Why are black people considered 'colored' while white has all colors and black is merely an absence of color?

Question

yeah im jobless

Answer 1

I think you're not really looking at it correctly. The term "Colored" was considered a more politically correct term than "*****" back in the late 60's, and replaced the term that America used for African American people.

In the 80's, Colored was replaced with "black," and then in the late 90's "African American" emerged as its alternative. It's all terms associated with those who have African roots. There is, however, a funny poem that was written in the 70's that I unfortunately do not know who the author is:

A black man talks to a whiteman:
When I was born I was black,
When I grew up I was black,
When I'm sick I'm black,
When I go in the sun I'm black,
When I'm cold I'm black,
When I die I'll be black.

But you:
When you're born you're pink,
When you grow up you're white,
When you're sick, you're green,
When you go in the sun you turn red,
When you're cold you turn blue,
and when you die you turn purple.
And you have the nerve to call me colored!!!

Answer 2

Funny you should refer to the colour black as being an absence of colour. It is actually the other way around where white is the absence of colour. A white person has little or no melanin, hence they burn easily. This lack of colour is also what gives them their blue, green, grey and even light brown eyes, and light coloured hair.

Answer 3

There are really no black or white people. We are all just shades of pink and brown. Pink and brown are not an abscense of colour and they are not polar opposites. I wonder what would have happenned if we were more specific with our colours way back in the day. Would David Duke have the balls to attend a "Pink Power"meeting. I don't think so.

Answer 4

Black is the entire rainbow of colors merged into one.............
Besides,,,,
The definition of hue is: a gradation or variety of a color; tint -- a black man is a human (a man of color; the original man). Black is NOT a merely absence of color.

Answer 5

The last person I heard call a man "colored" was my grandfather and he is a screaming racist. I think most black people, other then their name would like to be called black.
B

Answer 6

it particularly is slightly extra complicated than that. "The mirrored image type of human dermis relies upon on the optical residences of its structural components, consisting of a layer of for sure secreted sebum. Sebum is got here upon over maximum components of the physique, inflicting dermis to look extra specular, based on the viewing circumstances. To seize the diversities in visual attraction brought about by making use of the presence of sebum on dermis floor, we've more suitable a three-layer simulation type. the consequent mirrored image type contains the specular mirrored image by using Fresnel result, besides by using fact the diffuse mirrored image from subsurface scattering. Optical and geometric residences are used as administration parameters to impact the outdoors mirrored image and subsurface scattering of sunshine in the three layers. The bi-directional reflectance distribution function obtained from the simulation is ordinary experimentally and used to render the organic visual attraction of human dermis."

Answer 7

Interesting question. I like the other answers but I'm guessing this started before the common people knew that much about light and melanin. So, likely it goes back to eurocentrism... like it or not...

Answer 8

Good question. It's probably because light skinned people reflect light while dark skinned people absorb light. Color is an attribute of light.

Answer 9

its because black people are 'colored' by melanin...and white people have an ABSENCE of melanin