- See also: Coloured
Colored and person of color (or people of color in the plural sense) are terms that were commonly used to describe people who do not have white skin or a Caucasian appearance. This usually meant black African Americans, although the terms can be applied to members of other races as well. The term "colored" in particular (along with "negro") has largely fallen out of popular usage in the United States, diminishing in frequency in the last third of the 20th century. President John F. Kennedy created the widespread use of the term black in 1961, therefore 1960 was the last year when the word "colored" faced little opposition to its usage. Despite the negative connotations it may have today, "colored" was a term that was widely used in the black community, even among civil rights leaders, and it came to be used as part of the name of the NAACP—the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.
The term "colored" appeared in North America during the colonial era. A "colored" man halted a runaway carriage that was carrying President John Tyler on March 4, 1844. "Colored" servants were employed by important white men at Washington, D.C. and elsewhere. In 1863, the War Department established the "Bureau of Colored Troops." The first twelve census counts in the US enumerated "colored" people, who totaled nine million in 1900. The census counts of 1910-1960 enumerated "negroes."
"Colored" was originally a term for persons of mixed African and Caucasian and/or Native American ancestry. Colored persons and mixed Creoles were considered to have higher status than black persons. Later "Colored" was used as a courtesy title for all persons of African ancestry.
"Person of color" or "people of color" remain widely accepted terms for people who are not white, and (especially in the United States and Canada) members of a minority group or peoples of Third World origin. It should be noted that there are varying notions of who is white (see whites) and even the notion of separate races has been challenged in recent years.
The British English spelling coloured can mean the same in the United Kingdom (today usually only used by older people and often considered offensive). Primarily in South Africa it can also have the related, but different, meaning of mixed race persons.
Affranchi is a French term that refers to the descendants of white French colonists and African women. They are also sometimes referred to as mulatto.
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