Why did the term "Negro" become offensive?

[liberalpragmatist]

Just curious here -- "Negro" used to be the polite term for African-Americans right up through the late '60s and early '70s. Then it abruptly went out of fashion in place of "black" and, later, "African-American" (in some contexts).

Why was this? I'm aware of the "black is beautiful" movement, but what about "Negro" was seen as offensive?

[Tangerine LaBamba]

1. In the late sixties,

as the Black Power movement began to rise.

I think "black" was perceived to be owned by the black population, as opposed to "Negro," which was the white appellation. A stroke for independence, perhaps. Honestly, though, I don't know.

[Captain Hilts]

20. It means...'black'. It's not offensive, just out-dated. The United Negro College Fund...

still uses it.

The NAACP still uses 'colored'.

But they're both archaic.

[eowyn_of_rohan]

64. My nephew told me that 'black' is not appropriate to say anymore

I had not heard that - is it correct?

[LiberalHeart]

68. I've heard that, too. I don't get it. My family doesn't find it offensive.

[Captain Hilts]

21. Computer glitch.

[lunatica]

72. It was dropped with the Black is Beautiful movement

Blacks refused to be forced to imitate whites in style or culture anymore and they took back their race and their life's experiences as being uniquely theirs. The movement shot through all levels of society from music to fashion. The afro which everyone laughs at now was a bold move to take back their racial characteristics and claim them.

It was a very interesting time. There was a huge paradigm shift in consciousness that was massive for everyone no matter what race they belonged to. We're smack in the middle of another one right now.

[Indenturedebtor]

74. Hey the Jewfro is still alive and well :D

Solidarity baby! Bring back the Afro! I'll be there with you!

[kansasblue]

2. wikipedia says.....

In the past, the word negro was meant as a term of deep respect. Unfortunately, it is now sometimes even considered as an ethnic slur although the term is considered archaic and is not common as a racist slur. The term is still used in some contexts for historical reasons such as in the name of the United Negro College Fund.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Negro

[Lancer]

6. As kansasblue points out, the wiki entry is long and full of good information

It also points out that rap and hip-hop have given new currency to the N-word, but it seems to be one of those words that is acceptable when said by people of the group it applies to, other users not so much. (If that makes any sense.)

[Canuckistanian]

3. They didn't want to be "labeled" by whites

I remember seeing a film in school where black kids were taught to respond "I'm black and I'm beautiful" whenever someone called them "negro" or "ni**er"

Does anyone else remember that film?

[Lydia Leftcoast]

18. Yes, I remember seeing that too

The terminology changed around the time I was in college. By the time I arrived on campus in 1968, the term "black" was common in the Twin Cities area, but the students from the small towns and rural areas still said "Negro."

[SidDithers]

38. "Say it loud, I'm black and I'm proud!"...

JB knew his shit.

Sid

[hedgehog]

4. "Negro" was a term assigned by Europeans and was generally

inaccurate since the American descendants of slaves may have ancestors from Africa, Europe or North America. I'm guessing you grew up after the "black is beautiful" movement. It's hard to describe what a radical notion that was. Not only blacks, but Latinos and other non-Anglo whites were pressured to conform to an ideal of white beauty. Women were pressured to conform and if your hair, skin tone or body shape didn't match, you had to try to make it match. The only good hair was straight hair, which left all of us curly haired girls SOL.

There was a time when if you wore your hair like this:




you wouldn't be hired in retail or in an office.

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

31. Who's the one on top? She's beautiful!

Arf arf arf

[demmiblue]

32. They are both pics of Alfre Woodward

[OmmmSweetOmmm]

63. Alfre is a stunning woman and an excellent actress.

[Whoa_Nelly]

5. Here is an interesting discourse

have a good read! :hi:

http://books.google.com/books?id=3jPFh_vj3GAC&pg=PA50&lpg=PA50&dq=why+the+term+%22negro%22+is+offensive&source=web&ots=8w1Owy8I1a&sig=kPzPVwRpjJW5fr_QC9cwK5bmpg8&hl=en&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=10&ct=result#PPA74,M1

[99th_Monkey]

7. I think it's because the word "negro" can so easily slip into "niggra" ...

and that in turn can easily slip into using the "N" word outright.

no such problem with "black" or "African-American".

[Captain Hilts]

22. Interesting point! But 'black' and 'African American' are not equivalent...

just as 'ladies' and 'men' aren't.

It's 'ladies' and 'gentlemen'- and 'men' and 'women'.

