tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-57113078446695664.post7995977505789149212..comments2024-03-22T20:34:13.792-05:00Comments on Indomitable | The online home of Chauncey DeVega: We be Settin' Trends: The 2010 Census May Include Negro as a Racial CategoryLady Zora, Chauncey DeVega, and Gordon Gartrellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09138154899923808806noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-57113078446695664.post-78535430342097956332010-01-12T05:33:20.481-06:002010-01-12T05:33:20.481-06:00This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-57113078446695664.post-4319670280230122362010-01-11T09:50:08.338-06:002010-01-11T09:50:08.338-06:00When I was a child in Baltimore over sixty years a...When I was a child in Baltimore over sixty years ago, "Negro" and "colored" were the polite terms. When "Black" came into widespread currency some twenty-odd years later, it took me a while to get used to it; for some reason it sounded more racially charged to me. I got over it by telling myself that I should honor people's right to be called whatever they--not I--decided. I still prefer "Black" to "African-American" just because I find it less cumbersome. Who cares? I'm just another liberal white guy doing the best I can, hoping to be judged for the content of my character while recognizing that the words I use are pieces of evidence.<br />An aside: I was raised in a household where the older members were fluent in Yiddish. They called a black person a "Schwartze", which means "black". I hope no disrespect was intended, but I would never use the term today. Of course, I am not a Yiddish-speaker. If I were, I guess I would have little choice.<br />I would trust the guidance of the people who taught me not to judge people based on skin color before I trusted Liz Cheney or Michael Steele.Bobby the Lipnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-57113078446695664.post-87453920223852261952010-01-09T16:44:26.312-06:002010-01-09T16:44:26.312-06:00@Al--that is classic. Would the brother be wearing...@Al--that is classic. Would the brother be wearing some shea butter and a splattering of oils that he purchased from the brother at the flea market?<br /><br />I will also agree that using black in a swear or profanity laced screed is much much easier than using African American.chaunceydevegahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09652406326490873337noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-57113078446695664.post-63562095919643793842010-01-09T10:30:56.272-06:002010-01-09T10:30:56.272-06:00"In fact, the term conjures images of an effe...<i>"In fact, the term conjures images of an effete "African American" man being forced to wear a leather shoulder satchel (purse) over his powder blue dashiki while wearing a pair of Birkenstocks as he is being dragged to feminist poetry reading by his repressed lesbian wife."</i><br /><br />Hee hee. You just made my day! :)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-57113078446695664.post-70821192627541262482010-01-09T09:35:40.890-06:002010-01-09T09:35:40.890-06:00Ban the term "African American". Too ma...Ban the term "African American". Too many syllables, and it sounds awkward and effete. Did I mention that it is about as lyrical sounding as a car accident? Its so much better to say "Black man", "Black folks", and "Black people". It is simultaneously a color and an ethinicity. check it out: "Black women" are beautifully "Black" in all their shades of beige, tan, and brown. It connotes strength in its emotional value - "Black people" hit the streets in angry "Black" protests. It is both a word and an exclamation point: "I am the original Asiatic Black man..."<br /><br />Now try to substitute "African American" in the above phrases and terms. See what I mean. Abolish this term. We are a powerful people and African American is simply not a powerful sounding term. In fact, the term conjures images of an effete "African American" man being forced to wear a leather shoulder satchel (purse) over his powder blue dashiki while wearing a pair of Birkenstocks as he is being dragged to feminist poetry reading by his repressed lesbian wife.Al From Bay Shorehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10701377734947918146noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-57113078446695664.post-11375811888104670552010-01-08T13:36:24.088-06:002010-01-08T13:36:24.088-06:00I completely understand some of my elders' and...I completely understand some of my elders' and others' appreciation of the category "Negro": "African American" is neither entirely accurate nor specific, and "black" is a color. <br /><br />Personally I prefer capital B Black even in circumstances where style manuals say otherwise. <br /><br />I'm not sure, however, that I entirely understand people who are "offended" by the inclusion of Negro. I remember going through this when I was developing a survey. People did all sorts of things to the forms, including crossing out those terms they disliked and writing in others. One responded even used the back of the survey form to write a full-page discussion of why she chose what she did.<br /><br />Can't please all of the people all of the time, I suppose. Whatever the case, I hope that none of this takes away from the importance of having African American/Black/Negro communities and all communities of color ensure that we are counted.PPR_Scribehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11595767225403599855noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-57113078446695664.post-6562907171133712582010-01-08T13:11:02.825-06:002010-01-08T13:11:02.825-06:00What a thoughtful post! It is appreciated. The tho...What a thoughtful post! It is appreciated. The thoughts of the past aren't they grand? Is that part of the appeal of nostalgia by its very definition (a soft comfortable funny feeling about once was). It is unfortunate that we have not been able to as a community, in mass at least, keep the best of the old and combine it with our new freedoms. I have often wondered how our ancestors who fought and struggled so hard and so much for so long feel looking at how some of us have used our freedom so poorly. Your thoughts?chaunceydevegahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09652406326490873337noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-57113078446695664.post-69475276134712893882010-01-08T08:00:53.955-06:002010-01-08T08:00:53.955-06:00Thanks for introducing the term kayfabe to my voca...Thanks for introducing the term kayfabe to my vocabulary!!! <br /><br />I, at times, lovingly and privately refer to myself as Negresse. I find the baroque spelling genteel and I, like the author of the post, wax nostalgic about the coherence, substance, dignity, purpose, and clarity of certain ancestors. For example? I recall, when a child, how so many of my older relatives' homes had pianos. Why? One was expected to master SOME art that made one useful for socializing and entertaining. Piano playing was often the art, however, if not that, then children were expected to recite compelling poetry or important speeches for assembled gatherings of family in the home. At such gatherings, home cooking was expected, along with prepared liquid refreshment. Trays served food and drinks, irrespective of social class; parlors were the location of such gatherings (the term "parlor games" speak to this history) in even the most humble home. Society was duty; humility -- though one was accomplished -- was the true mark of nobility, irrespective of bloodlines.<br /><br />So, as I've gotten older, I've grown more impressed with what was vs. what is. <br /><br />That said? I know that in many important ways, I am more free in 2010 than many others in ANY year in the USA. My nostalgia doesn't honor their daily struggle. And how I decide to reference myself or history has NOTHING to do with what is expected or required of the government or others. As American history makes clear that any errant, stray, and random white person could kill, maim, rape, or own those who looked like me without fear of reprisal or retribution? I am very clear that today, they don't get to call me outta my name with the same, uninhibited comfort.ProfessHer!https://www.blogger.com/profile/00260562498001262565noreply@blogger.com