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A Few Reasons Not to Say “Colored”
Just when you thought it was safe to come outside, WHAM…white people start saying “Colored” again. I don’t know when it started again, or if they ever actually start to begin with. I’ve had a myriad of words used to describe me, including the derogatory adjectives used by people of other races. White folks are usually the most egregious line steppers when it comes to using racial epithets, you might say they invented it. I’m a cynical bastard realist, so I’m convinced that there’s no way to completely convince all prejudiced people that race is simply a social construct and there should be no reason to discriminate amongst ourselves and use words like this to describe one another. So, if you insist on being stubborn and letting these little tidbits of ignorance come out of your mouth at your leisure, I suggest you find another word other than “colored” to describe Black folks. I shouldn’t really need to give you reasons, but we’ve clearly established that you are of a different mindset, so here it goes:
It’s Outdated
Sure, if it’s not broken, don’t bother fixing it, but why would you want to use the same slang that your grandfather used in his heyday. It’s 2010 for Christ’s sake, and if you want to keep perpetuating this idea of your superiority, you’re going to have to demonstrate some sort of progressive dexterity when it comes to the use and manipulation of the English language if you’re going to get me to take you seriously.
You Have Better Choices
As a veteran of “the dozens”, I’ve come across some pretty witty people that can be very creative when coming with ways to offend people. Racial epithets are no different, and I’ve heard a few doozies in my time, so I know you are capable of coming up with something better than colored. Something along the lines of “Black” or “African American” are the generally accepted designations for melanin inclined folks, but if those become boring for ya, I know there are a slew of other words that have been coined over years you could use instead. I’m not going to sit here and be a complete accessory to your offensive behavior, but I’m sure you can come up with something. I know some of you may think you are being nicer by using this word than some of it’s more vile relatives, but in reality, hearing you use this word makes me feel pity for you instead of anger.
It May Be Your Last
Depending on the temperament of the person(s) you choose to use this word in the presence of, it could actually be the last time you say that word, or say anything for that matter, so why not go out with a bang? Usually when most black folks hear this word dropped they more shocked that you’ve used this word than angry, but you may run into that one militant loose cannon that may want to make sure that’s the last time you use that word by any means necessary. (Most of us cutaway to the image of MLK delivering his “I Have A Dream” speech anyway) This may be your last chance to bat, so wow me.
Oh, and did I mention it’s just completely ignorant?
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Don’t Sue Me Steve Jobs,
20 Responses to “A Few Reasons Not to Say “Colored””
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wow, i didnt know “colored” was hot in the streets again, but then again i’m not around a lot of 2520s anyway. idk if i would even be offended if a white person called me that…i would probably start tap dancing and calling them massa. if we’re going to bring back outdated race interactions we might as well do it right
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InsomniaPoet Reply:
May 12th, 2010 at 10:40 am
LOL! It isn’t funny but the idea of tap dancing and calling someone massa cracked me up.
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Seriously?! I co-sign with Afrolista in not knowing that “colored” was making a come back! If you aren’t at least 80 it may get you slapped or at least cursed out (and there’s no guarantee that the geriatric set won’t catch a bad one).
It never ceases to amaze me how easy it is for some people to let anything fall out of their mouth (or their fingers: e-mails, media, internet) and not care about 1) common decency/courtesy and/or 2) their own safety.
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When did we start being called “colored” again? I don’t really mind it all that much…but, it just sounds antiquated…my Mother has “colored” written in on her birth-certificate..we have come too far..and besides that term really doesn’t correctly describe our origins as a people…..
Did the “Tea Party” start this mess up?
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working in higher ed at a pretty damned liberal ivy league (you do the math) we are hyper sensitive to political correctness(I think working in higher ed in general makes one hyper politically correct). Using the word colored in this place could get you in some trouble, as a student I’m talking probation or suspension if you have prior questionable offenses.
A Story: When I was an undergrad at an up the road state u, a young 2520 male referred to my roomie as a colored woman. Ooh why did he go and do that? she promptly went into our room grabbed a piece of paper and a purple crayon, came back out into the hallway and drew a stick person on the paper. Mind you she was cursing him out the whole time, but it ended with the following “this here is a colored person, I am a person of color. Know the difference” then she smushed the paper in his face and walked away. I think he got the point. But the point of the story, its all of our responsibility to let people know when they offend us, even if they aren’t talking about us. i.e. jews, mexicans, etc. its like the old Pastor Martin Niemöller poem ”
“THEY CAME FIRST for the Communists, and I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a Communist. THEN THEY CAME for the Jews, and I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a Jew. THEN THEY CAME for the trade unionists, and I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a trade unionist. THEN THEY CAME for me and by that time no one was left to speak up.”
misuse of language intended to demean a group of people is hurtful to all of us. (enter shooting star and C-list actor)
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Guns & Butter Reply:
May 12th, 2010 at 11:35 am
dope story.. about smushing the paper in white boy’s face. i think almost any story with a smush or a mush is dope, tho.
and the poem is very striking.. although I say that even though I can show sympathy for (or better, empathize with) someone, I cannot fight for EVERYONE’S plights when it’s hard enough fighting for my own.
i dunno.. that’s just how a brotha feel.
