Meaning

Black-on-black

Categorised in: 435 Phrases 'Born in the USA' ·A list of phrases about colour

What's the meaning of the phrase 'Black-on-black'?

Interactions that occur between black people, notably crime that is perpetrated by one black person against another.

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What’s the origin of the phrase ‘Black-on-black’?

This term originated during the race riots in the USA in the late 1960s. The earliest record I can find of it in print is this piece from The Chicago Daily Defender, March 1968:

“The violence of black man stabbing black man, mugging black man stomping black man, raping black woman. Black on black. And a black crime against a black gets cancelled out in the mind of a white precinct commander.”