The language and terms used to describe and define people of Black African descent by others is a complex issue and as can be seen from the various historical and modern textual sources on this website has evolved over time depending on changing attitudes to race. For the purposes of this project we have provided a glossary of terms used on this site to help with an understanding of the historical background of this terminology and to provide links to resources for further information.
African American is a term that became popular in the late 1980s to describe Black people living in the United States whose descendents are from Africa.
Black as a descriptor is a person with African ancestral origins, who self identifies, or is identified, as Black, African or Afro-Caribbean (see, African and Afro-Caribbean). The word is capitalised to signify its specific use in this way. In some circumstances the word Black signifies all non-white minority populations, and in this use serves political purposes. While this term was widely supported in the late twentieth century there are signs that such support is diminishing. http://jech.bmj.com/content/58/6/441.full
Coloured as a term brings to mind the time of racial segregation when Black people were segregated from white people in public areas especially in the US. Arguably it may be more acceptable in South Africa where the term referred to anyone of mixed-race parentage. There might also be the perception that ‘coloured’ is an addition of colour and not necessarily something which is natural http://www.rifemagazine.co.uk/2015/01/cant-say-coloured-questions-race-answered/
Coloured referring to skin colour is first recorded in the early seventeenth century and was adopted in the US by emancipated slaves as a term of racial pride after the end of the American Civil War. In Britain it was the accepted term until the 1960s, when it was superseded (as in the US) by black. The term coloured lost favour among black people during this period and is now widely regarded as offensive except in historical contexts. https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/coloured
Negro is only acceptable to be used in a historic context otherwise it is viewed as inappropriate and offensive. It was originally used by the Spanish and Portuguese in the mid-sixteenth century and became more commonly used throughout the seventeenth to nineteenth centuries. Many Black American Campaigners such as W. E. B. DuBois and Booker T. Washington used the term in the early twentieth century but after the 1960s following on from the Black Power movement, the term ‘Black’ was used in preference. https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/negro
Non-white can denote a person whose origin is not predominantly European but it is worth considering this view point as explained in Rife Magazine:
“This terminology puts the emphasis on being white. Imagine if we all started referring to women as non-men. Insulting, right? ‘Non-white’ does not aim to acknowledge the broad spectrums of ethnic groups and races that exist other than white, and defines this perceived ‘other’ by what they are not. It implies that white is the default or normal way to be. As we know, all skin tones are normal.” http://www.rifemagazine.co.uk/2015/01/cant-say-coloured-questions-race-answered/
Mixed Race relates to a person whose parents belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
Black as a descriptor is a person with African ancestral origins, who self identifies, or is identified, as Black, African or Afro-Caribbean (see, African and Afro-Caribbean). The word is capitalised to signify its specific use in this way. In some circumstances the word Black signifies all non-white minority populations, and in this use serves political purposes. While this term was widely supported in the late twentieth century there are signs that such support is diminishing. http://jech.bmj.com/content/58/6/441.full
Coloured as a term brings to mind the time of racial segregation when Black people were segregated from white people in public areas especially in the US. Arguably it may be more acceptable in South Africa where the term referred to anyone of mixed-race parentage. There might also be the perception that ‘coloured’ is an addition of colour and not necessarily something which is natural http://www.rifemagazine.co.uk/2015/01/cant-say-coloured-questions-race-answered/
Coloured referring to skin colour is first recorded in the early seventeenth century and was adopted in the US by emancipated slaves as a term of racial pride after the end of the American Civil War. In Britain it was the accepted term until the 1960s, when it was superseded (as in the US) by black. The term coloured lost favour among black people during this period and is now widely regarded as offensive except in historical contexts. https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/coloured
Negro is only acceptable to be used in a historic context otherwise it is viewed as inappropriate and offensive. It was originally used by the Spanish and Portuguese in the mid-sixteenth century and became more commonly used throughout the seventeenth to nineteenth centuries. Many Black American Campaigners such as W. E. B. DuBois and Booker T. Washington used the term in the early twentieth century but after the 1960s following on from the Black Power movement, the term ‘Black’ was used in preference. https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/negro
Non-white can denote a person whose origin is not predominantly European but it is worth considering this view point as explained in Rife Magazine:
“This terminology puts the emphasis on being white. Imagine if we all started referring to women as non-men. Insulting, right? ‘Non-white’ does not aim to acknowledge the broad spectrums of ethnic groups and races that exist other than white, and defines this perceived ‘other’ by what they are not. It implies that white is the default or normal way to be. As we know, all skin tones are normal.” http://www.rifemagazine.co.uk/2015/01/cant-say-coloured-questions-race-answered/
Mixed Race relates to a person whose parents belong to different racial or ethnic groups.