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word to the mother

CTL-W-0237 · Work · 1980s

STRONG EVIDENCE evidence grade — master store (canonical CSV)

Combined Graph record U-00638 · provenance: canonical master store (CSV), record CTL-W-0237. Master record source: CTL seed 2026-10-16 — UNVERIFIED, verify before public citation.

Phrase Finder page (fetched in full) quoting Geneva Smitherman, Black Talk (Houghton Mifflin, 1994) verbatim: 'Word is born! — An affirmative response to a statement or action. Also Word!, Word up!, Word to the Mother! A resurfacing of an old, familiar saying in the Black Oral Tradition, Yo word is yo bond... One's word is the guarantee, the warranty, the bond'; also quoting Dalzell, Flappers 2 Rappers (Merriam-Webster, 1996): hip-hop Word/Word Up = 'I agree!'

Answer summary · this record in brief, from its own record text

Phrase Finder page (fetched in full) quoting Geneva Smitherman, Black Talk (Houghton Mifflin, 1994) verbatim: 'Word is born! — An affirmative response to a statement or action. Also Word!, Word up!, Word to the Mother! A resurfacing of an old, familiar saying in the Black Oral Tradition, Yo word is yo bond... One's word is the guarantee, the warranty, the bond'; also quoting Dalzell, Flappers 2 Rappers (Merriam-Webster, 1996): hip-hop Word/Word Up = 'I agree!'

The record

Sources

Evidence note (master store)

Phrase Finder page (fetched in full) quoting Geneva Smitherman, Black Talk (Houghton Mifflin, 1994) verbatim: 'Word is born! — An affirmative response to a statement or action. Also Word!, Word up!, Word to the Mother! A resurfacing of an old, familiar saying in the Black Oral Tradition, Yo word is yo bond... One's word is the guarantee, the warranty, the bond'; also quoting Dalzell, Flappers 2 Rappers (Merriam-Webster, 1996): hip-hop Word/Word Up = 'I agree!'

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Record CTL-W-0237 · Combined Graph record U-00638 · CultureTechLens Knowledge Graph · 1 source.
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Researched and maintained by the CultureTechLens research program · CultureTechLens Combined Graph, Release 2026-11-04. Corrections are public: the corrections log.

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Cite as: CultureTechLens, “word to the mother (CTL-W-0237),” CultureTechLens Combined Graph, Release 2026-11-04. https://culturetechlens.com/graph/entities/ctl-w-0237/

Chicago: CultureTechLens. “word to the mother (CTL-W-0237).” CultureTechLens Combined Graph. Chicago, IL: CultureTechLens, 2026. https://culturetechlens.com/graph/entities/ctl-w-0237/
APA: CultureTechLens. (2026). word to the mother (CTL-W-0237) [Entity record]. CultureTechLens Combined Graph. https://culturetechlens.com/graph/entities/ctl-w-0237/
MLA: CultureTechLens. “word to the mother (CTL-W-0237).” CultureTechLens Combined Graph, 2026, https://culturetechlens.com/graph/entities/ctl-w-0237/

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Apartment houses and funeral parlor in Negro section of Chicago, Illinois, Chicago, 1941 — CultureTechLens
Apartment houses and funeral parlor in Negro section of Chicago, Illinois, Chicago, 1941 — CultureTechLensPhoto: Lee, Russell, 1903-1986, FSA-OWI, Public Domain, via Library of Congress
Crowd outside of fashionable Negro church after Easter Sunday service, Black Belt, Chicago, Illinois, Chicago, 1941 — CultureTechLens
Crowd outside of fashionable Negro church after Easter Sunday service, Black Belt, Chicago, Illinois, Chicago, 1941 — CultureTechLensPhoto: Rosskam, Edwin, 1903-1985, FSA-OWI, Public Domain, via Library of Congress
Negro grocery store, Black Belt, Chicago, Illinois, Chicago, 1941 — CultureTechLens
Negro grocery store, Black Belt, Chicago, Illinois, Chicago, 1941 — CultureTechLensPhoto: Rosskam, Edwin, 1903-1985, FSA-OWI, Public Domain, via Library of Congress

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