Colored

Colored
This article is about a term used for black people like African-Americans. For the term used to describe an ethnic group in Southern Africa see Coloured. For other uses see Color (disambiguation). For the dc Talk song, see Colored People (song).

Colored is a term once widely used in the United States to describe black people (i.e., persons of sub-Saharan African ancestry; members of the "Black race") and Native Americans.[1] It should not be confused with the more recent term people of color, which attempts to describe all "non-white peoples", not just black people.

The term "colored" appeared in North America during the colonial era. A "colored" man halted a runaway carriage that was carrying President John Tyler on March 4, 1844.[citation needed] In 1851 an article in the New York Times referred to the "colored population".[2] In 1863, the War Department established the "Bureau of Colored Troops." The first 12 Census counts in the U.S. enumerated "colored" people, who totaled nine million in 1900. The Census counts of 1910–1960 enumerated "negroes."

Today it is generally no longer regarded as a politically correct term. However, even that is debatable, due to its continued accepted usage, most notably its use in the acronym NAACP. Carla Sims, communications director for the NAACP in Washington, D.C., said "The term 'colored' is not derogatory, [the NAACP] chose the word 'colored' because it was the most positive description commonly used at that time. It's outdated and antiquated but not offensive." [3]

In other English-speaking countries, the term has varied meanings. In South Africa, Namibia, Zambia and Zimbabwe, the term Coloured refers both to a specific ethnic group of complex mixed origins, which is considered neither black nor white, and in other contexts to people of mixed race; in neither context is its usage considered derogatory. However, in the United Kingdom the term "coloured" is "widely perceived as offensive" because its origins are perceived as racist.[4]

See also

References

  1. ^ W. David Baird et al. (2009-01-05). ""We are all Americans", Native Americans in the Civil War". Native Americans.com. http://oha.alexandriava.gov/fortward/special-sections/americans/. Retrieved 2009-01-05. 
  2. ^ New York Times. September 18, 1851. p. 3. 
  3. ^ "NAACP says no big deal". Mercury News. http://blogs.mercurynews.com/aei/2008/11/12/lohan-calls-obama-colored-naacp-says-no-big-deal#ftnb. 
  4. ^ "Is the word 'coloured' offensive?". BBC News. 2006-11-09. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/6132672.stm. Retrieved 2010-01-24. 



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Look at other dictionaries:

  • Colored — Col ored, a. 1. Having color; tinged; dyed; painted; stained. [1913 Webster] The lime rod, colored as the glede. Chaucer. [1913 Webster] The colored rainbow arched wide. Spenser. [1913 Webster] 2. Specious; plausible; adorned so as to appear… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • -colored — [ kʌlərd ] suffix used with some adjectives and nouns to make adjectives describing what color something is: a dark colored skirt a building made of tan colored stone …   Usage of the words and phrases in modern English

  • colored — [adj1] not white dyed, flushed, glowing, hued, shaded, stained, tinged, tinted, washed; concept 618 Ant. white colored [adj2] distorted angled, biased, false, falsified, jaundiced, misrepresented, one sided, partial, partisan, perverted,… …   New thesaurus

  • colored — [kul′ərd] adj. 1. having color 2. of a (specified) color 3. of a group other than the Caucasoid 4. Old fashioned BLACK (adj. 2b) 5. [C ] in South Africa, of racially mixed parentage: in this sense, usually Coloured …   English World dictionary

  • colored — index one sided, prejudicial, specious Burton s Legal Thesaurus. William C. Burton. 2006 …   Law dictionary

  • colored — late 14c., pp. adj.; in reference to non white skin, 1610s; pp. adj. from COLOR (Cf. color) …   Etymology dictionary

  • colored — I noun a United States term for Blacks that is now considered offensive • Syn: ↑colored person • Usage Domain: ↑archaism, ↑archaicism • Hypernyms: ↑Black, ↑Black person …   Useful english dictionary

  • colored — col|ored1 [ kʌlərd ] adjective * 1. ) usually before noun red, green, blue, etc. rather than transparent or black or white: colored glass pieces of colored paper brightly colored: a woman wearing a brightly colored dress 2. ) colored hair has… …   Usage of the words and phrases in modern English

  • colored — /kul euhrd/, adj. 1. having color. 2. Often Offensive. belonging wholly or in part to a race other than the white, esp. to the black race. 3. Often Offensive. pertaining to the black race. 4. influenced or biased: colored opinions. 5. specious;… …   Universalium

  • Colored — Color Col or, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Colored}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Coloring}.] [F. colorer.] 1. To change or alter the hue or tint of, by dyeing, staining, painting, etc.; to dye; to tinge; to paint; to stain. [1913 Webster] The rays, to speak… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

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