Is Negro a Bad Word? UNCF's Big Decision

Diversityinc.com ^ | January 17, 2008 | Eric Hinton

[<1/1,000,000th%]

But “colored people” is OK?

[DocRock]

When I was a kid, I had a great uncle in a county rest home that I used to visit regularly. At the time, there was a famous resident, Charlie Smith, that was supposed to be the oldest man in the world. My grandfather told me, "See that colored man over there? He is the oldest man in the world and he loves to tell stories. Go talk to him." So, being an innocent child, and never hearing of a "colored man" before, I walked over to him, tugged on his shirt sleeve and asked him, "Mister... what color are you?". He laughed and we became good friends and I always looked for him on our visits to listen to his stories, but it demonstrates the lack of prejudice in children. It is a learned trait.

[Tarantulas]

I wonder if the Bureau of Indian Affairs will have to get a name change too.

[TankerKC]

They could change “Negro” to another, much more acceptable, N-word. At least I assume it is more acceptable since I heard a black man use it 10 times on the metro the other day....

[inkling]

While we are on the Taupe-ic, I like Ecru-American...

Boo! That pun was really beyond the pale.

::rimshot:: Hey-O!

[null and void]

It was a little light humor...

[Red_Devil 232]

"... and an "RCH" was...oops, better not go there." LOL

A term meaning a very fine adjustment. Used by electronic techs when adjusting a potentiometer in a circuit ... You know ... I just turned it a small increment to the left. How far? An RCH.

[Cracker Jack]

flowerplough: Today, the term “colored people” is considered offensive while “people of color” is considered sensitive. That’s just nuts.

PapaBear3625: No, it's a way to identify who is so subservient to the current fashion, as dictated by the Elite, that they will adopt the currently fashionable terms immediately

Bingo--I think we have a winner.

[Hazwaste]

But I guarantee that his son sees himself as a black man, or as an African American.

I'm much more African-American than the vast majority of blacks in this country. My (very white) mom was born and partially raised in Algeria to a French mother and a Spanish father.

Bow to my superior minority powers.

[marron]

I have an idea. Let’s call them “Americans.”

Thank you. You nailed it.

[Pan_Yans Wife]

LOL

Wait... do your superior minority powers cancel out my superior Northern European powers? Who settles this type of debate? Ridiculous.

As an aside, my brother-in-law’s grandmother had the exact same geographical background as yours. I must be certain to tell him about his African American ancestry. :)

[onedoug]

"I won't... I won't... I won't be black." --Fredi Washington as Peola Johnson, "Imitation of Life", 1934

[citizen]

Can’t use “people of color” cause that will include everybody!

[Jeffrey_D.]

“The 64-year-old organization.................... is unveiling a new branding effort”

I think they should get another copy editor.....sheeesh!

[weegee]

Don’t you know the cycle now?

First they adapt a movie from the past generation to Broadway and then they make of movie of the musical.

With the success of The Producers, it is obvious. Casting will depend on whoever is popular at the moment (it is all about recasting famous roles with other famous faces).

And the remake doesn’t have to be a success on its own. It can actually be used to re-release the original version too and to generate a lot of press about both productions.

[Tired of Taxes]

I will say that I do not like seeing the terms black or white used to label a person (as in “blacks” or “whites”). They can be referred to as “black people” or “white people” but they are beyond just a color.

I cringe whenever I hear people say "the blacks", too, the same way certain grammatical errors make me cringe. I'm probably the only FReeper who prefers the term African-American, but I don't use it on FR because it makes people go nuts here. Here's why I don't find the term itself unpatriotic at all:

Growing up here in the northeast, in response to the question, "What are you?" I've never heard a white person answer, "I'm white." Most white people would respond: "I'm Polish." "I'm Irish." "I'm half German, half English." And so on.

But, I was taught that we're Americans, not Europeans, so always add the word American: "I'm Italian-American." "I'm Irish-American." It's just a quick way of saying, "I'm American, but, yes, my ancestors were from this other country."

Maybe other parts of the country don't have the little ethnic enclaves we always had here. Maybe the difference in opinion varies depending on where you live.

[doodad]

So, being an innocent child, and never hearing of a "colored man" before

My Mom told me of her experience when she was a child of seeing the water fountain labeled colored and turning it on to see what color. My Grandmother hurriedly pulled her away.

[doodad]

Funny, I was thinking about this earlier today without seeing the article.

For some reason unknown to me, it is currently vogue for whites to be referred to as caucasians by (insert racial designator for people of Negroid and African heritage)here in the south.

I never heard that until a few years ago. Imagine my surprise that negro, however, is a frowned upon term for them. I gave up long ago with this stuff.

Which is why I call people by their name.

[B4Ranch]

>I have an idea. Let’s call them “Americans.”<

Huh? What are you trying to do? Unite them with white people? I suppose you want to call all US citizens “Americans.” Never happen, again.