righteous

[Jesse Sheidlower]

On Sat, Jan 07, 2006 at 12:40:38AM -0500, Wilson Gray wrote:
>
> Fritz, surely you haven't forgotten the BE slang use, dating back to
> only God knows when, of "righteous" as a term meaning, "typical of
> white people," as in "righteous moss," a head of hair naturally like
> unto the hair of white people? ;-) When the Afro became hip, beauty
> parlors that had formerly sustained themselves straighening
> "naturally-curly" hair stayed in business curling the hair of chicks
> thitherto "blessed" with righteous moss.

OED cites this back to Zora Neale Hurston in 1942.

Jesse Sheidlower
OED