What's Wrong With the Term 'Person of Color'

[Valmy]

Its not wrong wrong is it?
Its just one of those silly things old people say, just wrong, not offensive.

Actually it is the new thing.  A couple years ago we were told that we are no longer supposed to use 'African-American' and now 'people of color' was the new PC term (though 'people of color' seems to cover all non-white people but I am not down on my terminology so I could be wrong).  I think you are thinking of 'colored people' which was in vogue back in the 20th century sometime.

[CountDeMoney]

I think you are thinking of 'colored people' which was in vogue back in the 20th century sometime.

lol, yeah, like 1963.

[Admiral Yi]

Back in the 20th century? 

[Valmy]

lol, yeah, like 1963.

Well the NAACP was founded waaaay back in 1900 or so.  I was not sure when exactly that was the in style phrase.  By 1963 it was a little archaic though right?

[garbon]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colored

The term colored appeared in North America during the colonial era. In 1851 an article in the New York Times referred to the "colored population". In 1863, the War Department established the Bureau of Colored Troops. The first 12 Census counts in the U.S. enumerated '"colored" people, who totaled nine million in 1900. The Census counts of 1910–1960 enumerated "negroes."

[Valmy]

Ok then.  19th-20th century.  Whatevs.  The point is the new term is not the old term.  'People of Color' is the new PC term unless it has been replaced and I was not informed.

[garbon]

Ok then.  19th-20th century.  Whatevs.  The point is the new term is not the old term.  'People of Color' is the new PC term unless it has been replaced and I was not informed.

Oh I wasn't trying to contradict you. I agree.

[Admiral Yi]

Colored was in until around 1960.

Then it was black, which was in until around 1980.

Then it was African-American.

Around 2000 it split into black, African-American, and person of color.

[CountDeMoney]

When did "boy" go into use?

[PDH]

When did "boy" go into use?

A lot of times during traffic stops.

[Caliga]

Colored was in until around 1960.

Then it was black, which was in until around 1980.

Then it was African-American.

Around 2000 it split into black, African-American, and person of color.

I think there was a brief Afro-American phase prior to African-American.

[CountDeMoney]

When did "boy" go into use?

A lot of times during traffic stops.

Absolutely no reason to raise the threat level in that situation, no sir.

[Valmy]

1) US/Western imperialism is so widespread that it even imposes its ways of doing racism on the rest of the world, and on people of color.  For example, my family is upper caste, and that caste position is partly what enabled our immigration to the US.  It also means that we're lighter-skinned South Asians (read: closer to Aryan British colonizers).  Using the term 'POC' as my identifier rather than 'South Asian' or 'Desi' means  I never unpack these non-Western racial systems that are also at play

'Is' so widespread...as in still widespread?  I have certainly heard the, rather controversial, idea the British tightened and formalized the Caste system but I never heard they assigned people their caste based on skin color.  And how would one 'unpack' a non-Western racial system that may or may not be also at play?

[Brazen]

Aren't we all people of colour? Mine just happens to be pale bluey-pink.

Under South African apartheid, there were four population groups: Black, White, Indian, and Coloured (capitalised), with the Coloured group including people regarded as being of mixed descent.

[Admiral Yi]

I thought in South Africa Coloured included both mixed race and Indian.