Tossing Out Those Racial Adjectives

Thank you very much for Sandy Banks’ column “A Long, Hard Journey to Self-Respect” (Jan. 16). I am 63. Though my mother taught me the term “colored” when I was a child, I became embarrassed when she used “nigras” when she was close to death at 80. I finally decided that “black” wasn’t a correct term, because no one I know would say “yellow” about Asians.

This was in about 1992. Since then I have been using “African American” and “Euro American” until a couple of months ago when I finally realized that I don’t have to use any adjective that refers to either race or ethnicity. If I’m talking about people, I’m talking about people, and it has now been proved that we are all the same species.

I applaud Banks’ basic message that “self-respect is something no law can give you and no one else’s hatred can take away.” Keep it up.

CAROLINE KENT