'Negro' is a Spanish Word Too, You Know

Of course, "negro" is not "nigger", the word that's been replaced by "Slave," in Huckleberry Finn in newer editions. I won't dive into a debate about who's right or what's offensive to whom; that's not the point of this post. Besides, you've probably heard and read countless viewpoints about the topic from several people you know or respect. And, having not yet read Huck Finn, I can't exactly have as strong a say as those who have, could I? Eh, maybe, but in either case, that's not what I want to do here.

But as someone who speaks Spanish as much as they speak English, I've perhaps found both "negro," and "nigger" less offensive. Negro, specifically, is commonly used in Spanish, since it's literally "black". The stove is black. Es negro. It's a harmless term to us. But recently, knowing full well the context of the term negro, I've had a reversal. My dad told me to lock my door in the Wal-Mart parking lot because there were "negros" there (remember, in Spanish). Disregarding the racism of the actual context of the sentence (referring to black people specifically as people who steal), I know he wasn't trying to be racist by using the word. But the actual term, along with its racial context, still caused me to call attention to it.

Still, I still use negro to describe things that are black. I have to. Saying that black things are "oscuro" (dark) is not too far from saying that black things are African-American, as funny as it sounds. It's not like I don't recognize the difference and say negro when referring to something black in English. Just saying it with a American dialect ("knee-grow" in English vs. "neh-groh" in Spanish) changes the word. "Moreno" is another story entirely. And for the record, neither should be banned from books to appease teachers who think that simple being around a word affiliates you with its context.