[re_nortex]

Here are a couple of other very worthy points from the author:

Back when we were Negroes, the last thing a young woman wanted to look like was a harlot and a young man a thug, but now that we’re African-Americans, many of our young girls dress like hootchie mamas and our young boys imitate penitentiary custom and wear their pants below the butt line.

Back when we were Negroes, we had names like Joshua, Aaron, Paul, Esther, Melba, Cynthia and Ida. Now that we are African Americans, our names are bastardized versions of alcohol from Chivas to Tequila to C(S)hardonney.

[WestwardHo]

Back when we were Negroes

I am 63. Do you realize how old one has to be to remember Negro families? It’s like trying to remember a dream, and then trying to explain how real it was to somebody else.
We met people in South Carolina who remember freed slaves that had belonged to their grandparents. They stayed with them until they all passed away.
Incredible, wonderful Negroes from another time.

[Baynative]

A black friend of mine once told me:
"We used to be Negroes. Then we were Afros and soul brothers. Then came Black and then African-American. With you people renaming us all the time it's no wonder our kids don't know who the hell they are. All this time wanting to be equal and now we've worked our way back to saying African first."