Why did you use the word “Negro”?

I admit to being pulled over by the thought police.  It happened earlier this year when I was fortunate enough to have a 4 minute interview with a literary agent who was kind enough to give my Journal of the Silent Majority a look-see.  I was humbled to meet a real New York literary agent because, as the TV commercial suggests, the chances of that happening are comparable to be mauled by a brown bear and polar bear on the same day.  You seldom see these people west of the Appalachians.

Her first words were, “Why did you use the word Negro in your book”?  I had been pulled over.  I instantly guessed that I had created probable cause for search and then it came, “Do you have an agenda”?  And that was that. It was my introduction to the politically correct literary world and its legions of enforcers.  I replied, “I don’t believe the word ‘Negro’ is a pejorative term.”  Yes, I did have an agenda – the truth – a new kind of American history where “Tell it like it is!” is not just window dressing, but a legitimate and respected endeavor.

I did not have time to tell her that “Negro” and even “Colored” is an accurate and necessary term in American history.  Why hasn’t the NAACP changed its name?  Should sports fans consent to the renaming of The Negro Leagues?  Should Harry Golden, not exactly a member of the great right wing conspiracy, have changed his Mr. Kennedy and the Negroes to Mr. Kennedy and the African Americans?  Most children who know black history will remember Marcus Garvey’s Universal Negro Improvement Association.  In Martin Luther King Jr.’s I have a Dream speech “Negro” is used 14 times.  In his Where Do We Go From Here speech King used it a whopping 75 times. What’s more, millions of Americans who lived in post-World War II America don’t believe it is a bad word.  Besides, “African American” is a misleading term because it is not accurate in an historical setting.  It implies that all Africans are black, something that Arab immigrants from Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, and Egypt would dispute.

Wait till she sees other words like Bourgeoisie and Proletariat that I use to replace the term Middle Class that has so many meanings as to make it meaningless.  Reverse McCarthyism will issue an all-points bulletin.  In Journal of the Silent Majority I also minimized the use of other inaccurate words like “Conservative” and “Liberal.”

The interview was an interesting journey. I received a subtle warning and not a ticket this time, but she probably knew that I’d be back on the same road tomorrow.