From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Colored
Colored
This article is about a term used for black people like Zimbabwe, the term Coloured refers both to a specific
African-Americans. For the term used to describe an ethnic group of complex mixed origins, which is consid-
ethnic group in Southern Africa see Coloured. For other ered neither black nor white, and in other contexts to
uses see Color (disambiguation). For the dc Talk song, see people of mixed race; in neither context is its usage con-
Colored People (song). sidered derogatory. However, in the United Kingdom the
term "coloured" is "widely perceived as offensive" be-
Colored is a term once widely used in the United States cause its origins are perceived as racist.[4]
to describe black people (i.e., persons of sub-Saharan
African ancestry; members of the "Black race") and Na-
tive Americans.[1] It should not be confused with the See also
color,
more recent term people of color which attempts to de- • Free people of color
scribe all "non-white peoples", not just black people. • Black people
The term "colored" appeared in North America dur- • Coloured
ing 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 References
Times referred to the "colored population".[2] In 1863, [1] W. David Baird et al. (2009-01-05). ""We are all
the War Department established the "Bureau of Colored Americans", Native Americans in the Civil War".
Troops." The first 12 Census counts in the U.S. enumer- Native Americans.com.
ated "colored" people, who totaled nine million in 1900. http://oha.alexandriava.gov/fortward/special-
The Census counts of 1910–1960 enumerated "negroes." sections/americans/. Retrieved 2009-01-05.
Today it is generally no longer regarded as a political- [2] New York Times. September 18, 1851. p. 3.
ly correct term. However, even that is debatable, due to [3] "NAACP says no big deal". Mercury News.
its continued accepted usage, most notably its use in the http://blogs.mercurynews.com/aei/2008/11/12/
acronym NAACP. Carla Sims, communications director lohan-calls-obama-colored-naacp-says-no-big-
for the NAACP in Washington, D.C., said "The term ’col- deal#ftnb.
ored’ is not derogatory, [the NAACP] chose the word ’col- [4] "Is the word ’coloured’ offensive?". BBC News.
ored’ because it was the most positive description com- 2006-11-09. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/
monly used at that time. It’s outdated and antiquated but 6132672.stm. Retrieved 2010-01-24.
not offensive." [3]
In other English-speaking countries, the term has
varied meanings. In South Africa, Namibia, Zambia and
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Colored&oldid=462148267"
Categories:
• African American
• History of the United States
• Native American people
• Race in the United States
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