# Colored people is now a slur? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [August 22, 2016, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/colored-people-is-now-a-slur/763654 "2016-08-22T18:44:20Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Omar\_Little](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omar_little/32/269_2.png) [@Omar\_Little](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omar_Little)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2016, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/colored-people-is-now-a-slur/763654/21 "2016-08-22T20:38:30Z")
> [@Inner\_Stickler](#): > > The NAACP was also founded in 1909 when colored person was far more common and not necessarily derogatory. Were the organization founded today, I am skeptical it would be the NAACP. Are you saying that once an organization founds itself, it isn’t permitted to change its name? Why would NAACP still use the term colored people if it was considered racist? It’s a simple stroke of a pen and filing documents to change the name to the National Association for the Advancement of People of Color (NAAPC). My guess is that they don’t consider it racist and Robach or someone at ABC is overly politically correct. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2016, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/colored-people-is-now-a-slur/763654/22 "2016-08-22T20:42:05Z")
> [@Inner\_Stickler](#): > > The NAACP was also founded in 1909 when colored person was far more common and not necessarily derogatory. Were the organization founded today, I am skeptical it would be the NAACP. > . So, they cant change their name, eh?:dubious: ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2016, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/colored-people-is-now-a-slur/763654/23 "2016-08-22T20:45:25Z")
They were gonna change the name to the N-double-A-double-A but that was offensive to people who stutter. Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![yellowjacketcoder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/4bbf92/32.png) [@yellowjacketcoder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yellowjacketcoder)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2016, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/colored-people-is-now-a-slur/763654/24 "2016-08-22T20:53:21Z")
> [@Duke\_of\_Rat](#): > > What, that he’s not American? He’s not African either. Born in London. (The joke is that an American reporter had a brain fart and described him as African-American, and he bemusedly responded that he was neither). ---
**Author:** ![bobot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobot/32/21622_2.png) [@bobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobot)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2016, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/colored-people-is-now-a-slur/763654/25 "2016-08-22T20:54:16Z")
> [@Omar\_Little](#): > > Are you saying that once an organization founds itself, it isn’t permitted to change its name? Why would NAACP still use the term colored people if it was considered racist? > > … Could be as a reminder of past degradations, much the same way That Emmett Till’s mother insisted on an open casket for his funeral, notwithstanding the condition of his face. ---
**Author:** ![Inner\_Stickler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inner_stickler/32/318_2.png) [@Inner\_Stickler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inner_Stickler)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2016, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/colored-people-is-now-a-slur/763654/26 "2016-08-22T20:54:44Z")
I never said that the NAACP considers colored person racist. _I_ consider colored person racist. For what it’s worth, not that I think you actually care, the NAACP feels that the historical significance of the name outweighs the pejorative associations with colored person. If they did decide to change their name, that wouldn’t bother me. ---
**Author:** ![Icarus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/icarus/32/72_2.png) [@Icarus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Icarus)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2016, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/colored-people-is-now-a-slur/763654/27 "2016-08-22T21:00:34Z")
> [@aldiboronti](#): > > From [NY Daily News](http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/tv/gma-host-amy-robach-apologizes-racial-slur-article-1.2760927): > > Try as I might I cannot see for the life of me see the difference between _colored people_ and _people of color_. You change the order of the words and suddenly it’s racist? Is this really the case? Basically, the rule is that you don’t get to decide what to call them, they do (any “they”, doesn’t matter who “they” is). If you live by that rule, you’ll be better off. Yes, sometimes it seems like it’s changing before your eyes - again, they get to decide when and how frequently it changes. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2016, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/colored-people-is-now-a-slur/763654/28 "2016-08-22T21:11:31Z")
It was a mistake, easy to make when the phrase ‘people of color’ is used. There’s no reason to think she meant anything else. ‘Colored people’ was still used widely in the 60s when I was growing up around DC. At some point mid 60s ‘black’ began to take hold. It was a much better term than what is was replacing, I recall that it mainly went out of style and it’s continued use was a sign of someone who didn’t like the direction of change. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2016, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/colored-people-is-now-a-slur/763654/29 "2016-08-22T21:31:01Z")
> [@levdrakon](#): > > So white is racist but person of white isn’t? Persons of pallidity, thank you very much. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2016, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/colored-people-is-now-a-slur/763654/30 "2016-08-22T21:31:03Z")
“We don’t serve colored people.” “That’s alright, I don’t eat colored people. Bring me a whole fried chicken.”\* \*Dick Gregory, eating out down South. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2016, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/colored-people-is-now-a-slur/763654/31 "2016-08-22T21:45:08Z")
> [@Jackmannii](#): > > “We don’t serve colored people.” > > “That’s alright, I don’t eat colored people. Bring me a whole fried chicken.”\* > > \*Dick Gregory, eating out down South. “Four fried chickens and a Coke.” Joliet Jake. ---
