Rep. Eli Crane, R-Ariz. referred to Black people as "colored people" Thursday in floor debate over his proposed amendment to an annual defense policy bill, prompting a stern rebuke from the former chair of the Congressional Black Caucus. Lawmakers were debating a series of GOP-backed amendments to the National Defense Authorization Act, which the House aims to pass by the end of the week.
I’m a mid-40s white person from the deep south and I grew up hearing older white people use the phrase ‘colored people’ to casually refer to black people. Haven’t heard it in a long time though, so I have to imagine a guy even younger than me isn’t using it casually because that’s what they grew up hearing, it’s a term he chose to use for some reason.
I can remember the last time actually- it was 2011 when a 60s-ish guy walked into the shop and asked to speak to ‘the colored man that runs the place’. I gave him a hard look and he said ‘What’s your bosses name’. So even that old guy kind of knew in 2011 it was getting to be out-of-line in that context. So I’m saying Eli Crane made a conscious choice to use that term and I’m guessing it was a message to people like that old guy from 2011.