Is this the United States military in 2014 or a deep south lunch counter in 1964?
The Army's most recently released "Army Command Policy" regulations state that it is acceptable to refer to "black or African American" soldiers as "negro," which, the regulation says, describes "A person having origins in any of the black racial groups of Africa."
CNN was first to report the word's use in the regulation, which came out Oct. 22.
Of course, the word "negro" has all sorts of painful connotations, is mostly considered archaic, and has pretty much fallen out of use since the Civil Rights Movement because ... oh, wait. The federal government used the term on the 2010 census. Remember that? Yeah, people were pissed off then too, so the U.S. Census Bureau officially dropped the term in 2013 after more than 100 years.
But apparently the Army wasn't paying attention.
An Army spokesman told CNN the use of the word comes from an outdated section, which is "currently under review, and will be updated shortly."
Army, maybe pay more attention and you won't have to keep rolling back stuff that makes you look racist.
[Via CNN]
