U.S. Census Bureau's Use of the Word "Negro" on Questionnaire Sparks Controversy

U.S. Census Bureau comes under fire for using the word "Negro" as a choice for race on questionnaire.

The U.S. Census Bureau, as it's preparing to get 300 million plus residents in the nation to fill out a 10 question form that will ultimately determine how the federal government allocates its money, has come under fire for one question with a word that irks many -- Negro. The question, No. 9, asks "What is Person 1's race?" The answer choices are "White; Black, African-American, or Negro; American Indian or Alaska Native."

Is the word negro offensive to you? That depends on who you ask. According to The Grio, many older blacks preferred to be called "Negro." "Some prefer it because of their complexion, whether they're light-skinned or dark," said Jeanne R. Stanley, a retiree in Richmond, Va. "Others still have a slave mentality. There are a lot of people who still have a color complex." Personally, I don't like the word. Isn't African American on the form sufficient? Gee, since the authors of the census form are going for the jugular on differentiating races, why not put "Colored" there as well, to denote the lighter skinned blacks among us? The word negro is archaic and surely we can get pass this at this stage of our country's history.

Officials from the Census Bureau reportedly said that "Negro" was offered as an option because many people wrote in "Negro" on their 2000 census forms. A spokeswoman added that the questions were "tested ad nauseum" and that including the term "outweighed the negatives."