The story
Coined by Evelyn Brooks Higginbotham in 1993 in reference to African-American women who modified their behavior to appease whites.
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.
respectability politics
Today it means: Attempts by marginalized groups to police their own members and show their social values as being compatible with mainstream values, rather than challenging the mainstream for its failure to accept difference. Full definition →