'Negro' on Census Form Offends Some.....

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Census Bureau Says Term Added Because It Was Written In On 2000 Forms

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- The use of the term "negro" on the 2010 census form has sparked controversy.

This year, the U.S. Census Bureau will ask the nation's more than 300 million residents to fill out a 10-question form that determines how the federal government doles out its money.

On question 9 -- "What is Person 1's race?" -- the second option reads: "Black, African-Am., or Negro."

"The fact that it's 2010 and they're still putting 'negro,' I am a little offended," Secaucus, N.J., resident Dawud Ingram told WCBS-TV. "African-Americans haven't been going by the term 'negro' for decades now. It's really confusing."

Census officials said that "Negro" was offered as an option because many people wrote in "Negro" on their 2000 census forms. A spokeswoman added that the questions were "tested ad nauseum," and that including the term "outweighed the negatives."

"Some prefer it because of their complexion, whether they're light-skinned or dark," said Jeanne R. Stanley, a retiree in Richmond, Va., told Fox News. "Others still have a slave mentality. There are a lot of people who still have a color complex."

But many younger Americans are angered by the use of the term.

"I find the word 'Negro' to be quite offensive when it comes to the census and separating and differentiating among races because of the history of the use of the word," said Taryn Anthony, a 25-year old graduate student. "I've yet to hear someone use it in a respectable manner, so placing it on a census seems as yet another way to set back African-Americans."

The bureau, which operates under the Commerce Department, is considering whether to remove the term for the next census in 2020.

'Negro' On Census Form Offends Some - Jacksonville News Story - WJXT Jacksonville
 
interesting... but I've heard black celebrities call themselves "negros." I see nothing wrong with the term. African-American is more offensive to me than "negro" because it implies that they rather be Africans first.
 
My grandmother and great-aunt still call black people "negroes". They don't mean anything by it; it's just the way that it's always been for them. It seems to be an older term and doesn't seem derrogatory. I guess it depends on the person.
 
Someone better inform the United Negro College Fund, the National Association of Negro Musicians, the National Council of Negro Women, and the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People that they need to update their names.
 
How are other racial groups listed on the census form? Do they use "white", "Caucasian", "Asian", or....?
 
Exactly Reba! Sometimes they just don't think about HOW they call themselves with their organizations!
 
I find the word negro or colored offensive as it is an old school term. Just like chink is rude just like cracker...it shouldn't be used it doesn't matter what color but african-american or black should suffice in my opinion negro should not be on the census
 
If Negro is unacceptable, then Caucasian is also unacceptable, right?
 
"Negro" is totally outdated. Language changes with the times. I don't think it's totally unreasonable to expect people to stay at least somewhat with the times... I mean "Negro" is a term from what, 50 years ago? Kind of like "deaf-mute" and "deaf-and-dumb."
 
The French did the right thing by excluding race out of their census after WWII. Don't know why they revoked that law two years ago.
 
AliciaM said:
Caucasion was never used as a derogatory term negro was
Click to expand...
I guess it depended on where and when you lived.

Until the mid-late sixties, in the places where I lived, Negro was the most respectful term, not used in a derogatory way. All the other "names" were disrespectful.

If it was a derogatory word, why would it be preferred by well-educated black people to name their organizations?
 
I am not speaking for other organizations I am speaking for myself thanks very much
 
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