# Is the word "Negro" offensive? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [November 21, 2004, 11:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-word-negro-offensive/275940 "2004-11-21T11:24:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Askia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/96bed5/32.png) [@Askia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Askia)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2004, 1:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-word-negro-offensive/275940/41 "2004-11-22T13:17:08Z")
I see SCSU still has no problem picking their Strom Thurmond scholarship winners. Outstanding, sir, and congratulations! You’re a white guy on a historically black campus using those terms? What’s your major, Mascochist Beatings? ---
**Author:** ![tomndebb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@tomndebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomndebb)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2004, 1:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-word-negro-offensive/275940/42 "2004-11-22T13:38:29Z")
To add just a bit to **Green Bean** ’s good summary: In the late 1960s there was a spirited debate _within_ the black community regarding how they should identify themselves (and how they would ask (or demand) others to identify them). “Colored” was not, specifically, a derogatory term and many people of all colors used it in casual conversation with no intention of disrespect. Unfortunately, the signs over restrooms, water fountains, and other public utilities and buildings in Jim Crow areas pretty universally used the word _colored_ to indicate who was relegated to the second class status. That rendered that word unacceptable to a lot of people. The newspapers tended to use _Negro_ (note the capitalization) as a counterpart to the “scientific” _Caucasian_, however, Caucasian was rarely used in actual news reports–the most common term being _white_. The argument that basically won the discussion was that if “whites” were going to self-identify as “white” then “blacks” should self-identify in a corresponding term. _Black_ had been a slightly derogatory term, less polite than _colored_, but was “taken back” and made acceptable (hence “Black is beautiful!”) specifically to put blacks on an equal footing with whites in the language. As a result of this discussion, the chosen term was _black_ (spelled without capitalization–although 35+ years later, I see it capitalized from time to time). ---
**Author:** ![TellMeI\_mNotCrazy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tellmei_mnotcrazy/32/3419_2.png) [@TellMeI\_mNotCrazy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TellMeI_mNotCrazy)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2004, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-word-negro-offensive/275940/43 "2004-11-22T15:08:09Z")
> [@hlanelee](#): > > I live in South Carolina, near Orangeburg. I’m white but I am a full time student at South Carolina State University. Some people are offended by “negro”, some people are offended by anything. If it is my intent to offend someone of that race, I prefer to call them COON, if I want to be particularly offensive, they will be a PICK-A-NINNY. I can easily offend anyone of any race with non-racially offensive words. Unless I’m being whooshed, I’m completely lost as to why anyone would use a racial slur against someone, regardless of the situation, unless they had zero respect for that race as a whole. ---
**Author:** ![UrbanChic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/9dc877/32.png) [@UrbanChic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UrbanChic)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2004, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-word-negro-offensive/275940/44 "2004-11-22T15:40:46Z")
> [@hlanelee](#): > > If it is my intent to offend someone of that race, I prefer to call them COON, if I want to be particularly offensive, they will be a PICK-A-NINNY. I’ve never head the term pick-a-ninny before. What are its origins? ---
**Author:** ![holmes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e95f7d/32.png) [@holmes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/holmes)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2004, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-word-negro-offensive/275940/45 "2004-11-22T16:18:18Z")
> [@UrbanChic](#): > > I’ve never head the term pick-a-ninny before. What are its origins? Best guess: It’s an offshot from “cotton picker”, and refers to African-American children, that’s the context I used to hear it in. ---
**Author:** ![Ravenman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ravenman/32/2929_2.png) [@Ravenman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ravenman)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2004, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-word-negro-offensive/275940/46 "2004-11-22T16:21:29Z")
I usually find that dictionaries are decent arbiters of disputes on whether or not a particular term is offensive. See [here:](http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=black) (usage note at bottom) > [@](#): > > Usage Note: The Oxford English Dictionary contains evidence of the use of black with reference to African peoples as early as 1400, and certainly the word has been in wide use in racial and ethnic contexts ever since. However, it was not until the late 1960s that black (or Black) gained its present status as a self-chosen ethnonym with strong connotations of racial pride, replacing the then-current Negro among Blacks and non-Blacks alike with remarkable speed. Equally significant is the degree to which Negro became discredited in the process, reflecting the profound changes taking place in the Black community during the tumultuous years of the civil rights and Black Power movements. ---
