Just like the phone numbers keep changing, so does the name for black people. Once upon a time it was Negro, then Coloured, then Afro-Carribean and now it is African British:
“African British is the name now used to describe the community previously mislabelled as Afro-Caribbean, Black British, UK Black, Negro, Nigger, Coloured and Black. It embraces all British nationals with antecedents originating directly from Africa or indirectly via African diasporic communities, such as those in the Caribbean and South America.” From ligali.org
I am not sure if the organisation announcing this change has any authority to do so and I am not sure if these name changes are helpful. Clearly this is an effort to align the British black community with the American one naming scheme (African-American). I will be interested in finding out what my balck friends think about this.
I hope that this does not mean that black people will bristle in a few years if those slow to catch on use the “old” descriptor. I still see some black friends get very upset by people - normally Irish people - who use the word coloured. This is not an intentional insult, but it is the standard word used in Ireland to describe black people (particularly rural Ireland). People using the world think it is the right word.
I know that some people of mixed black/white parentage are also fed up with the term mixed race, which replaced the much hated half-caste. I do not know what will replace this phrase as it is pretty neutral and accurate. Maybe bi-racial or tri-racial?
I would love to see a world where the importance of one’s “race” was so low, that one would not even need to bother with words and phrases to describe these silly distinctions. Ultimately I look forward to a day when communities (or any group) will not be based on colour either. There will be no need to designate a term for black people as a group because the groups and communities will be based on overarching loyalties (cultures) and elective affinities unrelated to mere skin colour.
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michelle king 03.19.04 at 10:29 am
why do we need ‘authority’ or permission to name ourselves? for centuries we have taken the labels negro/black/n***er which were not created by us. when someone tries to assert the reality of their cultural, historical and geographical realities, people start crying about it.
maybe if we had more backbone in the first place we wouldn’t have had to keep changing the way we refer to us. my friends and I have no issue with african british despite the fact that many of us have lineages that go through the caribbean and even asia. ultimately we all accept that the makjority of our ancestry and generations were african people.
blakc has no identity and is a non-descript way of talking about a group of people. the movement amongst people i know primarily in birmingham and london is towards an african identity. many of us are even considering changing our european/ christian names.
in times of change, there have always been those that want to remain in the cosy confines of ignorant bliss. that’s fine but i’d rather go out fighting for what i know is right and mine.