News and Commentary

New York Times Journalists Expand List Of Racially Offensive Terms

John Bickley

According to a group of journalists at The New York Times, the number of permissible racial words and phrases just shrank by nine (actually, the number is far higher than that, as you’ll see).

The growing list of offensive terms held up for scorn by the Times journalists now includes: ethnic, person of color, illegal immigrant, urban, half-____ (like “half-black” of “half-white”), non-____ (like “non-Jew” or “non-white”), fit in (like “Will they fit in?”), exotic, and diversity hire.

Got a tip worth investigating?

Your information could be the missing piece to an important story. Submit your tip today and make a difference.

Submit Tip