Contextual Meanings, the Language of Race and Racism

Contextual Meanings, the Language of Race and Racism

In transcribing G.R. Balleine’s Christianity in Action, the word “negro” occurs, to refer to a black African. While there is a N- word which is offensive, historically, and therefore in its context, this is not so, and could easily be replaced by the word “black”.

This note explains why I have not redacted it.

It would appear to be archaic rather than offensive.

In America, two black organisations still use it in their name. The UNCF uses "Negro" in their name, and the NAACP uses "Colored People" in their name. These terms are inappropriate in casual speech today, but they attest to the history and longevity of those modern organizations.

As example of historical but not racist use:

Professor Booker T. Washington, being politely interrogated ... as to whether negroes ought to be called 'negroes' or 'members of the colored race' has replied that it has long been his own practice to write and speak of members of his race as negroes, and when using the term 'negro' as a race designation to employ the capital 'N' ["Harper's Weekly," June 2, 1906]

In the Week, it is noted why it may be considered offensive especially in the USA today:

We've abandoned the word "Negro" for a reason: Though a point of historical pride for some, says David A. Love at TheGrio, the term "Negro" can also rekindle memories of Jim Crow segregation, and "conjure up images of slave ships, whips and chains." (1)

A study shows

Both the terms n-r and negro come from the Spanish and Portuguese Negro which denotes "black". But today they have widely different connotations, the former is considered a horrible racial slur, while the latter was the preferred way to refer to a person of black ancestry or appearance until the 1960s–70s, was used by MLK in his "I have a dream" speech and is still used in the full name of the UNCF.(2)

Pamela Walker notes:

The term “Negro” gained acceptance in the late 19th century with the promotion of Black activists like W.E.B. Du Bois and Booker T. Washington. Harlem Renaissance writer Langston Hughes’s affirmation of the term (and celebration of the race) is evident in this piercing line from a 1926 essay: “Why should I want to be white, I am a negro – and beautiful.” “Colored” and “Negro” were used somewhat interchangeably by Black Americans, but by the 1940s, there were no new organizations that included the term “Colored” in their title, indicating another shift. Instead organizations such as the National Council of Negro Women (1935) and Negro Youth Congress (1937) became commonplace. Black activists preferred “Negro” over “colored,” as the latter lacked specificity given the growing racial diversity of the country.

And indeed as Keith Allan notes:

“there are fifteen occurrences of Negro used as a term of respect in Martin Luther King’s ‘I have a dream’ speech at the Lincoln Memorial on August 28, 1963.”(4)

In conclusion, while alerting readers to the use of archaic language which would not be used today, I have retained the use of the word “negro” in Balleine’s text because of its historical context.

Links:
(1) https://theweek.com/articles/497653/negro-conundrum

(2) https://english.stackexchange.com/questions/146597/when-and-why-did-the-n-word-and-negro-go-apart/193803#193803
(3) https://www.mission-us.org/2022/11/08/historical-terms-and-why-they-matter/
(4) https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4954799/