Sunday, January 17, 2010
Just as it did in 2000 and prior decennial periods, the federal government this year is using the term “Negro” on forms for the 2010 Census. But the word is creating opposition among younger African-Americans who consider Negro not just outdated, but actually racist.
Question No. 9 of the U.S. Census Bureau form asks respondents to identify their ethnicity. One choice is “black, African-Am. or Negro.” The bureau says the word was intended as a term of inclusion, because many older African-Americans identify themselves that way. During the 2000 count, about 56,000 respondents wrote down “Negro” when asked for their race, even though the term was already an option.
“Negro” was widely accepted until the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s. After that, “black” or “Afro-American” became popular in the 1970s, and then “African-American” in the 1980s.
Even organizations that have retained the word Negro in their name now deemphasize it. For example, the United Negro College Fund, which was founded in 1944, now calls itself “UNCF.”
-Noel Brinkerhoff
Use of Word Negro on 2010 Census Forms Raises Memories of Jim Crow (by Katie Mcfadden and Larry Mcshane, New York Daily News)
The Word 'Negro' on 2010 Census Form Offends Some Blacks (by Bonnie Davis, The Grio)
Census Will Test Dropping 'Negro' From Forms (by Ed O’Keefe, Washington Post)
When Did the Word Negro Become Taboo? (by Brian Palmer, Slate)
History of the Word ‘Nigger’ (African America Registry)
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