WINNEMUCCA — I find myself in a rare and unsettling event:  I agree  with something George Will said. He said that Harry Reid’s comments on Obama’s skin color shade and ability to speak without “Negro dialect” had “not a scintilla of racism” and also were “true.” I salute George’s perception and honesty.

It’s interesting but sad to see that many people can’t see any difference between a person expressing longing and nostalgia for Jim Crow segregation, which Trent Lott did,  and Harry Reid’s realistic expression of Obama’s political advantages, even if he used an archaic and disfavored term for African-Americans. Lott’s words revealed his racism -- Reid’s words revealed his age.

Anyone born before 1965 and the struggle for civil rights remembers when Negro was the preferred term, as opposed to the other N word. Most of Martin Luther King Jr’s speeches use the word Negro many times to describe himself and the people for whom he fought and died. The word Negro appears several times in his “I have a Dream” speech given on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. Have you donated lately to the United Negro College Fund? This charity dates from those years.

In the Sixties the Black Panther Party, Muhammed Ali, Malcolm X and others worked to instill pride in being Black, and the word Negro became unfashionable, dating back before there was Black pride. And it may have been done to help many Southern politicians, who seemed to have a lot of difficulty pronouncing Negro correctly.

One hundred years ago the accepted term was Colored. That is also out of favor now, but doesn’t necessarily indicate racism. It may mean the person is really old and out of touch. The NAACP dates from 1912, when it was perfectly proper to name the organization the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.

Did you know they admit White people as members?

Which brings up the one problem I see with the term Colored. Aren’t we all? It’s not very specific at all. I’m colored sort of Pink, I think. Sometimes I lay on a beach somewhere and try to get Tan. I’ve known the occasional Red man, usually a Caucasian who has had a few drinks and embarrasses himself. Or myself, if I stay on the beach too long. I don’t recall ever seeing a Red Native-American. The only really White men I’ve seen were on a slab prior to the funeral.

So Colored is too non-descriptive a term, and I’m glad it isn’t used much anymore. And even though Negro is simply the Latin term for Black, it is better to use the English word, even if you were born into the generation that used Negro exclusively, as I did. I followed the civil rights movement, and if older, might have participated.  But I did realize at the time the term Negro was going out of favor, so I quit using that term. Harry must have missed the change, but I see no racism there, just generational flashback.

May the day soon come when we all intermarry to the same color, and then the Tall ones can just pick on the Short ones. I don’t see discrimination ever going completely away anytime soon.

Don Rogers is a resident of Winnemucca.  He may be contacted at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.  or 775-623-3738.