• DOI:10.1086/269339
• Corpus ID: 143826058

CHANGING RACIAL LABELS: FROM “COLORED” TO “NEGRO” TO “BLACK” TO “AFRICAN AMERICAN”

@article{Smith1992CHANGINGRL,
  title={CHANGING RACIAL LABELS: FROM “COLORED” TO “NEGRO” TO “BLACK” TO “AFRICAN AMERICAN”},
  author={Tom W. Smith},
  journal={Public Opinion Quarterly},
  year={1992},
  volume={56},
  pages={496-514}
}

• Tom W. Smith
• Published 21 December 1992
• History
• Public Opinion Quarterly

Labels play an important role in defining groups and individuals who belong to the groups. This has been especially true for racial and ethnic groups in general and for Blacks in particular. Over the past century the standard term for Blacks has shifted from "Colored" to "Negro" to "Black" and now perhaps to "African American." The changes can be seen as attempts by Blacks to redefine themselves and to gain respect and standing in a society that has held them to be subordinate and inferior. Racial labels have been of special importance to Black Americans.1 Wrenched from their native lands, Blacks lost their core personal iden- tities. Tribal affiliation, kinship ties, language, and many other cultural attributes were destroyed when Blacks were enslaved by an alien cul- ture in a foreign land. As Blacks gradually began to achieve emancipa- tion or to gain ground under slavery, they forged a new culture and formed institutions and organizations to serve their needs and promote their interests. This effort was continually regulated by White society, which strictly controlled Blacks and sought to shape and regulate Black status and consciousness. The development of a Black commu- nity accelerated after the Civil War with the abolition of slavery, but White racism in general and the Southern system of segregation in particular severely hampered progress. As Blacks established community and national institutions such as churches, colleges, and economic associations, they adopted various