Army policy that OKs use of word 'Negro' under review

The latest version of a U.S. Army regulation states that it is acceptable to refer to a soldier as a “Negro” when describing black or African-American troops, CNN reports. The Army says the word's use is now under review.

An Oct. 22 revision to AR 600-20, which covers "Army Command Policy," includes a section on “race and ethnic code definitions” that says "terms such as ‘Haitian’ or ‘Negro’ can be used in addition to ‘Black’ or ‘African American,’" when describing “a person having origins in any of the black racial groups of Africa."

The revision included a series of changes, including "additional guidance for the Army’s sexual harassment prevention program," the Army Times said.

According to CNN, the document is updated periodically, though it's unclear how recently recently the word "Negro" was added.

Lt. Col. Justin Platt, an Army spokesman, said in a statement that the definition is “currently under review and will be updated shortly."

"The Army takes pride in sustaining a culture where all personnel are treated with dignity and respect and not discriminated against based on race, color, religion, gender and national origin," Platt said.

In 2013, the U.S. Census Bureau stopped using the word “Negro," saying it was "offensive and outdated."

The term's use "dates back five centuries to when Portuguese and Spanish explorers used their languages' word for black" to describe the people of sub-Saharan Africa, ABC News noted at the time. "It followed slavery to the United States, surviving Reconstruction and the Jim Crow-era before losing favor during the civil rights and black power movements of the 1960s."

In 1790, the first U.S. census displayed only three racial categories: "free white," "all other free persons" and "slaves." The term "Negro" appeared for the first time in 1900, to identify people of African descent.