The 'Negro' conundrum

In the wake of Harry Reid’s controversial race remarks, some commentators are debating whether the word "Negro" is offensive

The controversy surrounding Sen. Majority Leader Harry Reid's reported remarks about President Obama’s "light skin" and lack of "Negro dialect" has ignited a new debate: While many people see discarded terms such as "Negro" and "colored" as offensive throwbacks to the nation's painful racial past, others interpret them as a reflection of African-American pride and diversity. Are these words unavoidably disrespectful, or should they get a second chance? (Watch an ABC report about Harry Reid's choice of words)

Let’s bring back ‘Negro’: "I find the term African American unwieldy," says Stanley Crouch in the New York Daily News. I prefer the terms Negro and black. "Negro" is far from backward — "the magnificent people who used that word to describe themselves" defanged the "Grand Dragons of Southern racism." They led "our most recent civil war," won civil rights for all, and gave the word "majesty."

“Then & now, I’m a Negro: The people who used that word gave it majesty”

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

We've abandoned the word "Negro" for a reason: Though a point of historical pride for some, says David A. Love at TheGrio, the term "Negro" can also rekindle memories of Jim Crow segregation, and "conjure up images of slave ships, whips and chains." It may be more dignified than 'Colored' or 'boy,'" but it just isn't as "empowering or forward-thinking as 'black' or 'African-American.'"

"Is Negro the new black?"

Some "African-Americans" prefer "colored": Reverting to the term “colored” might seem “difficult to swallow at first,” says Cord Jefferson at The Root, but give it another look. Yes, the term is antiquated, and anyone who uses it "is likely aged and out of touch at best, racist at worst." But the NAACP — "the most famous black organization in the world" — uses the word "colored" proudly in its name. And it's just more accurate than "black." People of color in America "are just that—colored."

“Forget 'Negro'! Let's go back to 'colored'!”

.........................................

SEE THE WEEK'S RELATED COVERAGE:

Harry Reid's "Negro" mess

Sunday Morning Talk Show Briefing—Was Harry Reid's 'Negro' dialect gaffe racist?

To continue reading this article...
Continue reading this article and get limited website access each month.
Get unlimited website access, exclusive newsletters plus much more.
Cancel or pause at any time.
Already a subscriber to The Week?
Not sure which email you used for your subscription? Contact us