US 2010 Census: Do you consider the word "Negro" to be a racial slur?

[Marina]

At a point in history, women were not considered an entire person either.      

I think some of the racist/sexist feeling is just a holdover from those times; we don't believe that today, the Constitution has been amended, but we still use the outdated terminology with a painful history that still haunts it.    I think knowing how many people there are can be of benefit, such as for proper Constitutional representation in government and congressional districts, and not just a negative.   It's written into the Constitution under the 15th Amendment, and also permanent law under the Voting and Civil Rights Acts.  It also protects against discrimination in voting, not only for race, but for those whose English is limited.  Maybe we need different terminology.

[dejavu]

I'm not the ideal judge, but I don't see it as a slur. I do see the term as dated, though. To say it without irony seems not so much racist as clueless, as if someone hasn't kept up with the race conversation since the early '60s.

My feelings are along these lines.  I see the term as dated.  But since I read that it was kept in the Census because some black or African-American people feel more comfortable with "Negro" than with "black" or "African-American," I'm willing to give those people that choice.  After all, I still see ads for (and get fund-raising appeals from) the United Negro College Fund.

But for a white person to use the term "Negro" does sound like they haven't kept up with the majority preference among African-Americans, and therefore makes me suspicious that they might intend it as a slur.

As for the question of labeling, I see labeling as a legitimate thing for the Census to do, to gather current population statistics.  Some factors that are studied in medicine and sociology do have some correlation to the racial/national origin makeup of a population.  The resulting statistics may be useful in knowing where to spend money, what diseases to be on the lookout for, etc.

[zephaniah]

I agree with debbie - it depends on who is doing the labeling: I don't mind being called a fag or a queer or a homo by another fag,queer, homo, especially in a humorous or bonding reference.  But don't be heterosexual trying to demean me with it: you will be deprived of the benefit of my conversation, you stupid honky ofey MF...   

[Marina]

Let me clarify - I would never presume to use those terms myself either - it took me a long time to become comfortable with my friends' using them to refer to themselves, as a badge of honor and pride.   As I said, I would defer to what they would like to call themselves, and where I have no direct concept of their personal experiences, I wouldn't use them myself, and refer to them only with the greatest respect.   I also believe that there is a lot of positive information to be gained by Census information, that helps humanity.

I've been called every name in the book in some of my travels - haole, gringa, hakajin (teasingly by in-laws), bloody American. (No offense to anyone!)    Admittedly, these aren't always as hurtful as some others.  I consider it a learning experience.  

Spike Lee's Do The Right Thing has the most wonderful scenes where racial and ethnic slurs of all kinds are used and it only hightlights their absurdity.   No wonder it has been preserved in the National Film Registry of the Library of Congress as a culturally significant film.  

[Jeff Wrangler]

At a point in history, women were not considered an entire person either.      

Sure enough, but for the purposes of the U.S. Census, white women have always been enumerated as a whole person. The same cannot be said for "persons of color."

[Jeff Wrangler]

ofey

The whut? 

[Shakesthecoffecan]

I totally missed that when I filled my form out. Perhaps could it be the identity of Spanish speaking people of African decent?

I checked "Other" and then wrote in "Not Completely White".

[milomorris]

- "Negro" is not a slur on face value. If these whiners are upset about the census using the term, maybe they should consult the folks at the United Negro College Fund.

- I call myself black, unless I'm trying to distinguish myself ethnically from other people of African descent. That's really the only time I use African-American.

- My grandmother still calls herself "colored." So does the NAACP.

- Using a term to define a person's race or ethnicity is not "labeling," its simply a means of describing that person. I am reminded of an armed robbery case in Wilmington DE a few years back. Because the newspaper down there went ape-shit PC, their editorial standards prohibited them from identifying the race of crime suspects. So the description of the suspect in the newspaper read something along the lines of "5'8", stocky build, wearing jeans, a red jacket, and a baseball cap." I'm sorry, but that doesn't tell me shit about who I should be looking for.

More than that, I don't want to stop using my racial identifiers, and neither do the vast majority of blacks that I know.

- My favorite racial identifier is "uppity niggah" 

[Monika]

Well, I´m a Brokie. Any boxes to check for that?

[Luvlylittlewing]

I don't think Negro is a slur.  I have relatives who still refer to themselves as Negro on occassion.  I use black to describe myself.