![]() ![]() Today, it usually covers all/any peoples of African, Latino/Hispanic, Native American, Asian or Pacific Island descent, and its intent is to be inclusive.With a wealth of substrate types to choose from, it's unsurprising that one of our most commonly asked questions from customers is "which paper should I go for?" history, "person of color" has often been used to refer only to people of African heritage. One definition of white, from the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, is "marked by slight pigmentation of the skin." And the term seems to be replacing "minorities," which makes sense, since minorities can be a demographic inaccuracy. ![]() But some white folks object to the phrase, too, because, hey, we do have color. "Person of color" is a useful term, because defining someone by a negative - nonwhite or other than white - seems silly. They are reminders that the range of skin colors covered by 'black' is vast." A New York Times review of an exhibit of her work described how she "tinted the prints with monochromatic dyes: yellow, blue, magenta. The first thing I learned in color theory as an art student was that, when you're talking about light, white means all colors and black is the absence of color, but if you're referring to paint, then white is no color and black contains all colors.Ĭontemporary artist Carrie Mae Weems produced a series of photographic portraits of African-American children and called it Colored People. The company renamed it "peach" in 1962, and now promotes a " Multicultural" box of crayons in eight "skin hues" - Apricot, Black, Burnt Sienna, Mahogany, Peach, Sepia, Tan, White. ![]() When I was a kid, the "flesh" crayon in a box of Crayolas was pink, even though no one actually has pink skin (except maybe after a day on the beach without sunscreen, when I could go all the way to orange-red). When used by whites, people of color usually carries a friendly and respectful connotation, but should not be used as a synonym for black it refers to all racial groups that are not white." People of color, on the other hand, is a phrase encompassing all nonwhites. Colored is often taken as a slur, even when not so intended, and so this term - first used with this meaning in 1611 by the historian John Speed as 'coloured countenances' - is better replaced by its synonym as noun and adjective, black. "Colored people (which in South Africa means 'people of racially mixed ancestry') has in the United States a connotation different from people of color. Let's consider the evolution of that ubiquitous phrase, "people of color." It's not new.Ī little research into early sources turns up "An Act to Prohibit the Importation of Slaves into any Port or Place Within the Jurisdiction of the United States" (signed in 1807), which applied to "any negro, mulatto, or person of colour" - indicating that the term was well-enough established to be used in the text of legislation. Since then, the term has steadily declined but continues to significantly outstrip the use of "people of color," which reached its apex in 2003 (although it is important to note that 2008 is the latest year for which results are available). For "minorities," the top-ranked year was 1997. The use of the phrase "colored people" peaked in books published in 1970. Changes in the words and phrases we use to describe each other reflect whatever progress we make on the path toward a world where everyone feels respected and included.Ī Google Ngram search comparing the frequency of the use of "colored people," "minorities" and "people of color" delivers interesting results. Language is and always will be an essential element in the struggle for understanding among peoples. Can race and ethnicity be represented by the colors found in a crayon box? ![]()
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