The Invisible Minority — Bonus — Part 7: What You Can Do

7 min readDec 31, 2021

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Why The Roma Have Been Forgotten

By Celeste W. and Kathryn M. Edited by Doug G.

(Keywords: Human Rights, Slavery, Romany, Roma, Gypsy, Romani, Minorities, Justice, Racism, Genocide, History) This is part of a series. (Previous: Part 6: A Modern Problem)(First: Part 1: The Romani People)

Part 7 — What You Can Do

There are many different things non-Roma can do to support Roma. Not all people of Romani descent will agree on everything. Like every ethnicity, the Romani community is diverse in itself. Roma live in different parts of the world, have different religions, and different sets of values. With that in mind, there is some basic information people need to know about this group.

Who are the Roma

The first step into making this inadvisable group visible is to start with who they are and who they are not.

Roma are people, they are human beings. Roma are not mythical creatures. Roma are not magical. Roma are people who are part of an ethnic minority. This ethnic minority has faced centuries of persecution, murder, enslavement, and forced migration like other minority groups. Roma are not a monolithic group, and each individual is entitled to their own opinion. Roma are people from an ethnic group that face rampant discrimination and poverty.

Names

Some Roma proudly retake the word Gypsy. That does not mean non-Roma should use it. A person of Romani heritage can use Gypsy if they, the individual Roma, feel comfortable with the term. A member of the ethnic minority can retake this word and use it without it being a slur. Because of the history of the word, others still should not use the term “gypsy.”

Non-Roma should use the word Roma (noun) or Romani (adjective ) to talk about the people or the things associated with the ethnicity.

Gypsy jazz (also called Manouche Jazz) and Gypsy punk (rarely called Romani Punk) are named to retake a word that’s been associated with negative stories and use it for Romani-created art. Romani creators are behind these names. (https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2014/07/rules-of-engagement-for-ethnic-slurs/374769/)(https://www.wearyourvoicemag.com/reclaim-racial-slurs/) (https://www.npr.org/sections/publiceditor/2019/08/21/752330316/a-former-slur-is-reclaimed-and-listeners-have-mixed-feelings)

Gypsy should never be used for non-Romani people, places, animals, or things.

The use of the word ‘gypsy’ as a descriptive adjective is a major issue across the United States and other countries. Businesses will often use the term to mean free wandering, artistic, or mystical. Do not support Non-Romani businesses or organizations that use Gypsy for a name. Some People are not aware of the history of the word Gypsy. Some others have been made aware of the history of the word and still choose to keep that as their business or organization’s name... At best that is cultural appropriation, and at worst it is racism.

Don’t use the word bohemian or boho to describe a “lifestyle” because bohemian Roma were the inspiration for that ‘style’’ at their own expense. It is like using Gyspy. Bohemian Roma were hit especially hard during the holocaust.

Suggested Alternatives

(These are alternatives for both Bohemian and Gypsy)

There are many other words that can be used in place of Gypsy and Bohemian.

-Free Spirit -Wandering Soul -Nomadic -Whimsical -Rambler -Artistic -Pathfinding (Pathfinder) -Unconventional -Globetrotter -Iconic -Journeying -Migratory -Moving -Nomadic -Wayfaring (Wayfarer) -Nonconformist (Non-Conforming) -Adventurer -Mystical -Magical -Mysterious -Spiritual

You can use your voice and inform others. Roma are a minority everywhere they live. They are divided and many Roma are scared. You can lend your voice and speak up against any non-Roma business, or organization that uses Gypsy for a name.

If there is a Roma-owned business that uses Gypsy, on the other hand, please support them. They are allowed to retake the name. In general please support Romani businesses. Please support Romani art and artists.

If they are not of Romani heritage there are clear indications they are not Roma when they talk about where they got their name. For example, they will say they are a “gypsy because I travel” or “I am a gypsy because I have a free spirit.” On the other hand, romani businesses tend to have words like heritage, and family.

Support Roma owned businesses

Here is a short list of Roma businesses.

You can fight back against stereotypes by giving them your business or supporting their tip jars.

Battle Stereotypes

Roma is an ethnicity. The Roma should never be seen as anything but a minority group of humans. Roma are not mythical creatures.

You can speak up and ask for Roma representation in popular culture and Hollywood. And you can speak against Roma being used as a mythical creature.

Give reviews to episodes of television shows who treat Roma like mythical creatures that use the word Gypsy that talks about racism against Roma. Do this even if you rate the whole show as likable and in general the rating is favorable. Let people know about the racist elements. The same goes for movies or plays. Do not accept Hollywood tropes and stereotypical portrayal of Roma as anything but fundamentally hurtful and racist.

