Negroes? What are you, out of the 50's?
The two syllables of the word Ne groes is not only correct and proper verbal designation it is far more convenient when speaking or writing than are the seven tiresome syllables of Af ri can A mer i can.
When I was a boy I was told the word
colored was proper and
black was insulting. Then, in the early sixties, that was changed and
Black became the only socially tolerable designation. Now they're at it again. And while I really don't mind changing, those seven syllables are a bit much.
The single syllable designation,
Black, is perfectly okay for ordinary and casual conversation and reportage, but for discussions wherein academic propriety is at issue, such as questions regarding one's ethnicity, the proper designations of
Negro, Caucasian, etc., are appropriate.
When I was stationed in North Carolina in the mid-1950s the mother of a girl I was seeing referred to Negroes as "darkies." While today's Blacks would find that rather offensive because of its roots in the slavery era I can attest it was not used disparagingly by that woman.