itolial What’s in a name – Negro, African, Black, Afro-American, African-American, Colored, Black-American or Negro-American?
Arllcle I (Name)
The r,iame d this baa:; shan tle Tne ;’:’:,.’ alion for the Study of Negra Lila iF His!ory.
!l,,’v\wai \1tj””Wlg. I”‘captlon at U·,e P:of_:’,· amendrr,er,t s~1all be effecled by (we-Ii of the members present.
Article 11 (Purpose)
lis object sr.all be the coller:t!ofl o~ SC’Ct,: logical and historical documents aile ~., promotion 01 studies bearing on ~he r~e,;’·
This was the orlglnal constitution. 13n(‘ subsequent revIsions contaIn almost lh·~ same Ideas, espEiclally Is this true of (hr- namo, “Nogro,” and It ha15 90 ‘\0(“‘:’: through the years sInce 1915.
In October, 1970, without the Executi’.-,(, Council voting on this proposal, 99 Wil one of the ways requIred by the rovlso’f constitution, and by majority vote, th,~ name change was approved agulnst Iii;:’ opposition of an active mInority. Sinr/, that occasion In October, 1970, the rnJn’)r- Ity has continued !t~ oppo~ltlon, find i~ may well be that this action may lw changed bock, to what It ha~ boen, lr Ootober, 1971, In Washington, D.C., for b~; the oonstltutlon no change can be mH(jj, without two convention votes.
The. First and Second Anlclee at Ile’l are involved Iii \\”Ila change of name. T,·;
cen\ur es. There are few traces Qf AlriLar. culture In Negro life in America, and the Negro-AmerIcan seems not to be essen- tially different In this respect from the Irish-American, the German-American, Jewish-American, the Scotch-American. or any other AmerIcan Iypes so tar ae I.he cui· tures of the lends of their ancestors are conctarned. Millions of Europeans have come to America and millions of AfrIcans have been brought from Africa to America. They have all become a part of the Amerl· can populalion,
These AfrIcans, designated 65 Negroe:;,. have been marching forward In all lines of endeavors and achievement. They are proving that civllizatlon and contribu- tions to II are not based on race or color but upon the indIvidual men or women 01 abJilty, Who seek to advance themselves be they white or black. In these respecls. God Is no respecter 01 per50ns, whatev6f their names and colors.
CONCLUSION
This questlon has been asked and answered In Romeo and Juliel (Act II Scene 2) by WilHam Shakespeare, the well-known bard of England:
What’s In a name? That which we call a rose
By any other name would smell as sweet.
As the AssociatIon was at first, Wood· son, it is. now ours. Why then should we not work hard to change the opinion about the name, as did Ihe Anglo-Saxons, once dlscountsd; or ihe Jews, once despised and rejected: or the Irish once segregated In job employment and housing: and each of the above ridiculed as bufioons on the Stage of Life?
We need to worK 10 change th9 Image of the Negro people, to ourselves as we’d as others. even If we change the name 01 ,if we do not. Let uS never gIve up 1his goar, or expect to do it by evading or adopting a name, howeve~ temporarlly valuable either course mIght seem to be. Much more 1$ needed. Let us do It and not divide our forces on the Incidental, thus straying from the major path to free- dom.
until the October annual rn9811ng. 197\, when this questIon may be settled w;~ shall continue to use, as an AssocIation, in our public allons In hIstory all of these names as occasion demand5-Negro, African, Black. Afro-American, African~ AmerIcan, Colored, Black American end Negro-American. Surely you will know of whom we are wriling and since whlte5 seem 10 think that they esteem themselves by saying, “we are white,” why should not we also say with the same esteem, “we are black.” Thus whites and blacks could have the same approach with esteem to their worthy backgrounds, and it may be ultimately, as the truth becomes known, to each other’? Let’s lry itt
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lhe. blr\ck m:;ln’~ p:;.tll:ncc doth c:>-:- ci te
lvfy wonekrmtnt! !\’!:lrl LU’..:;]t! nOt writ~
:\ list. of a:l the mQr.5trO\IS deeds, Commi.tcd ‘gaimt him t!-;3t h:
“,b:J n:ads ~.Iig:ht comprellE:ilrJ! >’:’) other
rflce Could s-t”,nd it ,,1) ,,:-.d \c;<·... L.' ~,~J
t~~ce
Of fierce rC'y~n~:c 'I. frc-:,;;:y w,o,:ght,
On those that :0 it 'c'e, ;l
It is, tberdore, casiiv sten that the term colClred can ~\’ith equal c~~actness be applied to a Chinc5t: a l\ubian, an Apa.che or a Hindu: But the ternl colored has a .:-peci:3.1 ,is \vtll aR al:!’eneral usage. \Vhcn t.he K:liser rs tr’vinQ’ to~ unite tbe ,:,:hite people of “tht world, he rc~ lIct’S to the bogey of the colo,ed ~acts uniting: when a pc~;;on rc- t~l’S to a man of :\”tg,oid ~;’\trC\c~ tion in the United Stat~=, I:t =:,peaks of a colored man, but that canvt:r-s to the hearer’s mind nO idea as to the man’s actuJ.l·co!or; but in the “Vest IndiO:$ wheTl the word Cl’)}ortu is used in statistics 0, in c!e::cribing a oe,son, the UI1~ c!trstanding is tha( it reins to a })er’so:l of visible white ‘and bi;:”ck a:1Ccstry, Hence the; tt:-rn has :hee mear:i::gs:
ThE: !irs! m€
bonds F:-0:11 [dl mJ:1kind. ~IF! !.-,.’)vc re-
sponds T,) I-O\:c, ;;.nd lbtro.:rJ dir;i, ‘\nd n12.!-. ~(, r:1J,n With SU(l.:or
Bic:s, The:”! tl… c ub.ck man \\ ;:1 ,,-rls’~, At1(j jiit his h::;nu:; t’~”,.Hds t:-:t
5~lC::.
