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This article is about the term used for African-Americans. For other uses, see Coloured people or Color (disambiguation). For the dc Talk song, see Colored People (song).

Colored (also coloured in Canadian and British spelling) is a term once widely regarded as a description of black people (i.e., persons of sub-Saharan African ancestry; members of the "Black race") and Native Americans^[1]. It should not be confused with the more recent term people of color, which attempts to describe all "non-white peoples", not just blacks.

Today it is generally no longer regarded as a politically correct term, however even that is debatable, due to its continued occasional appearance, most notably its use in the acronym NAACP. Carla Sims, communications director for the NAACP in Washington, D.C.,said "The term 'colored' is not derogatory, [the NAACP] chose the word 'colored' because it was the most positive description commonly used at that time. It's outdated and antiquated but not offensive." ^[2]

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."

Free people of color were sometimes accorded higher status than blacks, because of the association of the latter with enslaved status. In addition, free people of color were sometimes the children of planters who may have passed on wealth in the form of property or education, including apprenticeship to a trade. In the well-established Creoles of color community in New Orleans and southern Louisiana, many people became educated and owned property, including their own businesses. but were more often considered lesser than people of separate ancestry.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] References

1. ^ W. David Baird et al. (2009-01-05). ""We are all Americans", Native Americans in the Civil War". Native Americans.com. http://oha.alexandriava.gov/fortward/special-sections/americans/. Retrieved 2009-01-05. 
2. ^ "NAACP says no big deal". Mercury News. http://blogs.mercurynews.com/aei/2008/11/12/lohan-calls-obama-colored-naacp-says-no-big-deal#ftnb.