quote:

First we were Negro. WE decided we wanted to be "colored."

Then WE decided we wanted to be "Black."

Then WE decided we wanted to be "African American."

And now WE have decided we want to be "Black," but we're tolerant of "African American."

I do not believe white people drove any of that.

I think that's largely correct, though I suspect that WE is too simple. Who was the we within the we, and was there pushback (for good reasons and bad)? Linguistic evolution can be broad based and very organic, or pushed for very political reasons by small groups who wield disproportionate power and influence within a larger group. I simply don't know the history here.

quote:

Originally posted by CHAS:
Have asked, "Are you Hispanic." and gotten a smile and a "Yes", so I use that.

I don’t ask. If it comes up organically in conversation, great. If not…maybe I don’t need to know.