'African American' makes cultural assumptions and 'black' does not.

[tburnsten]

48. Which is why I don't like using it

"'African American' makes cultural assumptions and 'black' does not."



I don't like using the phrase/term "african-american" because it assumes that whatever or whoever is being described is either a direct immigrant from Africa or their immediate ancestors like parents or grandparents are. I also am not a fan of hyphenating descriptions of nationality unless it is actually accurate. I think current citizenship really eliminates or reduces the

[Captain Hilts]

65. Right. My room mate and I are both 'white' but we're NOT both Anglo...

She's an Ashkanazi and I'm actually of English/Scottish dissent.

It is accurate to say we're 'white', but not 'Anglo'. I'm glad 'Caucasion' is losing favor, because folks from the Caucuses are dark! It always confused me.

[DevonRex]

35. My family said Nigra. I think it was just the southern accent

messing with pronunciation. My family never used the other N-word and found it to be offensive. But saying those long vowels was difficult.

[Sarah Ibarruri]

8. It depends entirely on the context?

FOR EXAMPLE:

In Cuba, a man will call his beloved (whether she's black, white, or mixed), "mi negrita." Very affectionate term!!!

In Argentina, people who are close pals and buddies often call one another, "mi negro" (my black). I guess it's equivalent to being called, "my buddy." A term for close friends.

That's very different from, say, some 60s racist in Lakeland, Florida, saying, "You negroes are all.... "

[greguganus]

36. That reminds me when Fred Sanford went to a Mexican restaurant

with Julio, and Julio called the waiter "negro". Fred said "What did you just call him?". lol.

[valerief]

9. I like to write novels set in the sixties, and although I want to be PC,

I can't. If I want to deal with class or racial issues, I have to use "negro" or "colored." I've even used "niggrah" in dialogue by a violent bigot with a southern accent. Although "way back then" negro and colored were the polite terms, it still feels strange using them now.

[Bethany Rockafella]

10. I don't think it is.

Not to me. Not many use that phrase anymore though.

[live love laugh]

15. It isn't. nt

[EC]

11. To take ownership, the phrase "I'm black and I'm proud"

became the mantra...

[Captain Hilts]

24. Say it LOUD!

[Warpy]

12. When black folks fold us they preferred being called black folks

calling them something else became offensive.

[Raschel]

17. But who says all Blacks preferred it? Many Blacks were none too happy when African-American

was assigned. How it gets going and who decides, I have no idea.

[Captain Hilts]

23. When I taught college, I'd ask what term people preferred and there's no consensus.

Some preferred 'black', others 'African American'.

[TexasObserver]

13. It's the natural evolution of terms, and the sullying of such terms by detractors ...

... followed by the abandonment of the term, once it has become an epithet slung in anger too often.

The term "Negro" conveyed respect, but then is bruised and tattered. The term "Colored" did likewise. Then came "black." And "African-American."

As detractors seize a descriptive word and swing it in ugly bigotry, the word becomes less useful to those who may have begun its use.

The same thing occurred with words like "imbecile," "idiot," "moron," "retarded," and such. A word can begin wonderfully, and be subverted by those who hate or despise what it represents.

[valerief]

16. But you can call anyone an idiot, imbecile, or moron in a post and no one

gets on your case. Call them mentally retarded, and you're figuratively gang-raped.

Go figure. They all mean the same thing.

[Mind_your_head]

69. Apples to oranges comparison, imo.....

How many people (that aren't of a certain age) KNOW that idiot, imbecile, moron were 'scientific classsifications' of varying levels/degress of mental retardation.

Not many - almost none - of the children who were educated under "NCLB" know this.

It wasn't insult - it just was a general 'classification' to what degree a person with mental illness was dibilitated.

[UTUSN]

14. I dunno, but "Negro" in Spanish means "Black".

But in Hispanic culture, there really is a sensitivity about accepting humanity's conditions.

[Indenturedebtor]

76. I think that depends on where you're at

There's some pretty damn ugly racism in Mexico for example.

[qwlauren35]

19. It depends on how old you are.

My parents' generation was comfortable with colored & Negro. Colored is on my birth certificate. However, I grew up with "black", and have never been called Negro or Colored by anyone I can remember.

I know that I associate "Colored" with Jim Crow, and the photographs of the bathrooms and water fountains.

I don't get upset with anyone over 70 using those terms. But if you're under 50, and you use them, I assume that it's an act of defiance, a decision to define someone on your terms, instead of theirs.

