Colored

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. 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.

"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 exactly is White or not (see whites).

The British English spelling coloured has a related, but different meaning and is primarily used in a South African context.

See also

• Race
• Racial segregation