A white principal in North Carolina is taking heat for accidentally saying “colored folks” when he meant to use the term: “people of color.” This mix up came as he was introducing anti-racism training and he has apologized but, as was mentioned, he is white so it’s the most racist thing anyone has ever done. Presumably he is also not a democrat, because otherwise his apology would have been enough but it’s not. Here’s a fair question: what’s the actual difference between “people of color” and “colored people”?
The Charlotte Observer brings us this exercise in racial stupidity:
A Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools principal apologized for referring to people as “colored folks” during a staff meeting, according to a secretly recorded audio tape recently obtained by The Observer.
During a follow-up staff meeting in August, Ardrey Kell High School principal David Switzer apologized for offending anyone with his remarks at the earlier meeting and said that he does not use racially insensitive language. A person in the second meeting recorded it.
“I thought I said persons of color. That was my context. And so again, I apologize, I really do… I don’t say that ever. I don’t say the N-word either,” said Switzer in the recording.
Somehow this gets even dumber because here is the actual context in which this innocent slip-up occurred:
In an interview Thursday, Switzer told The Observer that he did not use the term in reference to any specific group, but he did not say what he was referring to. He said he made the comment while emphasizing the value of a “cultural proficiency” training group he had invited to come to speak at the school.
Switzer said he was highlighting the training available to staff. Over the summer, he had bought copies of the book “The Hate U Give” for all his employees, which tells the story of a black girl attending a predominantly white school after she is a witness to a police shooting.
As he was concluding his remarks, Switzer said, he emphasized that discrimination of any type would not be tolerated at Ardrey Kell. But he acknowledged that he may have gotten swept up in the moment and had a slip of the tongue, saying “colored folks” instead of “people of color” as he had intended.
And stupidest of all, the outrage:
During the 23-minute recording, one teacher says that Switzer’s comment evoked images of the Jim Crow South and segregation with its similarity to the phrase, “coloreds only.”
A teacher who attended both staff meetings and asked not be identified for fear of professional consequences told The Observer that it was stunning to hear Switzer use the term, which the teacher said could be associated with the discrimination faced by an earlier generation.
“It’s highly unacceptable. It should never be tolerated,” said the teacher.
Okay, maybe someone can explain what the difference is here. Aren’t “people of color” and “colored people” ostensively the same thing? Why is one acceptable while the other one is racist? Where do we stand on “people with color” or “colorful people” in terms of racism?
Adding to the confusion is the largest “people of color” group in the country known as the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). Are they unacceptable? Should they not be tolerated? Don’t even get me started on the United Negro College Fund.
This is as dumb as if suddenly saying “black people” was offensive and we had to begin using the term “people of blackness.” Or if “African American” became racist and the new woke phrase was “Americans of Africa.”
“Colored people” was the friendly socially-acceptable term for black people until they decided it was demeaning. Decades later they decided that “people of color” was the friendly socially acceptable term for black people. They are the same damn thing.