Same thing with the Washington "Redskins". I don't think they're talking about potatoes...

It's not an "offensive word". It's just archaic. It's sort of like the double take people have when an older person uses the word "gay" to mean "happy".

[ladywnch]

25. Okay, I'm 50 and I grew up using the term 'black', and it is hard for

me to remember to use 'African-American'. It often feels awkward. Is it considered an offense to use the term 'black'?

[Blasphemer]

51. No... it is not offensive...

I use African-American mainly because I was fairly young when the term became popular but many still prefer Black. Most of my family prefers Black.

[BlooInBloo]

26. (facepalm)

[Brewman_Jax]

39. I think you're looking for this...

[Rancid Crabtree]

27. just a thought...

...why is 'third world country' seen as inoffensive in most circles...why is it okay for a representative to call his constituents 'rednecks' and people defend the usage...when will the PC police say that 'white trash' is verboten...or 'trailer trash' for that matter...seems to me that any term, whether it be 'black' or 'white' is offensive, taken in context...but I guess it's the way we communicate...to influence people...

[Norrin Radd]

58. I saw a really old Boy Scout manual, once, that used the term "low world'

instead of "third world."

[LeftHander]

28. Same reason ignorant cracker did....

It was used in a demeaning and offensive manner.

[ColoradoMagician]

29. The new generations create their own lingo

and that changes the rest of society's language.

Negro and Cracker are outdated, just as Groovy and Right On are outdated. Cool was the word when I was young, but now I am getting outdated and the younger generations have their words.

See, we are still evolving.

[Donald Ian Rankin]

30. It's a scientific term. It's like refering to "homo sapiens" instead of "people".

Nowadays negro is used as a scientific term, not a normal one - a pathologist talking about a corpse or an anthropologist studying population movements would still probably use it, but if someone used it in everyday conversation it would make people think "why is this person using this word instead of the obvious one", and the likely conclusion is "to mock".

It's not inherently offensive, but in most contexts it will raise eyebrows.

[Deep13]

33. In the 1960s it became code word for n****r. nt

[valerief]

34. I remember when I grew up in mid-20th century, there were three races:

Negroid, Caucasian, and Mongoloid. Now there are a gazillion. Of course, we know race is just a political category, but Negroid used to be an official term. Negro is a spin-off from that.

[question everything]

52. And these days, there are not many people who can claim only one race

and it would be difficult to anyone to describe oneself as 1/8 Asian, 1/8 Irish, 1/8 Latino, etc.

[valerief]

67. Race changes like fashion. There are no real races. They're just made up

for political purposes.

The only race people are is the human race. Well, except for Republicans.

[serrano2008]

37. Dont bash, just wondering - "colored people" vs "people of color"

Aren't those the same thing? I know that the term "colored people" is way outdated and is generally considered offensive to African Americans. But yesterday morning in Kansas City on the radio the talk radio DJ Chris Stigall said "people of color".

I'm just wondering why is "colored people" offensive but not "people of color"? Really they are the same thing, one just sounds fancier than the other.

[geomon666]

46. Yes they are the same thing.

You see people are generally stupid, no matter what color they are and so it's very easy to change a person's opinion about something just by juggling a few words around.

That's why Orwellian speech is so prevalent these days. Up is down, bad is good. No child left behind means every child is left behind but ask somebody about it that's not really politically aware and they'll flat out tell you, yeah we're taking care of our kids.

[Blasphemer]

50. Timing and intent

"Colored" was used negatively in the past in referring to African Americans. Within the past 10 years or so "people of color" has been used as a descriptor for non-whites inclusively. I use it sometimes instead of saying minorities, particularly when referring to women. For instance "Women of color" works better than "Minority Women" (which just sounds more negative IMO).

[Jack Rabbit]

40. It's not as offensive as quaint

It was Martin Luther King's word for Afro-Americans.

It was in the late sixties that the Black Power movement began to emphasize black as a word to signify pride in being black; there was an argument made by Stokely Carmichael, Ron Karanga and others that the Latin-based word Negro sugar-coated or hid the underlying "blackness" of Afro-Americans.

Returning to Dr. King, he was never comfortable with the word black or the militancy of the Black Power movement, which was too easily associated with the overt violence of inner-city riots.

Overall, even by the time Dr. King died in 1968, the word black was on its way to supplanting Negro as the word to denote Afro-Americans collectively.