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The Honorable and Rather Articulate Award Winning RightCoastLexSteele, B.A., LLC, Affirm Dese Nuts Reply:
May 12th, 2010 at 11:40 am
“I cannot fight for EVERYONE’S plights when it’s hard enough fighting for my own.”
I understand the sentiment. I gave up trying to react to every instance where someone came out their face cuz it feels like you’re fighting a losing battle and they are more pressing issues to deal with. I just think that in 2010, they can do better than Colored. Uncle Ruckus could prolly help them out w/ that…
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Guns & Butter Reply:
May 12th, 2010 at 2:26 pm
Forreal. Ruckus is ill wit the self-hate.
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Guns & Butter Reply:
May 12th, 2010 at 2:28 pm
and exactly on “more pressing issues to deal with”. not that I don’t care about the fight but sometimes i have to focus on being just another black man caught up in the mix, tryna make a dollar outta 15 cents.
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Who’s still sayin colored? Ppl are lunchin for real..
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I once read a poem that asked why a white man calls black folk colored, when it is them who turn red when they are angry, and blue when they are cold, and green when they are sick.
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i wish a white person would call me colored to my face. i’d probably laugh then side-eye them.
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brains Reply:
August 19th, 2010 at 11:14 am
This “is” funny because you so called african americans stand behind an organization thats called NAACP.” National Association for the advancement of “colored” people. Why dont you change the name. LMAO!!!!!!!!!
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RCLS – the people want to know:
Who the Hayull is still sayin’ colored? And living to tell the tale?
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The Honorable and Rather Articulate Award Winning RightCoastLexSteele, B.A., LLC, Affirm Dese Nuts Reply:
May 12th, 2010 at 4:35 pm
Glad you asked Anna.
To put everything into context, keep in mind I live in Upstate NY. So I’ve had people come back to me and tell me that someone referred to me as the “colored guy” from the office, I’ve had people refer to me as colored to my face, I’ve had people use the term colored to refer to black folks other than myself so they can let me know they know other black people (“My brother in law is colored”). I was talkin’ an older white gentleman last year around MLB playoff time and he referred to CC Sabathia as the colored boy. Sadly enough, when he said it, I just said “Oh, you mean Sabathia” and kept it movin.’ Mrs. Steele has been referred to as colored as well, as recently as last month.
So who are these people? Generally middle aged and up. Bigoted folks younger than that keep it real simple and just drop the n-bomb. As I said in the post, I usually just shrug it off because I figure if they really don’t know any better, they are still stuck waaaaaay in the past and probably still expect Wal-Mart to have “Whites Only” facilities n sh*t.
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I might have shared this before, but this lady I interviewed last year called and asked for the little colored girl (me since I was the only black reporter). At my new job another source says woman of color when referring to me. At least it’s not the n-word.
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Oh please believe white folks are still using “colored”. At work, I remember a time where I asked a woman: who was helping you? She said: the colored guy…..all I can say was: oh yeah, is that right? Since my job requires customer service I could not react the way I wanted to. I just shook my head. Sad.
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I’ve used “colored” all my life to refer to colored people, and I see no reason to stop now. I’m 50, and grew up hearing the term used by both whites and coloreds. In fact my grandfather’s housekeeper, who was a colored lady from SC, used it exclusively (except in the mid-1960s when some of her people would come on the news as angry, screaming…she called them “niggers”. That’s how I as a child (she babysat me a lot) learned that nice members of your race are “colored”, while not-so-nice ones are called “niggers”. She was the first person I ever heard say the “nigger” word.
Since then, your people have come up with even more terms to be called, and frankly, like many white people, I got tired of trying to keep track. “African-American” takes too long to say (especially repeatedly!), and “AA” sounds like a bunch of recovering drunks, so I’ll stick with “colored”. I figure if it still work for the NAACP, it should keep working for me.
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I’ve used “colored” all my life to refer to colored people, and I see no reason to stop now. I’m 50, and grew up hearing the term used by both whites and coloreds. In fact my grandfather’s housekeeper, who was a colored lady from SC, used it exclusively (except in the mid-1960s when some of her people would come on the news as angry, screaming…she called them “niggers”. That’s how I as a child (she babysat me a lot) learned that nice members of your race are “colored”, which not-so-nice ones are called “niggers”. She was the first person I ever heard say the “nigger” word.
Since then, your people have come up with even more terms to be called, and frankly, like many white people, I got tired of trying to keep track. “African-American” takes too long to say (especially repeatedly!), and “AA” sounds like a bunch of recovering drunks, so I’ll stick with “colored”. I figure if it still work for the NAACP, it should keep working for me. It could be worse: would you rather be called a nigger, even if you’re not one?
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