The government is only now removing 'negro' and 'oriental' from law texts

On Monday a bill to excise outdated racial language from federal law passed the House of Representatives by unanimous vote.

Sponsored by Rep. Grace Meng (D-N.Y.), the bill will remove all mentions of words like "negro" and "oriental" (when applied to a person) and replace them with updated terms, including "Asian-American, Native Hawaiian, a Pacific Islander, African-American, Hispanic, Puerto Rican, Native American, or an Alaska Native."

"The word 'Oriental' is an offensive and derogatory term that should no longer be used by the federal government," Meng explained. "Nobody in our country, regardless of ethnicity, should be referred to in an insulting manner by the government."

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