The Denver star., 1915-03-13
PROPER NAME FOR
RACE DISCUSSED
Neither Negro Nor Atfo-Amer-
ican Is Logically Right.
MANY OPINIONS ADVANCED.

Views Of Former Auditor For United
States Navy Department on Title by
Which Our Race Should Be Reeoq-
nizsd-coiored American Seems More
Appropriate.
By RALPH w. TYLER.
There is wide variance among us MS
to which Of the descriptive terms Ne
gro, colored or Afro-American should
be applied to US as people to distin-
guish us from the white race. In
truth we are Americans-that is, the
very great majority of our people
who, with their forebears for many
generations back, were born in this
country. DR.. Booker T. Washington
has insisted and does Insist today, on
the use of the descriptive term NE
gro" and has used his best endeavors
and very great influence to not only
have the Associated Press and many
metropolitan publications by white
people use that term exclusively, but
to capitalize it.
But are we "Negroes?" The diction.
ary, and that is the final arbiter for
all chronological disputes, says Ne
gro" is black man, member of
that African race which is character
lied by "a black or very dark skin and
hair Of woody or crisp nature" Mark
you, it says of that" African race,
clearly indicating that because black
or dark skinned person may be born
in Africa he is not necessarily a NE
gro" A Negro" is a member OF
THAT African race which, ETC."
We are not Africans because we are
native born and native sired Ameri-
cans. Some of us may be black; some
Of US are brown; some of us, like DIR.
Washington. are mulattoes, and some
of us because of an unlicensed mis-
cegenation have skin of alabaster
white. Then why should this variegat-
ed people be arbitrarily fitted out with
the descriptive term Negro" which
means IA member of THAT African
race?'
Out of the 100000 of US who were
born, like our parents. grandparents
and great-grandparents. in this coun-
try but 81 per cent of us have woolly
hair. Some Of US have hair similar In
texture to the Malays; some Of us have
hair similar to the Jews; some Of US
have hair similar to the American In
dian. and some Of US are endowed with
golden tresses that float upon the pill
low" In color our hair ranges from
a Jet black to auburn. Now. If our
hair Is not woOlly. why should we be
called Negroes" when ''woolly" hair
is distinctive Of the members Of that.
African race. natives of a country the
most of us know little or nothing
about?
Some Of us are but remotely con-
nected with either an African or 4
Negro tribe: some Of us arc not even
remotely 80 connected. and some Of
us, at least Sc per Gent, are human
hybrids. "a medley Of bloods," through
whose veins, in riotous confusion.
courses the blood Of many races. Take
myself. for instance. and l am but IL
Illustrative Of thousands. On my ma.
ternal side l would have to go back
only three generations to plump up
against an American Indian chief and
on my paternal side might by the
genealogical process trace klnship
back to the tenth president of the Unit
ed States. whose patronym l am, per
force. luggtng through life. From this
it is manifest l am not Negro. though
l am colored. because my skin Is dark
er than the white mans skin.
We are Americans by birth, not by
adoption. as "Afro-American" would
suggest to the uninitiated.
That final chronological arbiter, the
dictionary. gives as a definition Of ''col-
ored," "having 4 skin darker than the
skin Of a person of the white race"
variegated race, do possess skin dark
er than the skin Of a person Of the
white race"-at least SO per cent of us
have-and it would appear therefore
that the descriptive term 'colored''
more clearly and more properly dts us
as people. 1t does not follow because
we object TO the descriptive term Ne
gro or "Afro-American" that we are
ashamed Of our people; no more than
it follows that because the Jew pre-
fers to be called Hebrew he Is
ashamed Of his people. "A rose might
smell AZ sweet by some other name" 1t
Is true. and this race or people of ours
can succeed just AZ well by some other
description than Negro" or Afro
American" either Of which is actually
wrong when applied to us as a people.
There are not to exceed 25.OOO native
born Africans in this country. These
might properly be called Negroes"
or Africans OF, more properly. "Af
r0-Americans." since they are native
Africans who have settled In this
country. But why should quite 10000,
COO Of native born Americans be call.
ed Negroes" out Of Difference to the