NationMaster - Encyclopedia: Colored people

Colored and Colored People (or Colored Folk in the plural sense) are North American terms that were commonly used to describe black people. The term "colored" in particular (along with "Negro") has largely fallen out of popular usage in the United States, in the last third of the 20th century and is now archaic and potentially derogatory, except in certain narrow circumstances such as the name of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. Look up Plural in Wiktionary, the free dictionary Plural is a grammatical number, typically referring to more than one of the referent in the real world. ... World map showing North America A satellite composite image of North America. ... Negro means black in the Spanish, Portuguese and ancient Italian languages, being derived from the Latin word niger of the same meaning. ... (19th century - 20th century - 21st century - more centuries) Decades: 1900s 1910s 1920s 1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s As a means of recording the passage of time, the 20th century was that century which lasted from 1901–2000 in the sense of the Gregorian calendar (1900–1999 in the... The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), is one of the oldest and most influential civil rights organizations in the United States. ...

The term "colored" appeared in North America during the colonial era. A "colored" man halted a runaway carriage that was carrying President John Tyler on March 4, 1844. In 1863, the War Department established the "Bureau of Colored Troops." The first twelve Census counts in the U.S. enumerated "colored" people, who totaled nine million in 1900. The Census counts of 1910-1960 enumerated "negroes." John Tyler (March 29, 1790 â€“ January 18, 1862) was the tenth (1841-1845) President of the United States. ...

"Colored" was originally a term for persons of mixed African and Caucasian and/or Native American ancestry. Coloreds and mixed Creoles generally were accorded higher status than blacks. Later, "colored" was used to refer to all blacks, due to the difficulty involved in maintaining these distinctions.

People of color

"Person of color" or "people of color" are synonyms for people who are not white in the United States and for members of a non-white group. Some find this term equally offensive as the term "colored", primarily because it fixes whites as the benchmark for racial division, fostering an allegedly "us-versus-them" view of race relations. Proponents of the term maintain that it must be realistically acknowledged that race domination is primarily caucasian, and that the term "person of color" is a better generic term for the racial underclass than "black person" as it includes ethnicities other than those strictly of African descent. This may include some Chicano/Latino, who can be white or of color, Asian American and many indigenous groups that also experience racism. This article does not cite its references or sources. ... Race relations are relations between races, sometimes involving racism. ... Typical Caucasian skull The term Caucasian race, Caucasian or Caucasoid is used to refer to people whose ancestry can be traced back to Europe, North Africa, West Asia, Indian subcontinent and parts of Central Asia. ... A Hupa man, 1923 The term Indigenous peoples of the Americas encompasses the inhabitants of the Americas before the European discovery of the Americas in the late 15th century, as well as many present-day ethnic groups who identify themselves with those historical peoples. ...

The historical term free people of color refers to people of African descent during slavery who lived in freedom. A related term from the time of slavery is gens de couleur, a French expression that refers to the free descendants of white French colonists and Africans. Because so many of these people had mixed African and European ancestry, they are sometimes labeled mulatto. They are also sometimes referred to as affranchis. In the history of the slavery in the Americas, a free person of color was a person of full or partial African descent who was not enslaved. ... This article needs to be wikified. ... Representation of Mulattos during the Latin American colonial period. ... French colonial Saint-Domingue (now Haiti) had three social classes: French planters, affranchi landholders, and African slaves. ...

Some struggle to identify with the term, arguing the word "color" merely refers to level of skin melanin, which delusively defines those who aren't noticeably non-white, or whose racial background includes both races of white and non-white.

Questionable Logic

Elsewhere

In the United Kingdom, the term, spelled coloured, can mean the same; today it is usually used only by older people and is often considered offensive, much as in North America.

