'Negro' History 101

To The Editor,

Jack Stephenson's letter of 8/18 ("For it and against it") about Obama smacks of antiquated and current racism as well as ignorance of ethnic history. He claims that Obama needs "cue cards" to speak, cue cards being a semi-antiquated term (the other being Negro — fully antiquated) he uses in his letter.

On the contrary Obama has proven to be the most extemporaneous (and exceptional on his feet) candidate speaker in 2008, unwavering and beyond eloquent without a teleprompter most of the time. I have yet to see him use "cue cards" on any political issue, important to Americans. (When thanking local advocates he uses cards to remember hundreds of names in hundreds of towns). But that's about it!

Beyond belief, however, is Stephenson's use of the term "Negro" twice in his letter, in the year 2008 as a term for an African-American, (albeit he's one-half by DNA). One would think Stephenson's last book he read was "To Kill a Mockingbird" by Harper Lee in 1960 instead of "The Name Negro — Its Origin and Evil Use" by Richard B. Moore of the same year (1960). Since Senator Obama's mother was white (S. Ann Durham) and from the flatlands of Kansas, Stephenson might be expected to have used the outdated term "mulatto" since Mr. Obama's father was Kenyan making Obama biracial. He is only half-black (or half-white) so why would Stephenson call him a "Negro."

The term "Negro" in 2008 is generally used today for black Spanish olives, not African Blacks, and the oppression of black slaves and their culture has resulted in an evolution of more modern terms of respect for a substantial portion of our nation's citizenry and voting public. The root of the word, Negro, means "black" in all European and African cultures. Admittedly in previous letters to the editor, Stephenson has acknowledged his age as in the mid-70s. He must surely realize by now that the term, Negro is obsolete.

Disparaging terms had their evolution from the 1830s to the mid-1890s when Blacks were called "colored" or even "Colored-American." At the beginning of the 20th century and by 1920, the term Negro was born. From the 1930s on, to the 1960s with the Black Power movement, there was dissatisfaction in general with the Negro term. There was a cultural movement of more respect for Blacks and their heritage/ culture, which was designed to remove "a host of other slurs" that will not be mentioned here. During this cultural nationalism, terms evolved; with "Black" or "African-American" the latter moniker predominating since the 1980s until now. The term, African-American highlights both "historical lineage and ethnogeographic origins" and not skin color, as in the older terms.

Stephenson shows his implied bigotry and ignorance when he says (in referencing Cbama), "Back then some of us thought that he was the same as most USA Negros, but he is NOT and he has become an insult to our great successful Negros in the USA." Is Stephenson thinking MLK, Jr here? Might Stephenson be thinking MLK was the "Numero Uno Negro?" Mea culpa, mea culpa!

Obama is no "insult" to intelligent life on this earth, Mr. Stevenson, and he does speak "for all people" and is far from "Hollywood" in style. One last point. The New York Times began capitalizing the word, Negro (as in African-American history) in 1930, should you wish to use the quasi-racist term again for relevant historical purposes. You didn't capitalize it as a former ethnicity in your last letter and yet "spell check," alerts you. Typewriters don't however.

Jack Polidoro

Laconia