Army apologizes for policy approving use of word ‘Negro’

By Luis E. Gomez, Associate Editor Vol. 20

The U.S. Army has removed a policy that sanctioned the use of the word “Negro” to refer to black service members. The Army issued the apology on Thursday, two days after CNN reported the regulation.  Before it was corrected, the policy stated that “terms such as ‘Haitian or ‘Negro” can be used in addition to ‘Black’ or ‘African American.’” The new policy limits the acceptable terms to “Black or African American.” Apparently, the use of the word comes from an outdated section (AR 600-20 para. 6-2), which for some reason has managed to survive this long without being corrected. Although an Army spokesman has said that the section will be updated shortly, the Army’s shortfall here should be an impetus for all branches of our armed forces to update outdated policies regarding race. Read the full article here.