When Racism Slips Into Everyday Speech

[Nye Bevan]

16. "The word 'picnic' originated with crowds gathering to witness lynchings"- Snopes says FALSE

Example: [Collected on the Internet, 1999]
Although not taught in American learning institutions and literature, it is noted in most Black history professional circles and literature that the origin of the term "picnic" derives from the acts of lynching African-Americans. The word "picnic" is rooted from the whole theme of "Pick A Nigger." This is where individuals would "pic" a Black person to lynch and make this into a family gathering. There would be music and a "picnic." ("Nic" being the white acronym for "nigger.&quot Scenes of this were depicted in the movie "Rosewood." We should choose to use the word "barbecue" or "outing" instead of the word "picnic."

Origins: Specious etymologies seem to be all the rage of late, and this dubious claim about 'picnic' fits that trend. You'll be heartened to know 'picnic' has nothing to do with crowds gathering to witness the lynching of blacks (or anyone else, for that matter) in America.

'Picnic' began life as a 17th-century French word: it wasn't even close to being an American invention. A 1692 edition of Origines de la Langue Françoise de Ménage mentions 'piquenique' as being of recent origin and marks the first appearance of the word in print. As for how the French came by this new term, it was likely invented by joining the common form of the verb 'piquer' (meaning "to pick" or "peck&quot with 'nique,' possibly either a Germanic term meaning "worthless thing" or merely a nonsense rhyming syllable coined to fit the first half of this new palate-pleaser.

The fact that this etymology is spurious hasn't deterred some from being offended by it, as noted in this excerpt from a 2000 National Post article:
Meanwhile, things are not peachy on the campus of SUNY/Albany. The university wanted to honour baseball legend Jackie Robinson by having a picnic. But the university's equity office said this must not occur because the word "picnic" referred originally to gatherings held to lynch Blacks. In fact, as one of their own English professors (rather less committed to historical revisionism than RMC's Dr. Robinson) pointed out, the word "picnic" actually comes from a 17th-century French word that denotes a party at which everyone brings food. But Zaheer Mustafa, the equity officer, nevertheless decreed that "picnic" not be used because "the point is — the word offends." So the university decided to call it an "outing." Then, homosexual students took objection to that, and SUNY decided to publicize the event without using any noun to describe it.

http://www.snopes.com/language/offense/picnic.asp