**Author:** ![Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tapioca_Dextrin)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2004, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-word-negro-offensive/275940/47 "2004-11-22T16:30:35Z")
> [@UrbanChic](#): > > I’ve never head the term pick-a-ninny before. What are its origins? From [wordorigins](http://www.wordorigins.org/wordorp.htm#Piccaninny) > [@](#): > > This word is a West Indian variation on the Spanish pequeno or pequenino meaning diminutive or tiny one. It entered English around 1687. Applied to small, black children, originally it was a term of endearment but is considered offensive today ---
**Author:** ![Coin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/779978/32.png) [@Coin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Coin)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2004, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-word-negro-offensive/275940/48 "2004-11-23T00:08:33Z")
> [@hlanelee](#): > > I live in South Carolina, near Orangeburg. I’m white but I am a full time student at South Carolina State University. Some people are offended by “negro”, some people are offended by anything. If it is my intent to offend someone of that race, I prefer to call them COON, if I want to be particularly offensive, they will be a PICK-A-NINNY. I generally prefer “asshole” or “stupid motherfucker”. They have the advantage of not automatically leaving bystanders with the impression that I am an ignorant bigot who isn’t ready for college yet, plus I can say the same thing later to whites, Asians, and Sherpas who offend me. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![DanBlather](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/f4b2a3/32.png) [@DanBlather](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DanBlather)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2004, 12:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-word-negro-offensive/275940/49 "2004-11-23T00:11:21Z")
> [@hlanelee](#): > > I live in South Carolina, near Orangeburg. I’m white but I am a full time student at South Carolina State University. Some people are offended by “negro”, some people are offended by anything. If it is my intent to offend someone of that race, I prefer to call them COON, if I want to be particularly offensive, they will be a PICK-A-NINNY. Do you find “cracker” offensive? ---
**Author:** ![GorillaMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/50afbb/32.png) [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2004, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-word-negro-offensive/275940/50 "2004-11-23T00:13:14Z")
> [@tomndebb](#): > > “Colored” was not, specifically, a derogatory term and many people of all colors used it in casual conversation with no intention of disrespect. Unfortunately, the signs over restrooms, water fountains, and other public utilities and buildings in Jim Crow areas pretty universally used the word _colored_ to indicate who was relegated to the second class status. That rendered that word unacceptable to a lot of people. Pure speculation: I wonder if another influence on the rejection of ‘coloured’ was its contemporaneous appearance as one of the four catagories of apartheid (alongside ‘black’ ‘white’ and ‘asian’)? ---
**Author:** ![Ignatz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/3be4f8/32.png) [@Ignatz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ignatz)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2004, 1:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-word-negro-offensive/275940/51 "2004-11-23T01:16:23Z")
For more history on the word’s usage over time- “Blacks furiously objectd to _Negro_ being spelled with a lower- as opposed to an upper case _N_, and on March 7, 1930, the editors of the \*New York Times \* announced that the paper would henceforth capitalize the _N_ in _Negro_. The U. S. Government Printing Office followed suit three years later. Within a decade, capitalization would become the rule at the Supreme COurt as well.” Kennedy, Randall, “nigger-The Strange Career of a Troublesome Word”, Pantheon Books, New York, 2003, page 114. And, for a slight /hijack/, not just the “N/n” words need forethought- “Addressing all black men as “boys”, regardless of their age, was another way to observe Jim Crow etiquette.” \*ibid. \* In the last quote, “was” can be changed to “is” where I work! ☹☹☹ :mad: ---
**Author:** ![hlanelee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/3bc359/32.png) [@hlanelee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hlanelee)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2004, 2:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-word-negro-offensive/275940/52 "2004-11-23T02:39:19Z")
> [@](#): > > Do you find “cracker” offensive? **Mr. Blather** , names do not offend me. There aren’t many that I have not been called. And\*\* Mr. Coin\*\*, as far as generic insults are concerned, I prefer to call someone a “Cocksucker” or if I am emphatic about it, a “Miserable Cocksucker”. Once when I was driving in traffic with my girlfriend, though, I made a mistake, someone cut me off and I exclaimed very loudly, “Miserable Cocksucker!!!” She never gave me head again. ☹ And she was good at it, too. ---
