Don't Call Me Coloured!!

Race is a very sensitive subject. You have to be so careful about how you refer to or describe someone just in case you cause offence but these days that can be said about anything. The tone, manner and circumstance of what you say makes a big difference to how something is taken.

When I was in Cyprus a Pakistani sister from Manchester was in conversation with a German sister. The German sister was referring to black people as coloured. The Pakistani sister to my surprise told her off to which the German sister replied "no no you mustn't say black it's wrong".

I had been keeping out of the conversation until this point when I felt the need to inform this sister that there is nothing wrong with calling a black person black. Many black people find the description "coloured" very offensive. To this the sister said "but you're not all black anyway. Some of you are brown, some of you are light brown, some of you are caramel". I had to laugh at this and just walked out of the room. I couldn't help but wonder what "colour" she would use to describe me. Chocolate perhaps.

People don't seem to realise the connotations behind calling a person coloured or even understand why people are offended by the term. If we are coloured then the world should be coloured because there is no person who is actually black as black is or white as white is. I suppose it doesn't help the cause when you have black people who have a complex with their race, telling people they are gold or golden brown. Wtf?!?!

Black is a race just as white is a race. I am not coloured therefore don't call me coloured. The key is though to accept yourself as you are and this is a message to all the "golden brown" people out there. Be proud of who you are and where you come from and the sooner we can accept ourselves the sooner other people will learn to accept you too.

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