Entry · catalog no. 0701
right on
/ /ˌraɪt ˈɑn/ /ryt ON
interjection · National · 1960s
✓ Verified
1.
A shout of affirmation — full agreement, encouragement, or approval.
“'We feed our own kids before school now.' 'Right on!'”
Origin & Attribution
Clipped from the older Black expression 'right on time' — on the natural moment, not the clock's. Standing alone by the 1960s, it became the signature call of the Black Power era, ringing through Black Panther Party rallies and papers before the counterculture borrowed it wholesale. Often remembered as hippie talk; the hippies got it from Black speech.
late 1960s
Signature affirmation of the Black Power movement
1970
The Original Last Poets film 'Right On!' takes it as a title
1971
Marvin Gaye records 'Right On' on What's Going On
Region of origin
West
Midwest
N.East
South
Nationwide
National · 1960s
Spoken by
Black Power movement; Black America broadly, then the counterculture
$RIGHTOThe Record · cultural traction
▲ Faded60 yrs
ahead of the mainstream
82/100
peak cultural energy
Introduced to English by the culture — logged here before the mainstream caught on.
Cultural usage — the recordMainstream search interest
First used
1966
in the culture
Cultural energy indexed from documented usage, search interest, and citation frequency. The recorded date is the archive’s permanent point of record.
Hear it spoken
By region — how it actually sounds
@auntiereg
Atlanta, GA
@deltasoul
Memphis, TN
Contribute your pronunciation
Citations & Sources
■
'Right On!' (The Original Last Poets film) — 1970
film · verified
■
+ Cite a sourceMarvin Gaye, 'Right On,' What's Going On — 1971
song · verified
See also