\VLiie Y’Jkil1(; loud hi= ;;:ad r~” frain: –
Hozn:1nfi,h! l’7::::!.rt i!: man a~::l.itl’
~ BertllCci” D:tn tino
C01Q:-atlul”l,~’.H:h:lptrSO:1 ·..,.o’.l!rJ be white, It’l. other words. tl~·~ oriC-‘- 1;-,<1\ l:5'; IJi th·~ we,rd <:~1:l~': ftQm ~:-:r; ',\'hi:,: :~'::lI1's rduct:::'::l'':C t') ad- :--:~i~ into ::is raci~l .g:ro'.lp anyc,ne who 1~ r,ot altogether w::it;::, But this termin(,!og-y is \':~ak, for by tnt: S<:lme proc,::~.s of re:Js0nin2', a person of HinrJu-Ctl.~1C:'J,s:c.n Pz.r~ e:1t~g~ i~ 3. "r.nlol'c.'tl" !>::r~0:1. Le- cau::;c :ouch a per~on h;li tl;l 1:,1\\- s;io::. 01 some kind of Di[,!~lEr.t il-itCo his IJtherwi~e cokrl(;’~~’-:,~li B~, Qut i:1 India !Ouch ptr~r.::ns havt a distir,ct ~rol\p name. \’:’e th;)~ connotes- both thdr 5oi;:!al 5tatus ;:l.nd their origin-Eurasian. The 53-me thin.c: is also true of the hybrid of Indian
If EI ma:l applies {or a po:,;\tion anr:! refers to himself JS colored,
24
it does :,’N iTlswre him greater P05~ sibilir\’ oi .success over the vther ~P!1lic’::lnr \\’110 reierf trl himself as :.;. :
I\-fanj’ pe~son.s ol;jttt to the )J(:~·ro heci’lus~ they 1′,:1:;: it~ u)r· n:pt.:rJ farm “:;igJc~.” i;;!t h~,’,re the:i e”‘tr ~tc??o:d to t!–,i:1;~ th.J.t :1n;’ wore: i:1 any l;:ln~;~'”I:~:t IS :;:’.1:.• c,~?tib!t: of bcir,g ,jd·-,~~:cd int,;. z,- corrupted term wi t:~,r:to:mpt? vn”,?-t ‘.’:ord \\’,)uld rh-::. suggest thaT. is ethnologically ex<'.-.:t r-lld jet 'I'ould we frcc f!"om bting r;·')r- rupred? The term ('ni~g-c;~r" li,,'ts largely OtcaU5t of the. cardul nUr[uro:: gi"'en to it Gy ;':,:gr6t:$ them~el','e5. \Vhite pt0ple C
W.F;U;:’I THE COLORED TROOPS GOT BACK
\Vhen tho:: coI(Jrc,~ :ro(,p:- g’,)t “,..ok.
l\WJ the ‘I’!hitt5 ‘joined in’ ,dth them
Tn the h.urric30c of !:ll,1ghier, \Vhich ~tirrcd the cit\’ to It£
dtpth, – A”d thrilled all hearts with pattr~
“aloes:;, r {ett-if only ior ::l mQ:nt:r:t- “Tht (;rc3t Int(‘r:,~ti'”):’l,l! Sr·irit
.~f Brothers”
And whttl th:.: to”1′.n \\’;;’5 ‘whipped up’ to catch tht 5tir
Of 50 spirited a ‘\:<.,,' tlcomc' oi our colored nghto::rs;
And when hearts ,:;huddc:-cd lor the release'
Of long-rE.'pres5ed .t(lyoU.!inl:5; and sang;
)llLt GRl)iDl:\GS By C. F. M.
The most abomin~blc thing on tht gree:: E:i1t'th i5 the LOy::t! Sbve, 50 heialdtd by O:Jr "ract: lc"dc.s" (.~), our v:li(re cocdlere, ?nd cajokrs:
Patriotism and Profits ;;1o\'e ill parallel !:n;;:;;; th~ir \',:;\ocl:ic5 ;tre equal, thc velocity ,.)t the first be- ing detei:nined by the '.'elocity of the s€cond.
