Yeah, “eloquent” would be better than “well-spoken” for the simple reason that “well-spoken” is essentially code for “sounds white.” It’s not intrinsic to the phrase, obviously, but the context is clear, at least in the US.

It’s a condescending compliment that assumes an inherent superiority to the person it is being applied to, and usually it is delivered with some sort of discriminant undertone betraying pre-existing stereotypes that the user holds. Would you ever describe a Harvard lawyer as “well spoken”? No, because it is assumed…

It’s pretty common for white people to express surprise/shock awe at a minority speaker being ‘well-spoken’ or ‘articulate’ in a way that belies their racist assumptions about and low expectations of the minority group as a whole. It is a common phrase, as you point out, but in the context of this article…

It doesn't even have to be witness prep. She could just be naturally composed and graceful.

It’s a common backhanded compliment to describe black people as “well spoken” or “articulate”, simultaneously implying that the “proper” way to speak is in a stereotypically “white” dialect, and that it is surprising that a black person is able to manage to speak “correctly”. Many people who say this don’t comprehend…

It’s something that is said about Black people because a lot of White people expect Black people to talk like cavemen.

The grunt or snarl is what puts me over the fucking edge (to be fair, I was teetering on the edge for the entire excerpt). He’s basically shocked that she doesn't act like an animal! Fuck him right in his racist fucking neck.

Calling her “well-spoken” would be super racist, of course, but it would be a step up from praising her for sounding like Martha Stewart and not muttering curses under her breath.

I’m genuinely amazed that he avoided the words “well spoken” in describing her. I’m also amazed that he didn’t name two white players as goals for her to be kept by.

To be fair, has anyone named Crystal ever exceeded our expectations?

“Family-owned business falls victim to culture war.” Funny how that whole “personal responsibility” thing never applies to white Christians.

So American Apparel is entering its "at least Mussolini made the trains run on time" phase?

It's fascinating watching a company imploded from the inside like this.

Going to head down to a public green space that was turned into a parking facility and pour one out. Get better, Ms. Mitchell.

Go try to find a non-creepy picture of Harvey Weinstein.

to prove that the child was born alive and thus within medical rescue, the prosecutors used an arcane, discredited 17th-century test in which the fetus's lungs are removed and put in liquid to see if they can float, and they floated.

When I was around 8, I performed my first and only successful April Fool's Day prank which involved fooling all of my friends into thinking I was getting a pony. My MOM even played along, which really sealed the deal, and I had everyone totally convinced. I was a very imaginative child and I made up this whole…

If you read the story, she and the baby were sleeping in the same bed and it died. If this were a wealthy, white Park Slope yuppie mother "Co-Sleeping", there wouldn't be charges because it would be a "tragic accident" or "SIDS".

Men love to control women's genitals. They won't control their own but they do so love to control women's.

I remember my mom making an offhand remark one day that my grandma refused to go to the tribal clinic while she was having a baby. She didn't want to be sterilized. She knew what happened to a number of women who went there and she didn't want to be one of them.