When it comes to conversations about racial identity, using the correct terminology can be important and beneficial, particularly for public relations practitioners whose sole jobs are to communicate accurately and effectively. This article aims to provide clarity and guidance on the appropriate use of racial and ethnic terminology, focusing on the terms "Black" and "African American." It emphasizes the importance of respectful and inclusive language, drawing from historical context and contemporary preferences.
Distribution of African Americans in the United States.
Understanding the Terms: Black vs. African American
It seems to be the age-old question in some circles - is the proper term Black or African American? The term African American (sometimes used with a hyphen and occasionally without) is habitually used to describe ethnicity while Black often describes race. According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, the definition of African American is an American of African and especially of Black African descent. But not all Black people are African American. In fact, the Pew Research Center indicates that the Black population in the United States is quite diverse with many being descendants of slaves, while others are recently arrived immigrants.
For example, there are those in the Black community that identify as Afro-Latino and Afro-Caribbean and identify as Black - and the number is growing. So, having said that - which one is the correct term? Well, that’s a tricky question, isn’t it? According to CBS News, most people tend to lean toward the term African American out of a desire for either political correctness or politeness. The two terms are often used interchangeably, but that isn’t always accurate.
Back in the day, the 1960s categorically speaking, Black activists began using the term Black when referring to descendants of slaves. This was done in an attempt to 1) erase the term Negro from the American lexicon and 2) distance the generation from the Jim Crow era, a turbulent period where state and local laws enforced racial segregation in the South.
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The history of racial terminology in the United States is older than the country itself. Since the early colonial era, terminology for people of African descent, in particular, has evolved, been contested, and remains malleable to this day. Terms such as “Colored,” “Negro,” “Black,” and “African American” have come in and out of usage and acceptance for a number of reasons.
Historical Context
During the early Republic, the earliest mutual aid groups and schools for free and enslaved Blacks adopted the broad term “African” as an identifier. The African Methodist Episcopal Church in Philadelphia was founded by Black freedman Richard Allen while the African Free School in New York was organized by founding fathers Alexander Hamilton and John Jay.
In the Emancipation Era - the post-Civil War period of new-found freedom and autonomy for the formerly enslaved - Black Americans shifted from inherited terms of racial categorization to naming themselves. “Colored” was the dominant term through the mid to late 19th century, but freedmen adopted the term for themselves as a marker of race pride.
Black women suffragists holding sign reading “Head-Quarters for Colored Women Voters” in Georgia, ca. 1919.
The word “Negro” was born from romance languages (French, Spanish, Latin, and Portuguese) and literally means “black” or “dark,” but its usage as a description of people dates back to Spanish colonization. Spanish colonial “casta” or caste systems hierarchically categorized European, Native, African, and mixed-race populations in North and South America. 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.”
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“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.
By 1950, while “Negro” was the dominant term by which Black Americans dignifiably identified themselves, it was not without tension.
Casta painting showing 16 racial groupings.
By the start of the modern civil rights movement, Black Americans were considering new ways of thinking about their communities. “Black” had been used as a negative foil to “white” [people], and thus the opposite of all that is “good” and “pure,” and for that reason has been considered offensive. However, in the 1960s, a movement led by young people sought to pridefully reclaim the term: Black Power, Black is Beautiful. While Negro was an inherited term associated with slavery, Black was a chosen identity rooted in self-determination and embraced natural hair as beautiful. For Black Americans who experienced “white supremacy” through lynching, pogroms, and all types of violence, “Black” as the antonym of “white” was indeed a good thing.
The use of Black by young people, student movements, and organizations like the Black Panthers added to the intergenerational conflict already emerging within the civil rights movement around strategy and the pace of change.
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Harlem: The Ghetto. New York City, July 1970.
Around the late 1980s, the term “African American,” which originally appeared in public as far back as 1835, returned to the American lexicon to center cultural integrity and heritage.
Many Black people in the early 1960s were still proud of, and fighting for, the use of “Negro” and its capitalization, which signified dignity and respect. While the terms “colored” and “Negro” were once acceptable terms when referring to people of African descent, today these terms are often considered offensive and are unacceptable.
