Army Updates Regulation That Had Sanctioned The Term ‘Negro’

By Diane Jeanty, huffingtonpost.com

The Army updated controversial regulations Thursday that had said it was acceptable to refer to African-American service members as “Negro.”

As CNN first reported, the Army’s Oct. 22 “Army Command Policy” document contained a section on “race and ethnic code definitions,” which read, “A person having origins in any of the black racial groups of Africa. Terms such as ‘Haitian’ or ‘Negro’ can be used in addition to ‘Black’ or ‘African American.'”

But when The Huffington Post checked the document Thursday, that section was gone, and the new document has an updated date of Nov. 6. The Army did not immediately have a comment when contacted Thursday afternoon.

On Wednesday, Army spokesman Lt. Col. S. Justin Platt told CNN that the racial definitions were “outdated, currently under review, and will be updated shortly.”

The U.S. Census Bureau also announced last year that it would no longer use the term “Negro” on its forms as of 2014. The term had been in use since 1900.

The Army came under fire this year from many African-American women service members when it issued updated rules regarding acceptable female hairstyles. Popular black hairstyles, such as braids and twists, were called “matted” and “unkempt.” In August, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel announced the Army was revising the rules to once again allow those hairstyles.

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