People of Color... < white + > black

[immer]

Link to original article at the bottom of reprint. From the on-line site, The Root.

Knowing we have people of all colors here, your comments are hoped-for and appreciated. White, beige, cappuccino, caramel, mocha, brown, black, ebony, and variations therein -- {are red & yellow considered no-declare shades?} -- do you share any of the feelings described below?

And, should Crayola discontinue their "flesh" shade of crayon?


Forget 'Negro!' Let's Go Back to 'Colored!'
By: Cord Jefferson
Posted: January 12, 2010 at 10:17 AM

It may sound archaic, but it’s the most accurate description of black Americans.

Apparently, the first buzzword of the new decade is one that's also decidedly old: "Negro." We're not even a month into 2010, and already the second most famous and despised N-word in the English language has reared its head on two separate occasions, rankling people of all colors and from every point on the political spectrum.

Last week, the New York Daily News reported that blacks in New York were upset over the U.S. Census Bureau's decision to include the racial designation "Negro" alongside "black" and "African American" on this decade's census form. Critics argued that it was an unnecessary atavism, while the bureau noted that the term's inclusion was an attempt to avoid ageism. "Many older African Americans identified themselves that way," said Census Bureau spokesman Jack Martin, "and many still do."

Then, over the weekend, a highly publicized passage from the new book Game Change—an insider look at the 2008 presidential election—found Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) in even hotter water than the Census Bureau. The excerpt in question quotes Reid as saying he had high hopes for Barack Obama's then-impeding presidential candidacy, largely because Obama's "light skin" and lack of "Negro dialect" would be attractive to American voters.

On the Today show, Gwen Ifill did her best to dispatch with the nonsense that Reid's comments were at all malicious. (What's wrong with acknowledging the fact that a darker, less eloquent politician would have a harder go of it than Barack Obama?) But the damage had been done. Reid's comments will undoubtedly follow him for years to come—much like former Virginia Sen. George Allen is haunted by "macaca"—and that's due in no small part to the fact that the he didn't have the presence of mind to simply replace "Negro" with "urban" or "stereotypically black."

The census and the Senate majority leader are the latest to call into question what are and aren't acceptable terms for black Americans, but the battle has been waged among blacks for decades now. Obviously, "Negro" feels out-of-date, but older blacks say it, so perhaps it's not that bad. "Afro-American" also sounds dated, but in a less jagged way than "Negro." African American is the norm among the PC elite, despite the fact that a white person with South African roots should probably be included in the definition, and that, technically, everyone in the whole world has African roots. Black is a fine catchall, I suppose, but it just seems so damn inaccurate. (I've never seen a truly black person.) And what about "nigga"? Who can say it, and in reference to whom?

A sense of identity is an important part of life. It's the reason gangs, fraternities and political parties are popular, and, among other things, it's something slavery stole from generations of black Americans. Thanks to detailed records and surnames taken from ancient towns, many white Americans can trace their roots back to villages in Ireland, or find and visit long-lost second cousins in Sicily—their lineages are often strong and well-defined.

But for most black Americans, whose undocumented ancestors were ripped from spots throughout the African continent, tracing their origins isn't so easy. With no records to go by, it's nearly impossible to tell from what part of Africa one originates without the help of expensive DNA specialists, who can then offer you what basically amounts to a ballpark estimation. So it's no wonder so many blacks have tried (and failed) to create an all-encompassing nomenclature for an entire people, the thought process being, "If we can't be Liberian American or Nigerian American, how about just black, right?"

But as I said before, the long list of names blacks have given themselves is full of half-truths and falsehoods, and constantly updating it is silly and distracting from truly important issues. That’s why I propose we settle this once and for all, with a term for blacks that is traditional, well-known and more accurate than any of its counterparts: colored.

Yes, it's difficult to swallow at first. "Colored" is perhaps even more antiquated and controversial than Negro, and now, anyone saying it is likely aged and out of touch at best, racist at worst. But here, think of Socrates--just because something's old and not roundly liked doesn't make it bad.

To begin with, the most famous black organization in the world has used the word "colored" proudly in its name since its inception. "Negro" and "Afro-American" have for the most part entered and exited the lexicon, but "COLORED" remains on the NAACP's official seal, its seven curvy letters standing in all caps like some buff, unbeaten cadre of soldiers.

Next consider that, like it or not, there still exist black Americans who call themselves "colored." Like the old folks the Census Bureau was accommodating with “Negro,” my grandmother, who was 88 at the time, leaned over to me at my high school graduation in 2000 and noted, "Not a lot of colored kids at this school, " Was my grandmother a self-loathing racist? Was she ignorant? Or was she just using a word that accurately described the color of her skin and mine?