Starting in the 1960s, civil rights activitsts such as Stokely Carmichael made a push to shift away from "Negro" and towards "Black" as a more powerful ethnonym, one that intentionally engaged the history of racist devaluation of Black life and intended to reverse it.
Later, activists such as Jesse Jackson suggested replacing "Black" with "African American," and that too became a broadly-used term starting in the late 1980s (and a term that continues to be widely used today by many news organizations and institutional entities as a neutral, 'objective' term).
However, in recent years many writers, theorists, and activists have again made the case that a term like "Black" is more meaningful to them than the more sociological sounding "African American."
Best Practices for Inclusive Language
So, how can PR professionals know what terms to use? Well, there is such a thing as inclusive language. This has been defined as working to avoid being disrespectful or offensive by circumventing language that may suggest or imply ideas that are racist, sexist or prejudice. Inclusive language also aims to have communication that would not exclude people. Terms such as BIPOC - which means Black, Indigenous, and people of color - have garnered popularity but aren’t universally loved.
Still, the term Black does seem to be a better choice. The term is a celebration of the race and culture itself - and who doesn’t like a good celebration? So, in the spirit of diversity, equity and inclusion - inclusion being the operative word here - perchance it would be prudent for PR professionals to use the term Black.
Here are some general guidelines to follow:
- Capitalize all references to race, including White. This is a divergence from AP style. Writing white in the lowercase could give the impression that it is the default, neutral, or a standard. The capital letter for a racial identity is not intended to elevate, but to situate.
- Avoid collective reference to racial and ethnic minority groups as non-White unless it was a formal category in a database or research document.
- Avoid using race/ethnicity because the slash implies that these are interchangeable terms.
- Include context when writing about race and other people-related language.
- Populations should be described specifically whenever possible, and we should not default to using minorities or racial and ethnic groups when writing about specific populations.
- If data on race and ethnicity will be reported, please follow the officially recognized Ethnicity and Race Indicator categories as defined by OMB.
Usually, modern American etiquette on naming and labels attempts to respect the desires of the one who is named. And this leads to the second option on naming which is to not use a label at all. In many instances, ethnicity or race is not relevant to identifying someone.
If you absolutely must refer to their ethnicity/race, 'black' or 'African American' is fine. But, you might wonder, "'absolutely must?' How do I -not- refer to their race? It's so obvious!". Well, sort of, but no, not really. In a majority-minority situation (or us-them), the minority (in the majority context) stands out.
Of course there are some situations where race or ethnicity are the salient thing. Do they celebrate Kwanzaa? Do they have sickle-cell anemia? (but many supposedly race-based medical tests to show disease likelihood have been shown to be improved considerably by removing race as a feature). "But", I still hear you say, "c'mon man, how do I not just say the things everybody is thinking?". It takes practice if you're not used to it. Pick something else. The tall guy, the partner, the CEO.
And also not everybody is thinking those things. If you're thinking 'those things' but it's irrelevant, then practice not thinking that.
It's kinda weird how you can have words that all point to the same concept, but some of those words are absolutely horrific to use in one context, but mostly benign in another. But, well, that's language.
Yes, someone whose ancestors are Afrikaner but has emigrated to the US is literally an American from Africa, a literal African American, but you just wouldn't call them that.
No one calls a refrigerator an 'ice box' anymore, but don't shame them for doing so, just inform. Maybe a little shame if they don't show a little themselves.
Here's a table summarizing the evolution of terms:
| Term | Historical Period | Acceptability | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| African | Early Republic | Outdated | Used by early mutual aid groups and schools. |
| Colored | Mid to Late 19th Century | Offensive | Adopted by freedmen as a marker of race pride. |
| Negro | Late 19th Century to Mid 20th Century | Offensive | Gained acceptance with Black activists like W.E.B. Du Bois. |
| Black | 1960s - Present | Acceptable | Reclaimed term during the Black Power movement. |
| African American | Late 1980s - Present | Acceptable | Centers cultural integrity and heritage. |