**Author:** ![rolandgunslinger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/cdc98d/32.png) [@rolandgunslinger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rolandgunslinger)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2004, 3:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-word-negro-offensive/275940/53 "2004-11-23T03:36:03Z")
> [@Mama Tiger](#): > > And yet it’s all in the perspective; we were just grateful when my grandparents moved on to “nigra” from their previously preferred selection. Considering that she was already in her 80s by that time, we felt that was a real achievement. > > My personal take on the whole thing? Is best summed up by that classic 1988 Bloom County cartoon, which is funny even without the drawings: > > _Mom_: That’s the most adorable little colored girl playing outside. > _Steve_: “Colored”? You’re saying “colored people” in 1988? You know better, Ma. > _Mom_: Then why the "National Association for the Advancement of Colored People? I don’t think Negroes mind at all. > _Steve_: Don’t say “Negroes,” Ma! You can’t say “Negroes”! > _Mom_: Can I say “United Negro College Fund”? > _Steve_: You are baiting me, Ma! > _Dad_: That’s it. We’re leaving. > _Mom_: Stay put, Reginald. "Mister Socially Sensitive"isn’t finished shaming his parents into enlightenment. > _Steve_: Everybody just calm down. Let’s agree to use the the New-Age term “People of Color.” > _Mom_: People of Color. > _Steve_: People of Color. > _Mom_: Colored people. > _Steve_: NO!! > _Dad_: We’re leaving. You beat me to it! One of the funniest Bloom County strips. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![tomndebb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@tomndebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomndebb)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2004, 3:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-word-negro-offensive/275940/54 "2004-11-23T03:45:51Z")
> [@](#): > > Pure speculation: I wonder if another influence on the rejection of ‘coloured’ was its contemporaneous appearance as one of the four catagories of apartheid (alongside ‘black’ ‘white’ and ‘asian’)? I suspect not. While the well-read among U.S. Civil Rights supporters would clearly have been aware of problems in South Africa, the overwhelming majority of people who were ivolved with the movement were probably not following developments 8,500 miles away while Selma and Jacksonville and various governors’ mansions presented such formidable obstacles. In addition, the word colored was used differently in the two countries, meaning “black” in the United States and “mixed race” in South Africa. This is not to declare that the one use _could not_ have affected the other rejection; I simply find it unlikely. ---
**Author:** ![Arch\_Trout](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9f8e36/32.png) [@Arch\_Trout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arch_Trout)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2004, 12:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-word-negro-offensive/275940/55 "2004-11-23T12:44:54Z")
How come rap artist Dr. Dre can use the ‘N’ word on his multi-million selling albums and win a MOBO award, yet when I used it at my son’s football match I was asked to leave the park? Once again, it’s one law for the rich and another for the poor. ---
**Author:** ![GorillaMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/50afbb/32.png) [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2004, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-word-negro-offensive/275940/56 "2004-11-23T14:06:24Z")
> [@Arch Trout](#): > > How come rap artist Dr. Dre can use the ‘N’ word on his multi-million > selling albums and win a MOBO award, yet when I used it at my son’s > football match I was asked to leave the park? There’s a teeny weeny difference between the two contexts. And how about you tell us exactly what you said, and to whom? ---
**Author:** ![TellMeI\_mNotCrazy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tellmei_mnotcrazy/32/3419_2.png) [@TellMeI\_mNotCrazy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TellMeI_mNotCrazy)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2004, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-word-negro-offensive/275940/57 "2004-11-23T14:38:39Z")
> [@Arch Trout](#): > > How come rap artist Dr. Dre can use the ‘N’ word on his multi-million > selling albums and win a MOBO award, yet when I used it at my son’s > football match I was asked to leave the park? Once again, it’s one law for > the rich and another for the poor. You might have an argument if Dr. Dre used the ‘N’ word at your son’s football match, and wasn’t asked to leave, and you were. As it is, there’s far too little information here to figure out whether it was justified that you were asked to leave. ---
**Author:** ![Arch\_Trout](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9f8e36/32.png) [@Arch\_Trout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arch_Trout)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2004, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-word-negro-offensive/275940/58 "2004-11-23T18:18:24Z")
> [@Arch Trout](#): > > How come rap artist Dr. Dre can use the ‘N’ word on his multi-million > selling albums and win a MOBO award, yet when I used it at my son’s > football match I was asked to leave the park? Once again, it’s one law for > the rich and another for the poor. It’s a joke from the Viz. I wasn’t serious, only Ron Atkinson would use such words around a football match. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-word-negro-offensive/275940.md?page=2)