Dare To Ask Talk And News About Our Differences - This topic has 12 replies, 13 voices, and was last updated 19 years, 1 month ago by
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- Why are African Americans offended if referred to as 'colored'?
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Name : Me21911, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Southern Baptist, Age : 25, City : Mt. Clemens, State : MI Country : United States, Education level : 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class,It's right up there with nigger, darkie, coon, Sambo, jigaboo and spear chucker. It is little more than a racial slur. The proper term for us is BLACK or AFRICAN AMERICAN.User Detail :
Name : Rhonda-P-Outlaw30015, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : Black/African American, Religion : Lutheran, Age : 42, City : Laurelton, State : NY Country : United States, Education level : 2 Years of College, Social class : Middle class,How would you feel if someone referred to you to being colored? Colored what? Pink? I mean, it's not an accurate description. I refer to myself as black because I'm dark as a black night. But I don't feel that even that is an accurate description of African American people. No one is really black and no one is really white. Colored is offensive mostly because it's from the civil right's era where so many black people faced danger and discrimination. So, I'm guessing that's why others are offended. But I just told you why I'm offended.User Detail :
Name : OrinocoNavajo, City : Anniston, State : AL Country : United States,When the term 'colored' was used to describe Blacks, the country was much more racially polarized than it is today. Frequently, the term was used with disdain, and spat out at African-Americans in a slur-like manner. It was also interesting to Blacks that the term was used exclusively for them, but the only race that is not 'colored' are whites. What color is 'colored' anyway? The word 'colored' was the one sprawed on segragated bathrooms, water fountains, seating areas and so forth.It was usually associated with facilities that were unfairly substandard compared with the same facilities for white people. Many Black Americans associate the term with a dark, hostile, and oppressive time in our country's history.That is not fun to be reminded of. Just stick to 'Black' or 'African-American' okay? I know many Blacks who would be incredibly offended (myself included),if you refered to us as 'colored'.User Detail :
Name : Amber31560, Gender : F, Race : Black/African American, Age : 24, City : Greeville, State : NC Country : United States, Occupation : student, Social class : Middle class,This reminds me of a narrative I heard years ago which went: A black man walks into a cafe one early morning and noticed that he was the only black man there. As he sat down, he noticed a white man behind him. The white man said, 'Colored people are not allowed here...' The black man turned around and stood up. He then said, 'When I was born I was black,' 'When I grew up I was black,' 'When I'm sick, I'm black,' 'when I'm cold I'm black,' 'When I die I'll be black.' 'But you sir...' 'When you're born you're pink,' 'When you grow up you're white' 'When you're sick, you're green,' 'When you go in the sun you turn red,' 'When you're cold you turn blue,' 'And when you die you're purple.' 'And YOU have the nerve to call ME colored?'User Detail :
Name : Lynn-H22493, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : Black/African American, City : Louisville, State : KY Country : United States,Spaniards called us 'negro,' which is used to describe a black OBJECT in order to dehumanize us for slave-trading purposes. English called us 'Negro' (with no accent) to go along with the Spaniards. Americans decided to call us 'colored' in the hard-lived '50s; Afrikaaners use it to differentiate between light-skinned or brown Africans mixed with European and dark-skinned, or 'black' Africans who are not mixed. We decided to call ourselves black over political and empowerment issues in the '60s, and some took on 'African American' for different political reasons in the '90s. I would take offense at being called colored because of the negative history it represents: an era of flagrant civil rights injustices, poor opportunity, legalized discrimination, etc. Also, it's an inaccurate term. Even as a white person, you have color, too, unless you are translucent.User Detail :
Name : Rasmane, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : Black/African American, Age : 30, City : Inglewood, State : CA Country : United States, Occupation : Artist, Education level : 2 Years of College,If the term colored is so offensive, why in the world does the NAACP still use it? I find the term colored offensive as well, along with black, negro, and all the applicable slurs. Why can't we all just be Americans. What chaps my ass is that on the one hand you'll hear a minority squeal for equality but then they are often the first one to point out that they are a 'person of color'. Dr. King wanted men to be judged by the content of their character. I would submit that equality activists should once and for all release their death grip on their own self-imposed labels, maybe then they'd be treated with equal respect.User Detail :
Name : Matt Whipple, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Baptist, Age : 34, City : Atlanta, State : GA Country : United States, Occupation : Consultant, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Upper middle class,For the same reason I'm sure you wouldn't want to be called a 'cracker'. The term is demeaning.User Detail :
Name : Tharisicia, City : Tallahassee, State : FL Country : United States,Colored implies a group of many colors. Persons who first used the term were not concerned about the identities of the 'colored' people. they just wanted to lump them all together. Coloreds. well, what color are you? We are Black people. Negro is the latin word for black. I do have a problem with the term African-American. It refers to nationality rather than race. can a white person be African-American? Sure they can. Take any white person born on the mother continent and if they come to the United States and become a citizen, they would be, in the truest sense, African-American. Similarly, a Black person born in Italy who becomes a citizen of this country, would be Italian-American. But we look and see a black man. Back in the day, we would say he is a colored man. So 50's. Today, say Here is a black man.User Detail :
Name : darryl del pino, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : Black/African American, Religion : Unitarian, Age : 50, City : randallstown, State : MD Country : United States, Occupation : consultant, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class,The term 'colored' is, to me, offensive for ALL minorities. I'm Chinese-Iranian and I take offense whenever I see something for 'colored people' or representing 'people of color'. I guess to me it's too reminiscent of the days of segregation, where you split people up between 'white' and 'colored'. The term doesn't make me feel like I'm a part of my society, it makes me feel like an outsider. It's a rather outdated term that makes me think of the 50's, a time when discrimination was much more widely accepted than it is now. I also feel as though it lumps all minorities into one big 'colored' group. If you've got a non-white face, you're colored. It's like the racial makeup of society is centered around white people, I guess. You've got whites, which are one race, and then colored people, which are EVERYBODY else.User Detail :
Name : Nadia, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : Chinese-Iranian, Religion : Agnostic, Age : 16, City : Bensalem, State : PA Country : United States, Occupation : student, Education level : Less than High School Diploma, Social class : Middle class,I think if the term colored came about in this day and age it probably wouldnt be a big deal. However the term was historically used in a racist sense, and as a result the racist connotations that go along with the term (whether implied by the speaker or not) cause feelings of racism and negaitivity.User Detail :
Name : Jay31322, City : Tokyo, State : NA Country : Japan,its ok if you dont understand why we dont want to be called colored. we've undergone many name changes since our involuntary vacation a few centuries ago, and after building your country for you, why dont you just call us what we ask you to. its been said that when you dont have a cultural background, you have no appreciation for anyone elses. my father recieved a speech from his mother daily on how to conduct in public so he wouldnt get killed by white men and women who often reffered to him as colored. do you understand? my grandfather sharecropped and earned nothing but came home happy everyday to 11 children. his wife raised the children of the white man he worked for. this man often referred to him as colored, boy, or nigger. do you understand? i know you'll call us what you want, but what we've been trying to get white people to understand is that theres more to us than these idiodic, titular categories you try to put us in.User Detail :
Name : bruce-wayne19291, Gender : M, Race : Black/African American, Age : 28, City : gotham, State : GA Country : United States,and I'm white. There is a definate negative context to it. A few years back at work I had a customer refer to one of my coworkers as the 'little colored girl.' How is that not demeaning?User Detail :
Name : Naomi, Gender : F, Race : White/Caucasian, Age : 25, City : Greensboro, State : NC Country : United States, Occupation : stay at home mom, Education level : 2 Years of College, Social class : Middle class,
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