[datasuspect]

41. because it is a label the white racist majority affixed to blacks

african americans are the only group in this country who have been denied the privilege of naming themselves in terms of their heritage.

their label has been applied to them by a pernicious majority who see them as less than human.

[devilgrrl]

42. Dumbest thread ever

:nuke:

[liberalpragmatist]

44. Why?

I'm just curious as to why the term "negro" was considered objectionable, given that it had been the proper and polite term beforehand.

[kwassa]

53. Because times change and people change and word meanings change

Rise of the black power movement in the late '60s changed the terminology of what is acceptable.

"Negro" isn't objectionable, it is just archaic and thereby somewhat quaint, as someone else pointed out.

[devilgrrl]

54. I always found the word to be condescending and I think the OP was intentionally incendiary

:puke:

[kwassa]

70. It is a strange question to ask

and I wonder about the true motivation.

[Kind of Blue]

43. Interesting. My family and I arrived here from Africa in 1968, I was 8years old.

My mother was incensed by the term Negro. She'd always say, "You are a Black African and one day when you become a citizen, an African-American. Don't you ever call yourself that." She thought Negro was insulting and demeaning because she thought Whites were always naming Blacks and reserved the right to identify herself. Plus, she always asked, "Why is everyone else identified with their ancestral land and not us?" Needless to say as a 20-something year old in the late '60s, she was thrilled with the black is beautiful movement and later the term African-American, and so am I. She was so angry about Negro that she had a word with my principal, a nun at a majority Black student populated Catholic school in Newark, New Jersey, and told the woman to get with the times. Well, shortly afterward, in choir practice we learned a new song called Black and Beautiful. Here are some of the lyrics:

Black and beautiful am I to my Lord. Your eyes are like dove. You're so beautiful my love. Like a flower among thorns is my love one to me. Your hair is like fleece. Your smile is like the sun. You're so beautiful. So beautiful my dear one to me.

I know it's schmaltzy but it always makes me weep a little for having such incredible parents and teachers in life.

[liberalpragmatist]

45. Thanks everyone

Just to clarify, since some people didn't understand my point -- I just was curious what about "negro" was seen as objectionable. I understand the history behind the term and yes, I did read the Wikipedia page and was already familiar with the "black is beautiful" movement.

Anyway, you guys have given some great answers and also given some interesting perspectives and stories along with it.

[HamdenRice]

47. This thread is bizarre.

At least many of the answers seem bizarre to me as an African American who grew up during the period that the change occurred. I wonder how many actual Negroes have chimed in on this topic in this thread. I suppose there is always a desire to reduce incredibly complicated issues to one line answers.


So the answer is: there is no single answer.

It was incredibly complicated, and involved changes on many different fronts -- many quite personal and wrenching. It was personally very difficult for many people to start using the term "Black."

So, no, James Brown did not unilaterally and instantly change what Black Americans called ourselves with his song. (The song reflected, not created, the change.)

The two "polite" terms that people used before the mid 1960s were "Colored" and "Negro". Contrary to what someone wrote upthread, "Colored" was not in any way considered an insult. In fact, Black people generally referred to themselves as "Colored" in everyday conversation. "Negro" was a more formal term that was generally used in political discourse. "Negro" had more of a collective connotation, as a sub-national grouping, so you might hear a political statement like "The Negro needs to protest his treatment ..." <note the singular for the entire group; sometimes, alternatively, "Negroes need..."> That's why generally Martin Luther King used the term, "Negro." He was talking politics.

But in everyday speech, a person generally would not use Negro, as in, "Your new co-worker, is he Colored or white?" sounds right, but "Your new co-worker, is he a Negro or white" isn't something an actual Negro would have said (although a white person might).

One factor I think that discredited the use of the term Negro was the particular way first Malcolm X and then the leaders of the Black Power movement used the term in political discourse. They referred to more conservative leaders as "so-called Negro leaders." It seemed to make a "Negro leader" sound like an ineffective, excessively cautious, overly deferential person, and by extension, Negroes in general. Hence today, Black people often use the term, "Negro" in exactly that way. Spike Lee in particular, employs this usage a lot.

It perhaps needs to be pointed out that "Black" was considered an insult by most African Americans before the 1960s. "Black and ugly" was a common put down, especially of women. Several Negro fraternities at what were then considered the elite Negro colleges (Howard U., Morehouse) had the so-called "paper bag test": you would not be invited to join if you were darker than a brown paper bag. Internal color consciousness and self-hatred was deep and vicious. There was, for example, a little jingle among the light skinned social elites:

"If you're black, get back.
If you're brown, get down.
If you're yellow, you're mellow.
If you're white, you're all right."

