MINORITY REPORT

Andy Rooney: Negro
'perfectly good word'

CBS commentator states he has problem
with frequent use of 'African-American'

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Joe Kovacs is an award-winning journalist and, since 1999, executive news editor of WND. He is the author of two best-selling books: "Shocked by the Bible: The Most Astonishing Facts You've Never Been Told" and its 2012 sequel, "The Divine Secret: The Awesome and Untold Truth About Your Phenomenal Destiny."
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Andy Rooney

Veteran CBS commentator Andy Rooney says he has a problem with the frequent use of the term “African-American” and suggests people use the word “Negro” instead to refer to blacks.

“I object every time I hear the words ‘African-American,’ you know?” Rooney told radio host Don Imus this morning. “The word ‘Negro’ is a perfectly good word. It’s a strong word and a good word. I don’t see anything wrong with that. Mostly it’s not necessary to identify anyone by skin color. But I don’t care for ‘African-American.’”

The remarks came as Rooney was appearing via telephone on Imus’ show, which is simulcast on MSNBC.

Imus had referenced a frequent guest, Rep. Harold Ford Jr., D-Tenn., and noted that Ford is African-American.


Rooney: “I object every time I hear the words ‘African-American,’ you know? I don’t know why we have gotten caught with that.”

Imus: “Yeah, I don’t either.”

Rooney: “I mean, am I an ‘Irish-American?’”

Imus: “Yeah, I know what you mean. What should I say, just ‘black’ right?”

Rooney: “Well, I don’t think there’s anything wrong with ‘black.’”

Imus: “I don’t either.”

Rooney: “Growing up, it’s funny how words get to be opprobrious. The word ‘Negro’ is a perfectly good word. It’s a strong word and a good word. I don’t see anything wrong with that. Mostly it’s not necessary to identify anyone by skin color. But I don’t care for ‘African-American.’”

Imus: “I won’t use it anymore.”

[Note: Click for video of the exchange in Windows Media, or in RealPlayer.]

In a 2002 commentary, Rooney addressed the use of the term “Negro” this way:

Our thoughts about words change over the years. In 1968, I wrote a television show called “Black History, Lost, Stolen or Strayed” for Bill Cosby. I remember being uneasy with the word “black” because the acceptable word back then was “Negro.” Today, I wouldn’t use “Negro.” It’s a good, strong word, but now it sounds wrong to me.

Different ethnic groups of Americans have always had terrible nicknames for each other. I remember hearing them as a kid. You don’t hear them much anymore because they always make the person using them sound like such ignorant jerk.

Italians were wops. Germans were krauts. Kikes … Spics. Irish Catholics were “harps” or “micks.” Wetbacks. Koreans or Vietnamese were “gooks.” Chinks … Slant eyes. … Towel-heads.

Today’s exchange is already getting reaction on messageboards across the Internet, with comments such as:

  • “I don’t understand what he means. Does he mean ‘good’ in that he feels free to use it whenever talking or writing about blacks? ‘Boy’ is a good word, too.”

  • “The derivation of the word comes from the Latin “niger,” meaning black. In Spanish the word “negra” means black. The word ‘Negro’ was the term used to describe people of African descent prior to 1960 in the U.S. Some of the best baseball players to play the game played in the Negro Leagues, which was the common term at the time. Terminology has changed over time. The term ‘Negro’ lost favor and was replaced by ‘black’ and then ‘African-American.’ The last two are the most frequently used today. I certainly don’t think Andy Rooney should be criticized for using the term ‘Negro,’ although it makes him seem old and dated, which of course, he is.”

  • “I wouldn’t take any offense from it, he was just being honest. Frankly, a lot of people used to feel that way. The problem was that the word was too similar to the other, more offensive ‘N’ word.”

  • “Speaking as a member of a minority group in this country (a homosexual/f—-t/queer/gay/fairy/fruit/tinkerbell, etc.), I find this word rather acceptable. I’m not a big person for PC talk, as I think it’s hyperusage has led us into the current state of affairs. That said, I obviously wouldn’t want many of the words I wrote above to be used regarding me, especially by those who would rather see me strung up on a barbed-wire fence and left to die. I think ‘Negro’ is fine. It’s much better than the other ‘N’ word.”

  • “My 91-year-old Irish grandmother doesn’t have a hateful bone in her body, but she occasionally will use the term ‘colored’ because that was term used when and where she grew up. It’s just the vocabulary of her generation. It may be cringeworthy to those of us outside that generation, but I think Andy deserves a break.”

  • “All PC aside, I don’t run around calling myself a ‘European-American.’ Folks should stop using ‘Caucasian,’ to encourage the retirement of ‘Negroid’ and ‘Mongoloid.’ How about we just call each other ‘human of ______ ancestry,’ wherein _____ can be whatever the [expletive deleted] genetic heritage you want to emphasize.”

    The label “African-American” is not universally used by blacks today, as evinced by companies and groups such as Black Entertainment Television, the Congressional Black Caucus, and the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, better known as the NAACP.

    A search of more than 200 U.S. newspapers geared predominantly toward blacks finds at least 16 have the word “black” in the title, while only five have “African-American.”

    As WorldNetDaily reported in 2003, a member of Congress, Rep. Sheila Jackson-Lee, D-Texas, ignited national controversy when she reportedly sought an affirmative-action plan of sorts for hurricane names.

    “All racial groups should be represented,” Lee said, according to the Hill. She hoped federal weather officials “would try to be inclusive of African-American names.”

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