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Article: Name game. (designations for racial groups)
- Article from:
- The Christian Century
- Article date:
- November 22, 1995
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1995 The Christian Century Foundation. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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WHAT SHALL I call you? I don't mean you individually but you in groups. Many people derive their identity from the groups they align themselves with, and they care about what they are called. The New Yorker observed the Million Man March on Washington last month and noted what the speakers called themselves and their people(s).
The editors recalled that seven years ago Jesse Jackson produced a "linguistic conniption" by announcing that the term black" was "baseless" and henceforth blacks wanted to be called African-Americans. Those of us who are hung up on hyphens followed him, out of fear and a concern for etiquette. The New Yorker reported that Jackson has made a ...