**Author:** ![spifflog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c5a1d2/32.png) [@spifflog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/spifflog)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2016, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/colored-people-is-now-a-slur/763654/32 "2016-08-22T21:55:04Z")
I just spent the weekend with 6 college friends, 4 of whom are gay. And as one of the 2 straight guys, I’ve heard “fag,” “homo,” and “queer” from the 4 more in the last three days than I’ve heard in the last 15 years, so my sensibilities may be a tad skewed. Is there no middle ground between acceptable and offensive? Did “colored” go right from one to the other with no stop at “antiquated,” “out of vogue” or “old fashioned?” And I guess if the NAACP was called the NAAN, they’d find a way to change the name, so part of me wonders just how completely offensive it really is. People should be allowed to dictate how they are referred to. And there is enough genuine hate in this world already. But it seems to me people are just looking for a way to be pissed. [sigh] ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2016, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/colored-people-is-now-a-slur/763654/33 "2016-08-22T22:04:59Z")
> [@spifflog](#): > > Is there no middle ground between acceptable and offensive? Did “colored” go right from one to the other with no stop at “antiquated,” “out of vogue” or “old fashioned?” > People should be allowed to dictate how they are referred to. And there is enough genuine hate in this world already. But it seems to me people are just looking for a way to be pissed. [sigh] You’re absolutely right. \*Colored People \*is not a slur. Outdated, not politically correct and off putting yes. But not a slur. ---
**Author:** ![Aspidistra](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspidistra/32/3894_2.png) [@Aspidistra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspidistra)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2016, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/colored-people-is-now-a-slur/763654/34 "2016-08-22T22:08:05Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > There’s a trend nowadays in some circles for what’s called “person-first terminology”. It applies to all sorts of descriptors, not just race: Thus, for instance, one is supposed to say “person with autism”, instead of “autistic person”. The purported rationale for it is that leading off with the adjective is supposedly dehumanizing, while person-first terminology affirms that the person is first and foremost a person. In practice, though, the person-first terminology is often awkward enough that it serves only to draw attention to the qualifier. Yes, and there’s a subsection of the autistic community that thinks it’s bloody silly and wishes everyone would knock it off. [Cite](http://www.identityfirstautistic.org/#!mission-statement-/cee5) ---
**Author:** ![UltraVires](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ecccb3/32.png) [@UltraVires](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UltraVires)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2016, 10:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/colored-people-is-now-a-slur/763654/35 "2016-08-22T22:44:59Z")
> [@spifflog](#): > > People should be allowed to dictate how they are referred to. Who is the spokesperson for the group? ---
**Author:** ![alphaboi867](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alphaboi867/32/3898_2.png) [@alphaboi867](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alphaboi867)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2016, 11:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/colored-people-is-now-a-slur/763654/36 "2016-08-22T23:00:02Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > The only person I knew who used the term colored people was my grandmother. She got excused because she was born in 1900. My grandfather (born 1923) was over the Moon when Obama was elected and would not shut up about how excited he was because he’d never imagined he’d ever live to us “a colored President”. He made similar comments about Condoleezza Rice. Personally I’d never use words like colored or Negro outside of a historical context. ---
**Author:** ![SmartAlecCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/67e7ee/32.png) [@SmartAlecCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmartAlecCat)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2016, 11:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/colored-people-is-now-a-slur/763654/37 "2016-08-22T23:52:11Z")
> [@yellowjacketcoder](#): > > I am not sure the status of African-American, except that Idris Elba doesn’t like being called that 🙂 African-American, like Charlize Theron? ---
**Author:** ![levdrakon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@levdrakon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/levdrakon)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2016, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/colored-people-is-now-a-slur/763654/38 "2016-08-22T23:59:32Z")
> [@yellowjacketcoder](#): > > He’s not African either. Born in London. > > (The joke is that an American reporter had a brain fart and described him as African-American, and he bemusedly responded that he was neither). The joke is on PC-ists who not-so-passive aggressively jerk people around playing “what’s okay to say today” and when they inevitably trip up with the best of intentions the PC-ists have a good laugh. Were I in another country and an American said “African American” I wouldn’t childishly deride them for meaning well. Of course, I was raised with manners. ---
**Author:** ![octopus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/octopus/32/3716_2.png) [@octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/octopus)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2016, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/colored-people-is-now-a-slur/763654/39 "2016-08-23T01:35:33Z")
I don’t care. I just say white or black. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2016, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/colored-people-is-now-a-slur/763654/40 "2016-08-23T01:45:37Z")
> [@Aspidistra](#): > > Yes, and there’s a subsection of the autistic community that thinks it’s bloody silly and wishes everyone would knock it off. > > [Cite](http://www.identityfirstautistic.org/#!mission-statement-/cee5) We used to say “hearing impaired” to be both correct and politically correct. Now “deaf” people want “deaf”. :rolleyes: [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/colored-people-is-now-a-slur/763654.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/colored-people-is-now-a-slur/763654.md?page=3)