By Chinyere Okoroafor with Agency reports

Many decades have passed since African American descendants seized to be legally slaves. But, the effect of that history which has left an open wound has never healed.

African Americans still experience some forms of systematic oppression by White supremacy, one of which is the killing of George Floyd which hugely ignited a protest across the world supporting the Black Lives Matter movement and calling for the total eradication of anything racism.

However, there have been some long-established expressions, which have racist connotations in America. In fact, one might think that some of the phrases are harmless but they are actually rooted in racism and discrimination.

Here are the phrases which you should know are offensive to an African American person:

· “Tipping point”

In the late 1950s, this phrase was commonly used by the Whites and it means a point of no return or a force of change.

“Tipping point” described the “white flight,” when white families moved away from neighbourhoods that had a large number of Black residents, according to Merriam-Webster.

For instance, in a 1958 letter to the University of Pennsylvania Law Review, Will Maslow, a civil rights leader and former director of the American Jewish Congress, wrote, “The percentage of minority occupancy that initiates withdrawal of other tenants has been denominated the ‘tipping point.’”

· “Peanut gallery”

The peanut gallery is the top gallery in a theatre where the cheaper seats are located.

It is reported that most Americans use this term to describe hecklers.

However, the phrase came about in the 19th century in Vaudeville theaters. The “peanut gallery” referred to the worst seats in the house, typically in the very back, where Black people were forced to sit. Peanuts were sold at the shows (much like they are at modern-day baseball games), and if the performances were bad, sometimes the audience would throw peanuts.

· “Call a spade a spade”

If you have ever thought that this popular expression which means to “say it like it is,” is about a gardening tool, you got it wrong. Variations of this phrase date back to 120 A.D. with the ancient Greek phrase, “to call a fig a fig and a trough a trough.” But, it took on a racist slant during the Harlem Renaissance in the 1920s, when a “spade” became a derogatory slur for a Black person, according to NPR.

· “Uppity”

This word is often thought to be synonymous with the term arrogant but it has a racist connotation. It was first written in the Uncle Remus series of Black folk tales published in the 1880s by Joel Chandler Harris. Later on, white supremacists would use it to describe “insolent” Black people who were lynched for “not knowing their place,” according to PBS.

Even today, the word still lingers: Former President Barack Obama and former First Lady Michelle Obama have been called “uppity” by critics.

· “Grandfathered in”

In America, companies often use the “grandfather clause” to mean that you are exempted from a set of rules even after new laws or terms are put into place. For instance, if you have a membership or plan that raises its prices, you would be able to pay the same amount because you’re “grandfathered in,” while new members would have to pay a higher rate to join.

And what you also may not realize is that the phrase is actually rooted in slavery. It is said that after the 15th Amendment was ratified on Feb. 3, 1870, prohibiting racial discrimination in voting, several Southern states created the “grandfather clause” to disenfranchise Black voters. The “grandfather clause” stated that requirements (such as literacy tests and poll taxes) were suspended for anyone eligible to vote on or before Jan. 1, 1867, as well as their descendants. But, since Black people were not legally allowed to vote until 1870, they were excluded.

· “Sold down the river”

Today, this expression signifies betrayal, but really, it is a reference to slaves who were literally sold down the Mississippi or Ohio Rivers to cotton plantations in the Deep South, according to NPR. Louisville, Kentucky, was at the heart of this horror, being one of the country’s biggest slave-trading marketplaces throughout the first half of the 19th century.

· “Eeny, meeny, miny, moe”

This is considered to be a children’s counting rhyme which has existed since 1820. But the lyrics changed from the original iteration as seen in The Counting-out Rhymes of Children: Their Antiquity, Origin, and Wide Distribution, a Study in Folk-lore (published in 1888), the rhyme which means the “tiger” that was caught by the toe was actually originally the N-word. This version of the rhyme was popular during slavery, when it was used to describe slave selection or punishment for runaway slaves, according to Vox.

These two keywords ‘Fraud’ and ‘Phishing’ have become very common at this time due to the rise in fraudulent activities. 

Many organisations and businesses have been at the forefront of educating their customers and the general public about the tactics used by these criminals and how to safeguard themselves and their funds. One of them is Access Bank, a leading financial institution,  which has demonstrated the customers’ financial security is a top priority. 

Attackers often turn to phishing tactics to get unsuspecting individuals divulge sensitive information, pretending to be someone or something else to get them to take action. 

Phishing attacks can be difficult to stop as it relies on human curiosity and impulses, hence, individuals need to administer a good dose of self-restraint so as not to fall victim.

Here are some of the most common phishing attacks and how to avoid them:

* Email Phishing

An attacker may send you an email that appears to be from someone you trust, like your boss or a company you do business with. In the email, there will be an attachment to open or a link to click which may send you to a legitimate-looking website that will require you to input sensitive information such as your password, to access an important file. The fake domain often involves character substitution, like using ‘r’ and ‘n’ next to each other to create ‘rn’ instead of ‘m’.  In order to combat phishing attempts, understanding the importance of verifying email senders and attachments/links is essential. 

