The increasing use of the term "people of color" does not have the same meaning as the older "colored people" either in its definition or its connotation. The term has emerged for the same reason as a number of other terms to refer to different ethnic groups in recent years, because of increased sensitivity on the part of affected people who object to certain older terms but whoa t the same time want to have a group identity that sets them apart in some way. The idea of completely eliminating all ethnic and racial labels is not possible because members of different racial and ethnic groups want to have a separate group identification as part of their expression of racial and ethnic pride--they might object to certain terms, but they want a term that does give them a special identity. The term "people of color" has come into being as a broader term than any specific racial or ethnic label. It refers indeed not to any specific racial group but to all of those groups that are not considered white. People of color is an inclusive term drawing different groups together, showing that they have a common bond because on the one hand they have been discriminated against, treated as different, and probably denied full participation in American society, and on the other hand because they take pride in their differences and want to express that pride through the use of this term.
The older term "colored people" referred specifically to blacks and to no other group, while "people of color" includes blacks, Hispanics, and Asians. The use of the term "colored people" was accepted for a time but has more recently fallen into disfavor, surviving only in the name of the organization the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). As the author notes, the change in names comes from the demand by affected people that they should be called only the names they select for themselves. Another reason is that much of the labe...