When certain radical leaders started telling saying that African Americans should call themselves, "Black," most middle class African Americans thought at first they were insane. It was much more than simply changing a term; it was embracing an insult to some extent to make its effect go away -- as in what's the matter with being "Black"? The whole point was to overcome color self-hatred which was rampant, and many of the people who urged its use had been deeply influenced by Afro-French thinkers like Franz Fanon, Aimé Césaire and Leopold Senghor.

[aint_no_life_nowhere]

59. That jingle comes from a tune by the great blues legend, Big Bill Broonzy

who was one of the most important voices in the Chicago blues scene. It was recorded by him in Paris, France in 1951. It was a lament about how black people were treated by American society. It might have been transformed into something else by the social elite but this is a song of protest:

Black, Brown And White (B. B. Broonzy)

This little song that I'm singin' about
People you know it's true
If you're black and gotta work for a living
This is what they will say to you

They says if you was white, should be all right
If you was brown, stick around
But as you's black, m-mm brother, git back git back git back

I was in a place one night
They was all having fun
They was all byin' beer and wine
But they would not sell me none

They said if you was white, should be all right
If you was brown, stick around
But if you black, m-mm brother, git back git back git back

Me and a man was workin' side by side
This is what it meant
They was paying him a dollar an hour
And they was paying me fifty cent

They said if you was white, 't should be all right
If you was brown, could stick around
But as you black, m-mm boy, git back git back git back

I went to an employment office
Got a number 'n' I got in line
They called everybody's number
But they never did call mine

They said if you was white, should be all right
If you was brown, could stick around
But as you black, m-mm brother, git back git back git back

I hope when sweet victory
With my plough and hoe
Now I want you to tell me brother
What you gonna do about the old Jim Crow?

Now if you was white, should be all right
If you was brown, could stick around
But if you black, whoa brother, git back git back git back

[HamdenRice]

61. Not really

He was repeating something that had been said many years before that recording. Langston Hughes and others had written about the saying much earlier.

[JustAnotherGen]

60. Hamden

Thank you for chiming in <--- from a black person (actually bi-racial :-) )person who wasn't born until the 1970's. That being the case - when I was in college my black friends and I used to joke with each other about CPT. Now I WOULD be offended if someone referred to me as a 'Colored' person - but somehow - we took 'Colored' and got silly with it. Funny - we would never use it when those folks in our group that were non-black were around. Only amongst ourselves.

For the non-black folks reading this - CPT is referring to Colored People Time. As in "Oh! Riva is on CPT again - she was late to Civ Libs class."

[EFerrari]

62. Unloading your inner colonizer. There's a one liner for you.

:)

[McCamy Taylor]

66. "Negro" is a lot like "Lady". It sounds stuck up. Like your shit don't stink.

I was born in 1959 and grew up in the "Don't trust anyone over 30 generation". I didn't know anyone under 30 who called themselves "negro" or "lady". Everyone I knew was into some kind of liberation.

"Dude" should be good enough for everyone except kids. They are "honey" or "sweetie".

[frogcycle]

71. thank you for the thorough and insightful discussion n/t

[baabaasheeple]

49. Now it means an Uncle Tom (I hear BP using it; not necessarily WP)

I suppose because it harkens back to the 50s and early 60s before the "militant" Black Power movement. I remember growing up in the 70s and cringing/giggling (I was a kid, remember) hearing my White grandma saying 'colored' (I am of mixed heritage). It just didn't sound kosher...

Actually, it means 'black' in Spanish and so in and of itself is not offensive. It's just outdated and an awkward choice of words.

[Cleita]

55. Negro means black in Spanish.

Since the Spaniards were some of the first slavers, I guess they used the word to describe their cargo. Perhaps it's just as well that the term has been retired.

[slackmaster]

56. It became offensive about the time President Lyndon B. Johnson learned how to pronounce it

For years he had been saying "Nigro". In a speech near the end of his term, he jokingly bemoaned the fact that they changed it to "black" after he learned to pronounce the word Negro.

