2006-12-17 08:03:21 · 4 answers · asked by jesse12508 1 in Society & Culture ➔ Languages
These phrases have NOTHING to do with slavery. They have to do with the color of ink used in standard accounting. When the numbers are written in black they are a positive number. When the numbers are written in red they are a negative number. When a company is in the red it means that their balance is negative and therefore written in red ink.
2006-12-17 09:42:25 · answer #1 · answered by Taivo 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
If those phrases have origins resulting from the Trans-Atlantic slave-trade (trade, as in commerce) from Africa to the Americas, then maybe it meant that the "Blacks" from Africa were good for their businesses and incomes and the "Red Skins" existing in the Americas had proven to be a liability.
Otherwise it probably has more to do with ink than slavery.
2006-12-17 16:25:14 · answer #2 · answered by LadyB!™ 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I don't believe that those phrases are in any relation to slavery.
If a business is “in the red,” it is losing money.
If a business is “in the black,” it is making money.
2006-12-17 16:18:22 · answer #3 · answered by Twisted Maggie 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I'm not sure I've ever heard this reference other than in relation to business. "In the black" (ink) meaning making a profit, and "in the red" (ink) meaning turning a loss. It was book keeper jargon.
Slavery was a business...
2006-12-17 16:08:39 · answer #4 · answered by yo Naturale 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