blog posts Everyday words and phrases that have racist connotations Jul 7, 2020 11:00 am by CNNIllinois in the News Share on Facebook Tweet Email Images CNN (July 6) Illinois professor of linguistics, anthropology Krystal Smalls says the word 'uppity' suggests a Black person is 'too big for their britches or demonstrates a sense of dignity or autonomy they are not supposed to possess.' Share on Facebook Tweet Email