The term has also been used variously throughout the Commonwealth of Nations to refer to people from Africa, Australian Aborigines, Asians and Native Americans. The Commonwealth of Nations (CN), usually known as the Commonwealth, is a voluntary association of 53 independent sovereign states, almost all of which are former colonies of the United Kingdom. ... Aboriginal Flag Australian Aborigines is a name used to collectively describe most of the indigenous peoples of the Australian continent and its nearby islands. ... World map showing the location of Asia. ... A Hupa man, 1923 The term Indigenous peoples of the Americas encompasses the inhabitants of the Americas before the European discovery of the Americas in the late 15th century, as well as many present-day ethnic groups who identify themselves with those historical peoples. ...

Coloured in Southern Africa

In South Africa the term Coloured is used exclusively to refer to people of mixed-race, or Khoisan descent, with the term black used for black Africans. "Coloured" was one of the racial groups designated under the Apartheid system of racial segregation, along with "Black", "White" and "Indian". The term is not generally considered offensive in South Africa. Most Coloured South Africans have a cultural identity distinct both from that of Blacks and Whites; some (particularly those who have non-Coloured parents) may adopt the cultural identity of one (or both) of their parents. In the South African and Namibian context, the term Coloured (also known as Bruinmense, Kleurlinge or Bruine Afrikaners) refers to a rather heterogeneous group of people of mixed Khoisan, white European descent, Malay, Malagasy, Black (Bantu), and South Indian ancestry, especially in the Western Cape. ... Khoisan is the name for two major ethnic groups of southern Africa. ... This article or section is in need of attention from an expert on the subject. ... In the South African and Namibian context, the term Coloured (also known as Bruinmense, Kleurlinge or Bruine Afrikaners) refers to a rather heterogeneous group of people of mixed Khoisan, white European descent, Malay, Malagasy, Black (Bantu), and South Indian ancestry, especially in the Western Cape. ... In the South African and Namibian context, the term Coloured (also known as Bruinmense, Kleurlinge or Bruine Afrikaners) refers to a rather heterogeneous group of people of mixed Khoisan, white European descent, Malay, Malagasy, Black (Bantu), and South Indian ancestry, especially in the Western Cape. ...

The term "Coloured" is also used to describe persons of mixed race in Namibia, to refer to those of part Khoisan, part white descent. The Basters of Namibia constitute a separate ethnic group that are sometimes considered a sub-group of the Coloured population of that country. Under South African rule, the policies and laws of apartheid were extended to what was then called South West Africa, and the treatment of Namibian Coloureds was comparable to that of South African Coloureds. In the South African and Namibian context, the term Coloured (also known as Bruinmense, Kleurlinge or Bruine Afrikaners) refers to a rather heterogeneous group of people of mixed Khoisan, white European descent, Malay, Malagasy, Black (Bantu), and South Indian ancestry, especially in the Western Cape. ... This article does not cite its references or sources. ... The Basters (also known as Baasters or Rehoboth Basters) are the descendents of liaisons between the Cape Colony Dutch and indigenous African women. ... South-West Africa is the former name (1884-1990) of Namibia under German (as German South-West Africa, Deutsch Süd-West Afrika) and (from 1915) South African administration when it was conqured from the Germans during World War I. Following the war, the Treaty of Versailles declared the territory...

The term "Coloured" or "Goffal" is also used in Zimbabwe, where, unlike South Africa and Namibia, most people of mixed race have African and European ancestry, being descended from the offspring of European men and Shona and Ndebele women; under white minority rule in the then Rhodesia, Coloureds had more privileges than black Africans, including full voting rights, but still faced serious discrimination. In Swaziland, the term Eurafrican is used. Goffals are people of mixed race from Southern Africa . ... This article or section is in need of attention from an expert on the subject. ... This article does not cite its references or sources. ... Shona (IPA: ) is the name collectively given to several groups of people in Zimbabwe and western Mozambique. ... This article relates to the Ndebele people of Zimbabwe. ... National motto: Sit Nomine Digna (Latin: May she be worthy of the name} Official language English Capital Salisbury Political system Parliamentary system Form of government Republic - Last President John Wrathall - Prime Minister Ian Smith Area - Total - % water 390 580 kmÂ² 1% Population - 1978 est. ...

Contents

People of color

Questionable Logic

Elsewhere

Coloured in Southern Africa

See also