African-American. The former "polite" term, replaced by "Negro," then by "black," now by "African-American."
White folks in Washington
They sure know how
To call a colored man a nigger,
Just to see him bow.
-- Lead Belly, "Bourgeois Blues"
by octopod June 13, 2004
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Another word for black/african-american

Not always rude just an old fashioned way to say it.
You shouldn't say colored now a-days cuz it's just racist.
by some polak November 8, 2004
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Word that offends black people, if you are white.
white person: "The colored girl, not the white one".

black person: "Are you calling me a slave?"

white person: "No."

black person: "Well, you said the word colored and that word is what you all use to describe us as you are hanging us."

white person: "umm, I was trying to be respectful".

black person: "Well, you are a cracker."

--and this is ok, apparently.
by grrllw675 September 3, 2008
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mistakenly thought of as an "object of color", however there is no color 'out there.' Color is merely certain nanometers of electromagnetic energy that (lucky us) our eyes can register as color. Most electromagnetic energy cannot be processed by our eyes, for example, radio waves, or radiation. Thus what we see is only because of our eyes.
guy: hey Stac look at that "colored" person eating a burger.
stacy: wat are you talking about Guy?
guy: umm duh, that black person over there.
stacy: gosh, you're soweak-minded!
guy: wat did i do?
stacy: well for one black isn't even a color and secondly color is only what we see as electromagnetic energy...so yea,
you're just confused and miseducated Guy.
guy: so wat is color?
stacy: good question since no color exists as color lol.
guy: ya lol.
by the creatorx1 December 29, 2009
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The discrimination of African Americans by Skin tone in their own community, usually subconsciously done, as most Blacks dont realize they're doing it until some dumb rapper or famous person makes a stupid untrue statement about darker toned women.

Perpetuated during slavery and by the media which seems to suggest lighter skin females to be of a higher stance than darker ones.

Perpetuated by rappers who often show more lighter skinned women in videos and hardly any darker ones.

Perpetuated by some Black men who treat lighter skinned females in a higher regard than darker toned ones.

An untrue Inplication that darker skin girls cannot be as fine as lighter ones. Bullshit.
Example of statements made for colorism

1.(rapper) "She gotta be a thick lightskinned redbone...long hair..."

2. "Dang you cute... for a dark skinned girl."

3. "Lightskinned girls just way finer! I dont want no dark girl!"
by loblg88 January 18, 2010
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Racism within members of the same race. For instance, light-skinned African Americans looking down on and discriminating against darker-skinned African Americans.
Colorism is just as harmful as racism perpetrated by whites on blacks.
by anne white December 12, 2008
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Interesting or diverse. Not drab or boring.
I've added a lot of colorful words to my vocabulary by using urban dictionary.
by Michelle0000 April 11, 2007
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