'Negro' - a choice on census form

[Analog]

NEW YORK (CBS) ― A fiery blast from the past is conjuring controversy in the new millennium. The word "negro" is now featured on an official U.S. document and now many are questioning if the Census Bureau is being insensitive.

It's a word that many African Americans associate with segregation, so imagine how shocked many were to see it on the 2010 U.S. census form.

"The fact that it's 2010 and they're still putting 'negro,' I am a little offended," said Secaucus resident Dawud Ingram.

Question #9 on the this year's census asks about your race. One of the boxes you can choose is "black," "African American," or "negro," all placed next to the same box. Ingram said it's not a word he uses to identify neither himself nor anybody else.

"African Americans haven't been going by the term 'negro' for decades now. It's really confusing," he said.

 

[techs]

Actually the term is Negroid. Its a generally considered to be obsolete racial classification termed by Carleton S. my excellent compatriot in 1939. He considered such people as Australian Aborigines and natives of the pacific islands of Melanesia as being included. In 1962 he revised Negroid into two separate categories of Capoid and Congoid.

"Negro" is really a slang derivation which had been in use some time before the 1939 term Negroid. As such it is not a scientific designation. It clearly has negative connotations to many people.

Yes, I can see how African Americans and other dark skinned races would find it derogatory. As such it is beyod me why they include it on the census.

The only logical reason I can see is perhaps there are some older African Americans for whom the term Negro may be what they learned to call themselves and the census wants to make sure to get these people included. Especially the elderly who may be confused by newer terms.

 

[bignateyk]

Are the other choices "caucoso" and "mongolo"? If not, then "negroid" should be what it says, along with caucosoid and mongoloid.

 

[Fingolfin269]

I have come to the conclusion that any term used for any race is probably insensitive in some way to some idiot somewhere.

 

[sourceninja]

We have a black president, get over it.

 

[techs]

We have a black president, get over it.

Apparently some people can't.

 

[edro]

Maybe the form is bilingual and it is just Spanish for Black.

 

[amddude]

Everyone just needs to chill the hell out, seriously.

 

[LittleNemoNES]

negro = black in spanish

 

[Gunslinger08]

negro = black in spanish

QFT. I'd like to see the entire form.

 

[Miramonti]

That's improvement over previous years, where census takers were asked if they liked fried chicken.

 

[mugs]

QFT. I'd like to see the entire form.

Picture of a good portion of the question:
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/201...orms_raises_hackles_memories_of_jim_crow.html

Census Bureau spokesman Jack Martin said the use of "Negro" was intended as a term of inclusion.

"Many older African-Americans identified themselves that way, and many still do," he said. "Those who identify themselves as Negroes need to be included"

Good enough for me

 

[ZOOYUKA]

We have a black president, get over it.

No, we have a Mulatto president. He just claims he is black because of its political advantages.

 

[bobdole369]

Especially the elderly who may be confused by newer terms.

I would think those who are confused by "black" might also be confused by "pencil" or "census". Just my 2 cents.

(goes back to his bowl of frijoles negros.)

 

[Jadow]

ZOMG so when Taco Bell in socal was advertising "Negro Tacos" they didn't mean tacos for black people, they meant black colored tacos!

 

[maziwanka]

Picture of a good portion of the question:
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/201...orms_raises_hackles_memories_of_jim_crow.html



Good enough for me

are you kidding me? i mean it's common sense not to use that in the fucking census report. show me one fucking african american that would not identify himself/herself as black or african american and instead choose negro.

 

[maziwanka]

edit: stupid post

 

[Miramonti]

edit: stupid post

Sounds qualified to me.

 

[mugs]

are you kidding me? i mean it's common sense not to use that in the fucking census report. show me one fucking african american that would not identify himself/herself as black or african american and instead choose negro.

I think the decision to include it was misguided, but I also don't think there was any intent to offend. Therefore I don't care.


Edit:
The OP didn't post his entire article, and he didn't post a link. This is the paragraph after the section he quoted:

But census officials disagree, saying they found some older African Americans identify themselves that way and they're trying to be inclusive. In a statement, they said: "Results from the census in 2000 showed that a number of respondents provided a write-in response of 'negro' when answering the question on race."

 

[TheVrolok]

I think the decision to include it was misguided, but I also don't think there was any intent to offend. Therefore I don't care.


Edit:
The OP didn't post his entire article, and he didn't post a link. This is the paragraph after the section he quoted:

This ^^.

Honestly, I think "African American" is a pretty stupid term anyway.

 

[SlitheryDee]

I think calling people "black" and "white" (in any language) is insulting. For one, no one is really black or white in actual skin tone. It's a stupid generalization based on what our skin tones "tend toward" more than anything. I once went deer hunting with my grandfather and he pointed out a doe that appeared to have a slightly darker colored coat than the other deer in the field. He called her a "blue doe", even though her overall appearance was nearly exactly like that of the other deer, with the only difference being a barely perceptible darkness of hair. It's strange how people label things as though they are entirely characterized by what amount to minor differences.

More importantly, people associate white with "good" and black with "evil". The subconscious connotation is of two opposing forces, one standing for all that is good in the world, the other standing for all that is wrong with it.

 

[Linflas]

What I find hilarious about the form I saw a sample of is that it divides up asians/"Pacific Islanders" into around 10 different choices pretty much dependent on nationality but we are supposed to believe that Italians, Greeks, French, Swedes, Irish, Germans, Finns, Russians etc are all identical. So much for E Pluribis Unum. I will do like I have done on every other census and check Other and write in American.

 

[Miramonti]

What I find hilarious about the form I saw a sample of is that it divides up asians/"Pacific Islanders" into around 10 different choices pretty much dependent on nationality but we are supposed to believe that Italians, Greeks, French, Swedes, Irish, Germans, Finns, Russians etc are all identical. So much for E Pluribis Unum. I will do like I have done on every other census and check Other and write in American.

haha, nice.

 

[spidey07]

are you kidding me? i mean it's common sense not to use that in the fucking census report. show me one fucking african american that would not identify himself/herself as black or african american and instead choose negro.

I see Caucasian on all sorts of forms.

Negro is correct. If a negroid gets pissy over it it's because he's stupid/uneducated.

 

[JS80]

what, no oriental?