"People of color" was; Re: Whom Hispanics call "Hispanic" -- or not

[Baker, John]

        I think that's pretty standard.  I understand "person of color"
to refer to any racial or ethnic minority.  The idea is that the term is
supposed to refer in a positive way (as opposed to "minority" or
"nonwhite, which define by what they are not) to anyone who is not part
of the dominant ethnicity.  The term may seem odd as applied to
Hispanics of European descent, since they are Caucasian, but Hispanics
nonetheless are usually considered a nonwhite minority and reflected as
such on forms asking for race.  In any case, as you note, many Hispanics
are not of European descent.


John Baker


-----Original Message-----
From: American Dialect Society [mailto:ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU] On Behalf
Of Barbara Need
Sent: Wednesday, May 27, 2009 4:33 PM
To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU
Subject: "People of color" was; Re: Whom Hispanics call "Hispanic" -- or
not

On the news last night (ABC or its local affiliate) they ran a clip in
which Sotomayor used the term "people of color", and, as far as I could
tell, she was including herself in that category. Now, recognizing that
many Hispanics are of mixed African and European ancestry (not to
mention Native American), I was a little taken aback.
Is it usual to include Hispanics among "people of color"?

Barbara

Barbara Need
Chicago

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