That word, ‘coloured’, seemed impossible but my grandmother said it without flinching, like it belonged to her. When she spoke of historical black figures like Frederick Douglass or W.E.B. DuBois she called them Negroes. Those were her words, the words of another era. When I listened to N.W.A. or other rap groups they called black people niggas. When my mother told me to be wary of white people I imagined them calling us niggers. Sometimes I heard older black folk call other black people niggers – there was a clear difference in the end of the word, whether it was ‘-ers’ or ‘-as’ denoted spite or affection, respectively – but either way, it stung. My parents had books on their shelves from the seventies that called us ‘Afro-Americans’. Some people simply called us black. There were so many words for us, so many nuances – it really depended who was talking to us and the nature of the conversation. White people it seemed were either just rich or poor. – Be Careful with that Fan, by Andre Perry.
Posted on: Tue, 22 Jul 2014 10:22:41 +0000
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