconstruction United States, Black Buck was a racial slur used to describe a certain type of African American men. In particular, the caricature was used to describe black men who absolutely refused to bend to the law of white authority and were irredeemably violent, rude, and lecherous.
According to popular stereotypes during the post-Reconstruction era, "Black Buck" was a black man (usually muscular or tall) who defies white will and is largely destructive to American society. He is usually hot-tempered, excessively violent, unintelligent, and eager to sexually assault young women, especially white virgins. Most often, any attempt to restrain, reprimand, or re-educate the individual will fail, necessitating the individual's immediate execution (usually by lynching).
Read more about Black Buck: Examples of "Black Buck" in Media
Famous quotes containing the words black and/or buck:
“We are all androgynous, not only because we are all born of a woman impregnated by the seed of a man but because each of us, helplessly and forever, contains the other—male in female, female in male, white in black and black in white. We are a part of each other. Many of my countrymen appear to find this fact exceedingly inconvenient and even unfair, and so, very often, do I. But none of us can do anything about it.”
—James Baldwin (1924–1987)
“The buck stops here.”
—Harry S. Truman (1884–1972)