In what year did they stop calling black people negroes?

Question

I noticed how in old news videos from the 50s and 60s they called black people negroes. I was wondering when was it considered inappropriate and they started to call black people black and when did they started saying African-American? Just a curiosity

Answer 1

In the last half of the 60's and early 70's, various groups announced preferences for "Afro-American" or "black," this latter quite peculiar if you think about it. General society, being polite, tried to accomodate, but the latest fad still shifts and makes people uncomfortable. You'll also note that African-American dialect in particular, largely southern-based, and many other southern dialects in general, tend to soften (sometimes to the point of extinction) terminal sounds in words, so it hasn't always been an epithet when white southerners slipped from "*****" to "nigra" to "*****" to that which can no longer be said.

Answer 2

That's an interesting question. I'm 45 years old and I remember people calling black people negroes when I was a child (in the 60's) but it seemed to be already falling out of favor at that time. It seems just older less ... I don't want to say politically correct, but I'm having trouble coming up with an adjective...I guess people less conscious about the feelings and times of the civil rights movement and such still used the word to refer to black people. People that were younger seemed to feel less comfortable using the word like it seemed offensive somehow. Then I started hearing African-American...oh...I guess in the ...early 80s, I guess. When people have to make a reference (and if you are an African-American or black), what term feels least offensive to you? Why? I would prefer not to be offensive.

Answer 3

African-American came about generally in the 1990's. *****, which by the way is a Spanish word meaning black, has never really stopped being in use. There are just a few people left who still use this word. Either they are an older person who are use to using this word or a racist. Generally though, I think it stopped being a wide spread use in the late 1960's or possibly early 1970's.

Answer 4

The vernacular development from "*****" to "Black" and "African-American" occured over time as a result of increasing attentiveness to civil rights, not during a particular year. Some insitutions, people, etc. still use the term "*****."

Answer 5

I think the word fell out of favor after the civil rights and the black power movements of the 60's and 70's. I can't use the word. I cringe whenever I hear my grandmother say it. It's been programmed into younger generations as a bad word, probably because it's too close to the other word.

Answer 6

whenever the whole "pc" thing went into effect. not just the word *****, but you're not supposed to call me a chick either, but i really don't care, it's what i am....

Answer 7

what's odd is that the United ***** College Fund never changed their name