The Multiracial Advocacy Blog
Monday, January 30, 2012
Respectful Terms
"Some other race" and "Two or More Races" are government terms for Multiracial. Why is respectful terminology so hard to use by the government? Did you remember when "Asian" was "Oriental"? When "Black" was "Colored"? How about when "Alaskan" Native was "Alaska Native." Huh? That's right. The congressional representatives from Alaska asked the Office of Management and Budget to drop the "n," on Alaskan so they did. It would be just as easy to use respectful terminology to identify as multiracial. What do you think?
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Our family went to see the movie Red Tails, the story of the Tuskegee Airmen, the other night. In one scene a white pilot tells a black pilot, "We call you colored" and the Black pilot replies "We prefer negro." Respectful terminology has always been important and those of a given race are the only ones who should be able to determine what that means even if it changes over time. If I must be labeled, I prefer to label myself! I prefer multiracial.
ReplyDeleteObviously, words are important and they can convey a great deal. It always amazes me how many people are not aware of the extremely offensive origin of the word mulatto, for instance.
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