Yes

by Daniel Cloud

Created on: April 23, 2011   Last Updated: April 24, 2011

Whether you consider the NAACP helpful or destructive to African-Americans and the black community, the name itself is a constant reminder of racism against blacks. The National Organization for the Advancement of Colored People, in this day and age, sounds like an attempt by the Ku Klux Klan to make amends. Only a racist in modern society would call a black man or woman a colored person. The name of the organization is racist against the black community in and of itself.

If an organization designed to help Asians, called the National Association for the Advancement of Yellow People existed, it would be declared as blatantly racist. For whatever reason, the NAACP fails to see that it is demeaning to themselves to be known as "colored people." Times change and so do names of organizations.

It could be argued that even the politically correct term African-American is a racist term. Not all blacks are descendants of Africa. No one calls themselves a British American, Chinese American, Turkish American, or Dutch American if they had ancestors from 200 years ago migrate to the United States. Why call yourself an African American? African roots exist in the black community, but are not necessarily the roots.

Should black Jamaicans who live in America be lumped in with the term African-American? No, they would be offended. The original country of descent is not necessary to describe a person's race. The relatively ambiguous terms of white, black, and hispanic or latino suffice for normal talk. Latino-American or Hispanic-American are terms you may hear, but all they do is reinforce a racist thought toward a population of people defined by their former countries, and not as Americans.

The NAACP is an organization that exists for the purpose of focusing on helping the black community. Racism from the past, such as rampant segregation with bathrooms having signs that read "whites" or "coloreds." The rationale for being known as the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People in this day and age is ridiculous.

It reminds the black population of the past racism, rather than focuses on a positive move forward. It also makes anyone who is not of black descent sound like a racist merely saying the name of the organization.

The NAACP can remain the NAACP, and change the meaning of the 'C' from colored to something else. Put many minds together and the 'C' can be replaced by something that is less offensive to everyone. If no one has a nice alternative for "colored" then a simple letter and word change can be made. It is not necessary to be known as the NAACP. As organizations change over time, so do their meanings and their names. In its current incarnation, the use of the term "colored people" is racist, whether you are black, white, blue, green, yellow, orange, or purple.

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