ESSENCE Poll: What Words Would You Want to Do Away With?

The term “Negro” may be removed from Census forms by 2020, reports the Associated Press.

The U.S. Census Bureau says it’s considering the change based on cultural trends and criticism it received after including the term in the 2010 Census. So why did the bureau include a term that seems outdated to most of us in the first place? Apparently a significant amount of people still check “Negro” as their race, according to a Census study conducted in 2000. As it stands, “Negro” is listed alongside “Black” and “African-American” on the questionnaire.

The term “Negro” was not considered offensive pre-Civil Rights movement and was commonly used up until the rise in Black consciousness found more people opting to describe themselves as “Black” or “Afro-American.”

Recently, we’ve had tons of debates surrounding other controversial words in our lexicon, like that other N-word we don’t like, or the overuse of the B-word in hip-hop. Both words seem to draw passionate defenders and detractors, with one side calling them endearing and the other, insulting.

All this talk about removing words has us thinking about other non-desirables we’d like to see neatly packed away and shipped off to word heaven. What words would you like to see us do without? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below.

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