Accept that you can enjoy a show or story, and it can be problematic at the same time. It is not racist to enjoy a show with problematic elements, it is human. For example, you can truly enjoy Disney’s Movie The Haunted Mansion and talk about the problems with the portal of the Roma ghost character. We need to advocate for disclaimers in TV and film that have inappropriate or hurtful portrayals of Romani people.

However, someone can further racist beliefs if they don’t admit there are problematic elements. Talk about the issues and be clear about why they are issues.

If you are a writer and want to add a Roma character to strengthen diversity, ask a Roma to join your writing team. If you can’t do that then make the Roma character a human first. Make the person of Romani heritage a non-supernatural, everyday person, not a stereotype. Never “other” a Roma. Do not make Roma mythical characters. Don’t make Roma mysterious, at least not more mysterious than a character of any other race. Don’t make the Roma different from the other characters just because they are Roma. A Roma dentist, teacher, mother, grocery store clerk, firefighter, nurse, or doctor would be refreshing. A Roma fortune teller, mystic, witch, magician, or anything that makes the Roma character different or mysterious will just further Romani persecution. If you can’t write Roma as a normal person who just happens to be Roma, don’t write about Roma. Ask yourself, are you treating Roma like other ethnic groups? Would this work for any other ethnic minority? Would this storyline work if the character was white? Roma are humans and deserve to be seen as human.

Read and Share

You can spread awareness. You can share links that support Roma on your social media. You can share links and articles written by People of Romani Heritage and read books and articles created by Roma.

Here are a few links to help you get started.

Helpful Links and Other Sources

General Information

Here is some general information about the Romani people:

Roma in Media

If you would like to know more about how Roma are viewed in the media, here are some links:

Don’t use Gypsy

For those interested in learning more about why g*psy is not acceptable, here are some references:

Discrimination in Europe

Roma face a lot of discrimination in Europe, these are links that talk about that issues:

Podcast

Romanistan; https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/9fb5b906-e248-48db-8ed4-4501167b1f43/romanistan

Books

We Are the Romani People; by Ian Hancock
The Roma: The History of the Romani People and the Controversial Persecutions of Them across Europe; by Charles River Editors
Bury Me Standing: The Gypsies and Their Journey; by Isabel Fonseca

Donate

You can help by donating to groups that support Roma.

If you are interested in supporting Roma, please visit European Roma Rights Center and donate. They are connected to Amnesty International. (Neither the authors or the editors are affiliated any of these causes, we just support the same causes.)

http://www.errc.org/get-involved/donate

https://www.romaeducationfund.org/

You can also help by donating to UNICEF to support their efforts to help Romani Children.

https://www.unicef.org/eca/what-we-do/ending-child-poverty/roma-children

Sign and Share

You can help by signing and spreading petitions. These petitions spread awareness and create some pressure. You can also further these causes by politely commenting on the groups’ petitions on social media.

“Stop the Use of Stereotypes Against the Romany People in Children’s Theater” https://docs.google.com/document/d/1XQ0WDm0D_4uTeRPt82UMUJkNOFtULqQPab87aD2mZ8E/edit?usp=sharing
“Change the derogatory name of the cold care tea made by Traditional Medicinals” https://www.change.org/p/traditional-medicinals-change-the-derogatory-name-of-the-cold-care-tea-made-by-traditional-medicinals?recruiter=1180144860&utm_source=share_petition&utm_medium=facebook&utm_campaign=share_petition&recruited_by_id=4d4f4620-6ac3-11eb-84f0-7fc2fa2a7677&utm_content=mit-28369984-10%3Av2
“Disney must add disclaimers to movies with slurs, and negative depictions of Romani” http://chng.it/gkBJ6B6Q
“Marvel should give Roma kids a positive role model” http://chng.it/2ySkdQsv
“G*psy Nurse needs to change its name” http://chng.it/xzcpVmsJ
“Change the Name of Northern State University’s Homecoming Celebration” http://chng.it/9kdYhX4T
“#SaveRomafromCorona : Protect Romani Communities from a Catastrophe” https://www.change.org/p/the-european-commission-and-its-president-ms-ursula-von-der-leyen-protect-romani-people-from-a-severe-corona-catastrophe?signed=true

Roma deserves better. Be part of a positive change. Thank you for taking the time to read this.

This is part of a series. (Part 1: The Romani People)(Part 2: History)(Part 3: Hollywood)(Part 4: Culture, Pop Culture, and Home)(Part 5: Persecution and Institutional Discrimination)(Part 6: A Modern Problem )