Political Correctness Has Run Amok – CBS Atlanta Journalist Michelle Burdo Should Not be reprimanded for Using the Term “Colored”
Please, make it STOP! I can’t take another minute of the bickering about politically correct language. This time it appears that a journalist, Michelle Burdo, from CBS Atlanta slipped up and said she wasn’t “Colored” while doing a segment on natural hairstyles. Call the Feds… clearly it’s a plot by CBS to oppress Blacks/African Americans, or all People of Color.
Let me start by saying, although I haven’t heard the term since the 70s, “Colored” is not offensive to me. But for those who are offended by it, I understand. However, Ms. Burdo doesn’t seem old enough to use the term in a derogatory manner. We have so many members of the politically correct police focused on calling minorities “People of Color” perhaps she genuinely misspoke here. She publicly apologized, let’s move on.
For the angry citizens posting about Ms. Burdo’s slip of the tongue, perhaps your time would be better spent protesting against NYPD police brutality, working to stop the violence in crime infested communities of color, fighting for an urban jobs bill, or jumping in to support initiatives like My Brother’s Keeper.
I’m no expert, but in my humble opinion, I believe we can get much further if we stop focusing on what people call us. Sometimes I don’t know how people are going to respond because I use Black and not African American. I am also a Person of Color. Today the NAACP is convening their national convention in Nevada to focus on pressing civil rights issues in 2014. Let us not forget that NAACP is an acronym for National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. If “Colored” is such a derogatory term, why hasn’t the “oldest and boldest” civil rights organization changed their name? Is there a double standard here?
I commend Ms. Burdo for doing the story on natural hair and hope that CBS Atlanta realizes that her slip was no different from me accidently referring to a Native American as an Indian. I haven’t done it in recent years, but I have in the past. It doesn’t make me racist; actually, my Native American grandfather called himself an Indian. He was born in the 1800s so he focused more on how he was treated than what he was called. My grandmother, also born in the 1800s, called herself “Colored.” Trust me, my grandparents were warriors and would never refer to themselves in a negative light.
CBS and all who have negative remarks, please leave Ms. Burdon alone to do her job and let’s focus on the rampart institutional racism that exists throughout this country.