Which brings me to my last and certainly most important point: People of color in America are just that--colored--and these days, it’s the only descriptor left that makes any sense to use. In 2004, a white South African immigrant was suspended from his Nebraska high school for entering a contest reserved for "African Americans." And last year, a white American citizen from Mozambique said he was harassed and then suspended from his medical school in New Jersey for defining himself as an "African American" during a diversity exercise. With the world's borders constantly becoming more permeable, what constitutes an African American is simultaneously becoming more nebulous.

Furthermore, what's considered "black" has always been a bit fishy. Barack Obama, Don Cheadle, Alicia Keys and Alek Wek dance up and down the color spectrum, and yet, as it stands now, they all fall under the umbrella term "black," a word that doesn't really describe any of their skin tones.

If we’re speaking truthfully, I'm brown, but for whatever reason, that descriptor was given to Latinos. I don't begrudge anyone that decision, but I find it difficult to agree to being called black, because I’m not. I'm also not sure I have any more right to the term "African American" than that white med student from Mozambique. What I do know is that my skin is not white, it's colored, just like Michelle Obama's and Quincy Jones' and Tavis Smiley's and Sidney Poitier's and, perhaps, yours.

The diversity within the community of color in the United States is truly remarkable, and it deserves a description that acknowledges that variance while also highlighting the group's unity. Consider it our E Pluribus Unum, and say it loud: I'm colored and I'm proud.

http://www.theroot.com/views/forget-negro-lets-go-back-colored

[Silvia]

Americans are made up of every color and culture under the sun with people of various of shades of black and white being able to trace their ancestors back to Ireland or other parts of Europe, Africa, and Asia.

People who are so concerned about defining us are usually more interested in dividing us.

In the section after the listed races on the census forum designated for “other” I think people should just put “human” and send these clowns a message.

Or people really could put all their different racial and cultural make up and really get the point across. Someone writing they are a White, Black, Brown, Red, racially and Euro African Asian with a few drop of Native American thrown in culturally should get the point across.

Do the majority of Folks really give a rat’s ass?

2010 Census form
http://2010.census.gov/2010census/how/interactive-form.php

[mikevienna]

I think the term "coloured/colored" sounds rather weird. I can't see what is wrong with the term "black", we already use the term "white" whether its for Swedes or Italians.
I'm not sure its such a problem in my country (Australia) as most of the black people there are Aboriginals so we just use that name.

[forest]

i am not sure why anyone would need to use any of those words. I dont recall ever having to describe a friend of mine by the colour of their skin! Its generally the country they are from, but the colour of their skin is pretty much irrelevant. I was talking to a friend the other day and describing a friend of mine, but there was no mention of the colour of his skin. He is American....end of. It wouldnt have changed anything if i had mentioned the colour of his skin though.

[forest]

and the point would be?

[kavin]

Deleted due to Info Overload!

[Damn_Yankee]

Gosh, whatever happened to the categories of "Black/African American (not of Hispanic origin)" and "Black/African American (of Hispanic origin)"? I liked checking those off, too, since I also qualified for both!

Indeed, Kavin, the "West" need be pitied for this continued obsession with race. It's part of the continued shameful legacy of colonialism and slavery where one's relative "humanity" depended upon what degree, or lack thereof, one was to being part of the "white" race.

Sylvia, you're too right about those being so concerned with defining *us are more intent on dividing us. Divide and conquer - we fall for it all too often

I see the whole "hyphenating" of Americans, or anyone of any nationality, (willing to defer to, "so-and-so nationality" of "such-and-such descent") as silly in all cases. When those American troops in Mogadishu were getting taken out by the Somali fighters, they weren't being killed as Mexican-, African-, Italian-, Swedish, Asian- or any other hyphenated American. They were just "Merikuns! Kill'em all!!"

As in the past, I will fill out the Census race card with all that apply if they really need to know - I'll be "representin'" for the seven or so (that I'm aware of having) races they deign to ID on their listing. Will also check other and add "Human", Syl!

I think if they really need to break things down into categories it could be easily limited to two:

Melanin Deficient and Melanin Sufficient What about them apples?


Crayola has replaced "flesh" with "peach" in their crayon assortment.


“We must live together like brothers, or perish together as fools.” Martin Luther King, Jr.

* - "Us" being human beings

[forest]

@WD...nobody would or has asked me to "narrow it down". And in that sketch you posted i would have said his full name, and that would have been enough. I dont recall anyone describing me or narrowing down the description of me to the colour of my skin

[forest]

i know thats what you meant, i wasnt missing any point, just havent had to describe any of my friends by the colour of their skin, thats all. Jane, you know the white girl....never had to do that.

[Damn_Yankee]

[kavin]

deleted due to info overload