*Spear Phishing

Spear phishing emails are targeted towards a specific individual, government, or business with the intention to steal data for malicious purposes or install malware on a targeted user’s device. Before this can happen, the attacker will already have some of the victim’s information like their name, place of employment, BVN, POB, job title, Email address and specific information about their job role. 

There’s a popular misconception that banks are the only ones who have such personal information, however, individuals may have at some point filled various forms for other purposes such as loaning and saving platforms, etc. One of the ways attackers get hold of victim’s private information is by Data-mining them from databases from all kinds of sectors.

*Whaling

Attackers may camouflage as a senior player at an organisation and directly target other important individuals of the organisation with the aim of stealing money or sensitive information or gaining access to their computer systems for criminal purposes. For organisations not to fall, victim, staff members should maintain a healthy level of suspicion when it comes to unsolicited contact, especially when it pertains to important information or financial transactions. They should always ask themselves if they were expecting the email, attachment or link? Is the request unusual in any way?

 *Angler Phishing

More and more organisations maintain social media presence to relate with their customers and this has triggered a new type of attack known as angler phishing. Criminals clone these corporate social media accounts to obtain sensitive information from unsuspecting customers. An example could be a customer who posts a complaint about account-related issues. Fraudsters, through the clone accounts, may reach out to the customer masquerading as a customer care representative. The customer may fall, victim, when he or she divulges any of such information. Before you respond to anyone on social media when you request help online, check the account that’s responding to ensure they are verified (blue tick). You can also always take your customer service issues directly to the Bank’s website or contact center for a resolution rather than risk falling into an angler phishing trap.  

*Smishing and Vishing

Unlike other phishing schemes which involve emails, smishing and vishing involve telephone communication. In smishing, the attacker sends a text message, and vishing involves a telephone conversation. An example is an attacker posing as a customer representative from a bank and telling the victim his or her account has been blocked and personal information such as the BVN is required in order for it to be rectified. It is never a wise choice to give out your private banking information to anyone, whether you know them or not.

You need to stay vigilant so as not to fall victim to any of these phishing tactics. Remember Access bank will NEVER ask for your complete ATM card details, PIN, and One Time Password (OTP). Ensure you follow only the bank’s verified social media accounts, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, to stay updated on more ways to protect yourself from fraud.

Nigeria, West Africa’s most populous nation, is battling to curb the spread of COVID-19. Daily statistics of confirmed cases by the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) indicate the country is yet to cross to the safe path as many Nigerians are contracting and spreading the coronavirus. Unfortunately, testing remains extremely limited.

Health Minister Dr. Osagie Ehanire, recently told journalists: “We have passed that era when people used to think that COVID-19 was something for big men and big women who came from abroad.”

The country, he explained, is in the community transmission phase of the deadly virus.

Investigative Journalist, TOBORE OVUORIE, who spent July and August 2020 combing through some hinterlands and rural areas in Nigeria, discovered while government has been expanding test and quarantine centres in various parts of the country, it has been largely failing to address one of the most basic preventive measures: large gatherings birthed by cultural beliefs such as funeral rites – a very big industry – even in the hinterlands.

In this short video, she proves government appears to be paying more attention to cities in its COVID-19 eradication to the detriment of the hinterlands and rural communities. She summarises in this video that funeral gatherings in hinterlands and rural areas are threatening to hinder efforts to curb the spread of the pandemic.

She is repeatedly told a large funeral gathering is one of the major determinants to measure if a departed person, particularly parents, was given befitting burial. This is how family members in towns, hinterlands and rural parts such as Ughelli and Emevor, in Delta state and other parts of Nigeria, accompany the deceased to their native villages for burial.

This happens, despite the government’s directive that not more than 50 persons should physically attend funeral ceremonies, because large funeral gatherings could lead to the transmission of COVID 19.

Investigations reveal culture has been a stumbling block and COVID-19 or not, elders and custodians of practices, believe that the number of persons who turn up for the funeral is a major barometer to measure the status of the deceased.

A lecturer at the Philosophy department in the University of Lagos, Dan Ekere, says amongst the Isokos and Urhobos in Delta state, the funeral rites which feature and include a crowd are a must if the person lived a long, worthy and exemplary life, hence the long walk and display along the roadside.

These large funeral gatherings in rural parts could be responsible for the current spread of the COVID-19 in several communities in Nigeria, particularly, amongst persons who have never traveled out of their locations.

The coronavirus not only calls attention to the quality of cultural belief system, values, and practices but how they could hinder adherence to public health regulations.

These cultural and social practices could cause life threatening consequences for everyone irrespective of class, age, education and religion.