Higher and tighter
The time is long overdue for updating our language, "get with it" as they say.
The Advertising Council has a campaign in progress calling for newspapers to eliminate the words "black" or "white" from copy. Instead of "She is a successful black woman," just write "She is a successful woman."
The same should be true for the expression "African American." We all are "Americans." All who were born here are "Native American," not just the ones who met the Mayflower. So, we are "Americans."
Decades ago, while working in Kansas City, we were instructed to use the term "colored" without capitalization and not use the person's name. That practice is long gone in the newspaper business, but ordinary usage is behind time. Let's refer to folks for what they are, "people."
— BILL MEYER