[ailsagirl]

57. Per Wikipedia:

In the first 200 years that blacks had been in the United States, they commonly referred to themselves as Africans. In Africa, people primarily identified themselves by tribe or ethnic group (closely allied to language) and not by skin color. Individuals would be Asante, Yoruba, Kikongo or Wolof. But when Africans were brought to the Americas they were forced to give up their tribal affiliations for fear of uprisings. The result was the Africans had to intermingle with other Africans from different tribal groups. This is significant as Africans came from a vast geographic region, the West African coastline stretching from Senegal to Angola and in some cases from the south east coast such as Mozambique. A new identity and culture was born that incorporated elements of the various tribal groups and of European cultural heritage, resulting in fusions such as the Black church and Black English. This new identity was now based on skin color and African ancestry rather than any one tribal group.<8>

In March 1807, Britain, which largely controlled the Atlantic, declared the trans-atlantic slave trade illegal, as did the United States. (The latter prohibition took effect January 1, 1808, the earliest date on which Congress had the power to do so under Article I, Section 9 of the United States Constitution.)

By that time, the majority of blacks were U.S.-born, so use of the term "African" became problematic. Though initially a source of pride, many blacks feared its continued use would be a hindrance to their fight for full citizenship in the US. They also felt that it would give ammunition to those who were advocating repatriating blacks back to Africa. In 1835 black leaders called upon black Americans to remove the title of "African" from their institutions and replace it with "Negro" or "Colored American". A few institutions however elected to keep their historical names such as African Methodist Episcopal Church. "Negro" and "colored" remained the popular terms until the late 1960s.<30>

The term black was used throughout but not frequently as it carried a certain stigma. In his 1963 "I Have a Dream" speech,<31> Martin Luther King, Jr. uses the terms Negro 15 times and black 4 times. Each time he uses black it is in parallel construction with white (e.g., black men and white men).<32> With the successes of the civil rights movement a new term was needed to break from the past and help shed the reminders of legalized discrimination. In place of Negro, black was promoted as standing for racial pride, militancy and power. Some of the turning points included the use of the term "Black Power" by Kwame Toure (Stokely Carmichael) and the release of James Brown's song "Say It Loud - I'm Black and I'm Proud".

In 1988 Jesse Jackson urged Americans to use the term African American because the term has a historical cultural base. Since then African American and black have essentially a coequal status. There is still much controversy over which term is more appropriate. Some strongly reject the term African American in preference for black citing that they have little connection with Africa. Others believe the term black is inaccurate because African Americans have a variety of skin tones.<33> Surveys show that when interacting with each other African Americans prefer the term black, as it is associated with intimacy and familiarity. The term "African American" is preferred for public and formal use.<34> The appropriateness of this term is further confused, however, by increases in black immigrants from Africa the Caribbean and Latin America. The more recent immigrants, may sometimes view themselves, and be viewed, as culturally distinct from native descendants of African slaves.<35>

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_people

[frogcycle]

73. Does the term "Nigra" give you a clue?

I lived through the several eras - there were "colored people" in my school in California; then we moved to NC and there weren't any "n*****s" in the segregated school. Then we moved to Tn, and desegregation introduced Negro kids to the formerly all-white schools, but some of them were actually "colored" until suddenly they all became "black." Later I got a job in DC, and the Black employees were uneasily trying to assimilate into a mostly white environment, but soon they became African American.

I quit trying to keep up when they became "people of color." Seemed like we'd come full circle, except now it was three words instead of two.

I was relieved to read several years ago that there is less DNA difference between Scandinavians and a particular African sub-population than there is between two African populations. Now I can relax and just call everyone people. Some are darker than I, but labels are neither necessary nor accurate.

[plaintiff]

75. Depends on pronunciation: "nee-gro" is verboten these days. "nay-gro" is okay if you're

Hispanic (or talking to one en espanol) about squares on a checkerboard, cosmic holes, a roulette bet...stuff like that. Keeping up with politically-correct terminology is a fulltime job for anybody who wants to stay on the cutting edge of politics in Amerika. :D

[Jamastiene]

77. It sounds too much like that other word my grandmother uses all the time.

Why don't we just call them, "people" and get on with the human race? Michael Jackson is now white. I can tan. Some epilepsy medicines used to turn people green. A sick liver turns people yellow. We are all people. Big whoop. Why MUST we have all these petty sidetracking arguments based on skin color?

People, that's what we should call them and be done with it already. We'll NEVER move forward to a better tomorrow until we stop calling each other names. The need to call each other names is divisive and keeps people apart.

[goodgd_yall]

78. Because it shows one's out of touch

and deliberately deciding "I'll call them what I want." Only people 80 years or older can get away with saying "Negro" with impunity.