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In <i>Black History and Black Identity</i> (p. 99), William D. Wright
says:<br><br>
<font size=3>“Yet the etymology, the root of the word Negro, has to be
traced to Africa. That root is <i>Niger</i>, which was an ancient African
word that found its way into Roman Latin. The word itself, in its usage
in ancient Africa, had nothing to do with color or race, but was a
reference to a river in Africa: the Niger River. Rome brought northern
Africa under its domination, which also drew some central Africans under
its domination, including those from the area of the Niger River.”
<br><br>
</font>And later (p. 100), Wright says:<br><br>
<font size=3>“J. A. Rogers brought clarity to this etymological matter
back in the 1950s: ‘The word comes from the River Niger, and Nigritae
means the people from the River Niger. “Ni” probably means “great” and
Ger, or Geir, is African for river. At first Niger had nothing more to do
with black than the waters of the river itself. “Ater” was the Latin for
black.’[10]” <br><br>
</font>[Wright's footnote here is probably only for the quotation from
Rogers, and not for the statement on p. 99.]<br><br>
All true, partly true, or all false?<br><br>
Joel</body>
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