hotep
noun
a derogatory term for an adherent of a socially conservative form of Afrocentrism
What does hotep mean?
Hotep is a derogatory term for an adherent of a socially conservative form of Afrocentrism.
Examples of hotep
… Afrocentric “hoteps,” who often frame queer identity as a destructive element for “the Black community,” as though we were a monolith.
—Andre Henry, Religion News Service, 6 Dec. 2023
In “Their Eyes Were Watching God,” Zora Neale Hurston observes that Black women are the mules of the world. It's like when it comes to the love of a Black woman, the servitude is implied. We’re expected to be fulfilled by the very act of loving someone else and less concerned with how that love is if ever returned to us. The kind of love outlined by Facebook hoteps and Youtube podcasts.
—Hotep memes often denounce homosexuality and interracial marriage, and spread conspiracy theories or inaccurate ideas about history.
—Over the past decade or so, the working definition of “Hotep” has morphed into an all-encompassing term describing a person who’s either a clueless parody of Afrocentricity … or someone who’s loudly, conspicuously and obnoxiously pro-black but anti-progress.
—If you ask one of your friends what exactly a “hotep” is, they may have a few issues when trying to explain. The descriptors they'd use, like “pro-Black” or “conscious,” aren’t inherently negative, but the way that hotep is used by young people often has a negative connotation.
—As for brothers and sisters who continue to use “hotep” and “ankh-right” in their talks about African-centered Black people, understand that you're still losing out on an opportunity to deepen your community work and advocacy on behalf of Blacks. Consider those men you call “hotep” as simply flawed people, not representatives of an entire movement.
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Where does hotep come from?
Hotep comes from an ancient Egyptian word that has been translated as “to rest” and “to be at peace,” among other translations. Hotep has been used since the 1970s as a greeting by some Afrocentrists along the lines of “I come in peace.” Disapproving/dismissive use of the noun hotep appears to have arisen in the late 00s or early 10s.
How is hotep used?
Use of hotep is controversial, and as a derogatory term used within the Black community, it is recommended that non-Black people avoid its use.
While many see its popular meaning as a legitimate criticism of cisgender, heterosexual, male-centered black liberation and resistance movements, its defenders say using it as a derogatory term is uninformed. “To me what this seems like is another degradation of ideas that are derived from black people,” said [Dr. Molefi Kete] Asante.
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