Is MULATTO a derogatory term and is it the proper term for half black and half white?

Question

I am half black and half white. Growing up (in the 70's) I was called every name you can think of and then some. When people would ask me "what I was" (Mrrrr), I would tell them mulatto, and some would say, "You call yourself that?"
If anyone else is half black and half white I would love to hear your stories of name-calling and how you dealt with it.

Answer 1

It's an outdated term and sort of arcane. As humanity develops, words evolve and meanings evolve and our feelings about them evolve as well. Mulatto is a term concocted by the powers that be (i.e. slaveowners) to describe their "stock". It would probably be different is the half black/half white people came up with the term on their own to describe themselves. But it was thrust upon them and I think that is some of the basis for the modern day dislike of the term. It's sort of like branding beef, slapping it with a label. There are terms like octaroon to describe whites with one-eight of black blood that are not used today. Mulatto is like that. "Back in the day", among blacks, people of mixed ancestry (half black, half white) were called "high yellow" (although you probably knew that).

To me, calling someone a mulatto, is like calling an Asian person "Oriential" or "Occidental" (A rug can be Oriental, the people are Asian. As for occidental, look it up). People from Northern African were called "blackamoors"

I think the generally accepted term is biracial. And biracial can be used by many different combination of people (Asian and white, black and hispanic, white and native american).

Answer 2

Many people do consider "mulatto" to be an archaic term and to be derogatory today. Most people of mixed African American and European American descent call themselves "biracial" today or I've also heard Eurafrican American.

African American/white biracial individuals are abundant in American literature, though, both as heroes and as villains. Look around--they're every where....

And many writers have written powerfully of that experience of exclusion and marginalization, of being between worlds. Consider the great Langston Hughes:

"Cross"

My father died in a big white house
My mother died in a shack
Don't know where I'm going to die
Being neither white nor black.

Answer 3

In hispanic countries there is no negative conotation in the word mulatto, in fact, it may be viewed as a bit sexy.
I have to say, I havent heard anybody refer to themselves as mulatto here in NJ, but I dont think its wrong. Like is it wrong to call a black person black, because you wouldnt know what country he is from so you cant really say "african american" if he's dominican or jamaican

Answer 4

Well, if you live in USA, people don't care about if you are mulatto, they will call you black anyway. Unless you look like a Mexican, then they will call you hispanic. In USA exist only three races: Black, white and hispanic

Answer 5

It's not derogatory at all. And I've been called Mulatto before, no bones about it.

Answer 6

I'm the same, and I call myself biracial.
I've been called an oreo plenty of times by people, because I grew up mainly in a white culture.

Answer 7

im the mother of two biracial children be proud you are a new race of people yes you will have your problems just like the rest of the races but look at it like this you are the result of two joining races you can have the best of both worlds my children have been called all kinds of names but they are strong because they know the name callers are a dying breed hang in there

Answer 8

the term is a proper one but like so many other words some people have decided that somehow its racist. if you are comfortable calling your self mulatto, anglo african, tan, or any other name its your call and anyone that doesn't like it is probably a closet racist himself.

Answer 9

You could refer to yourself as biracial if you dont like mulatto.

Answer 10

I don't think it is derogatory at all. Besides, mulattoes are always gorgeous, so be proud!