Clearwater Confrontation, A “Colored” Conundrum and the NAACP

The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People endowed a worthy cause with a name and defined purpose. The time was shortly after the turn of the 20th Century.

Times have changed and the mission statement of the venerable organization has morphed to meet the “bi-racial” challenges of the 21st Century. One thing that has remained constant has been the name of the organization: National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.

In plain terms, the name of the organization makes no excuse for the use of the word: “colored”. Whereas the colloquial use of the term “colored” has diminished in more modern times while the use of other descriptives has fallen completely out of favor due to political incorrectness.

Gracing the name and insignia of the foremost American-African cultural advancement organization. The term “colored” is embraced as a verbal keystone of the most recognizable eight-word nomenclature of Black social advancement in the world today.

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‘A rose by any name…’

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“What’s in a name? that which we call a rose. By any other name would smell as sweet…”

-Wm. Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet

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The use of the word “colored” can be a pejorative, however. Were, the user of the word someone other than a “colored” person. The result is often one that begs definition as discrimination. Or worse: prejudice. Or, even worse still: racism.

‘Persons of color’ is more often the more acceptable form of address when describing folks who are not only “black”. But who have racial tendencies towards other variants of ‘non-white’ skin pigmentation or cultural origin.

It would seem that the word “colored”, when used to describe ‘non-white’ characteristics of American citizens, is frowned upon. Unless used when defining the vaunted organization, National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. That is.

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Alliteration

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Alliteration is long-lived and is the loveliest, most lilting lingual luxury of the mind’s lavish limbic language network. It. Encourages, most of all…literary license.

So. It is without prejudice that the title and some language of this commentary suffer the word: “colored”. It is all intended in a most pristine and innocent sense: in the name of alliteration but moreso for the sake of benign distinction. Color from culture.

In the name of the literary gods alone and in the name of convenience, the word “colored” is used, herein. Thus, is begotten a potentially controversial but a less than stunningly significant title.

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The Distinction: Culture Versus Color

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“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal…”

The United States Declaration of Independence

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Were all Men actually created equal. The next consideration might be: ‘then what’?

Color makes everything distinguishable if not different. Slight color variations and other subtle characteristics might distinguish even identical twins.

So. At our creation “We” (Americans?) each might all be equal. But equality, in Nature, lasts for that nanosecond of creation itself. It is then…surely gone.

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‘Colored people’ are like non-colored people. Except that: in places where dark skin color is not naturally prevalent. They are more visible.

Visibility is not a defining factor. It is that trait, which is associated with visibility that makes a difference, person-to-person and undeniably: culture-to-culture.

Association between color and culture is where comes the rub. When a character trait or cultural norm is associated with the color of one’s skin. The imagination runs amuck.

Blacks are sometimes portrayed within the American daily news as being associated with criminal activity. The association is an unfortunate one and one that is incessantly, near daily, insinuated by the media with broadcast of local news stories.

A depiction results, whether accurate or inaccurate and the inference, often is, that blacks are associated with aberrant behavior. Not that the depiction is wrong or right. It exists, however.

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Deadly Vagaries of At-Risk Behaviors

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Whether one is wrong or right in his behavior is not the point. The extreme susceptibility that results from that behavior might be one answer to the single question: why?

Moreover. Why? Do some people who are so fraught with the problems of identity prejudice ignore the inherent power of law enforcement in particular or; ignore much of organized authority, in general?

-AT THEIR OWN RISK-

Posted 2 minutes ago by DILULIUS, King of Troy