LO)'I'.1ty postulates a. moral re~ ls.t:ion 5ub:isting het'.'.een equals, founded upon rccip~Qcal pkdgC5 or promi$es, ~xprc.s:;cd or im- plicd: tht: shy!:: rna;: 01..: sub- missi\"e, or servile: he cannOt be: loyal.
I had rather bo\\' Iny kilt!:: in
THE ~!ESSE:-';GER
;";1::6ro, li,:;;t, by ci:lpitahzlng i\ ~:nd l1~~n by G.eeds th
I’l’1arbr: \-ve “:ill believe Bolshe~ vism ‘ought to be shot to d..:~th when we sec the fat ~1r. Tilft on tile \vay to Russia, himsdf to do the shooting,
At the ilnnual tneetin;; of the L:rban League, right thinking- was grtatly strtsSl:d 3’;; a cure for SOn cial and ec.onomic ill~. But ·wco are to do tl-:e ‘·right thinking”- Elihu Root, Alton B, Parker, and Charles E, Hughes, those artful and greedy $c,vitors of predatory wealth?
“Don’t preach elas5 Consdou.j·
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i:-.; :n colored. and ;:, ;’ “” v.c,r’::, l~l_(;re or le~’,3, ir: (‘j]:: i)~ ,),i,er (~: l.;:, [orr:’i.!;, lr,corp’):-;;’~’;d 1,,:0 ajl modern langt:agc:5,
In tho:: aLienee >:;: ,; :’:’f:”,tncl~· ture thin is 5Jtisf3c:c,r'( ‘.:’ all types (0£ ~G-~::di”.:d ‘\;r:::;r:.J’:”; (,’;” col\-,rcd }:,eoplt in .’\11\C-riCJ, tht: \I”‘::rd XtFo sh,)u>J s:3ncl, ;;.nd i~ is ;”0;’ th~ people s.:) de::i8′:l2.:C’d t,:” tlSt :=.ll their infhltr.ct ta see_ ~hD.t their face n<.:;m.: J: liit':o fr')n! tn'.: sLIm.:. 1;~tr3rr status 2.ii pig, mono kt:;. :l.nd Gog, to the !c\·cl -:.f otl1tr rat>: nar;jt:s, ‘i’.nd be ~p-dt \\’::1″. ::-,. c;;’Plt~-,j “)-…’.”
To ch?llt.>ng.:: the ;:;jti1(:s~, .~’..:dg,:, \Vho h35 c(,ndemr:ed thtm-·.’;itr:-
(Jut Just ca’J2e- To a liie of ~l.a’.·,=j”.’ ;l.’ld rm·,de
them to suffer . The p,,.ng-s of a bir::-, i.Jf l:’.:,’~):cn<:~ and ridiC'.de. :\nd I sec the Daw:l '[at:'t,' (\'..], colon::d b:,::..tIH;rs ln~c:. :::. ";c,dd oi Free :\r..:;~, pr,.:;.u.:'.! oi their heritage. tn the loo~: (jf tJ--,·:J='~ t;,:,c,p~, [aces. - faces ',','0rn bv <;u::!r. .... i:1i75 en- ci)un~ered ir, the ,,:rl.."g-l!lt::, - f:='C1'?:5 bettrr;ing - :-:id'jr,; th·~ 'l\!.3..rb of Sk~v€:",,' Beneath the 'k)'::; ,jt \"i(tc,r'."~ ielt th~ hc~Y;'· g.ne c·f a n·~b:t and herolC: race Light~n I.lp. ,,j.nd i", the ,..'..'..nlignt of that ~mjJe. The wrong;) ::!.?3i:1S( (Jur Colored Brothers, \Vill melt into dctS 01 ;(indnts~ B)· Dan Bk'.::k. ness," ::i-ome of my friends. ~3.:' :c. me, "the array 6f da£!O. agair;;;t clas.s is wronlI and verv iniurl- ous," !\1aybe~ that pr';fitr:c'ring CQmbine-::l(.lckitlg '.")'.1: the n::r',· lifc::-blood 01 the pe(',ple-~ArmotJ;, Swift, ~fI,.forrisJ \-Vil.'3ol1 and CU02,· by, think so toe, )"lilvbe that v!..l1g2.~ 7c\10"'''. Cha:ldler Owen, Wd.~ r:~h~ aftt:r all in saying the people don't know how to ~;~t:11 ;'?aytric,tisrr," -they persist in omitting tht "y." - It was: terriblY embarrassin'2" for that horish :';~\'., Yorko:r, Hu": btr:' Harri!ion, to :JSoK me btion: a c~0\,'d.:.d ;;HHli';ncc Hl \Vashing~ t'')I1, whether lvlr. T2.ft propNed gQi:1g to Rus~ia himself to shoc>t Bolshevism to death, or ‘.I.’;;;.nted