Harry Reid said of then Senator Barack Obama was light skinned and didn't speak with a "Negro Dialect" unless he wished to. Obama is light skinned most people who are Biracial like Obama are lightskinned. This doesn't make him better or worse just light skinned. That part of his statement is not the offensive part just another thing overblown by the media.
The next part of the statement is not a gaffe its racist pure and simple. First of all we haven't been Negros since James Brown told us we were black and proud. I was a little girl when that song came out but I remember the pure joy my parents and Aunties and Uncles felt dancing to that song. It made us finally proud of the color of our skin. Older black people did not and still do not like the term African American because of that song. Negros is our past Senator Reid not our Present. When you refer to us as a group please use black or African American nothing else will do. We are not colored nor are we Negros.
Now for the racist part of his statement that Barack doesn't speak with a negro Dialect unless he wants too.
Guess what Senator Reid Most black people don't speak with a Negro Dialect unless they want too. Believe it or not Senator Reid most black/African American children are taught how to speak English. Yes some children speak in what is traditionally known as Ebonics but there are children who are white that also speak this way. Its not a black thing Senator Reid its a hood thing. I don't like the term Ebonics because it does assume all black children speak this language. I will admit that Ebonics was born on Ole Massa's Plantation but it is not just ignorgant talk. There are rules and some of the sounds are different. Ebonics is a combination language of English, and several West African languages. There is also the Gullah language in some parts of South Carolina. I am a believer in not getting rid of this language and often speak it myself.
That being said I do not need some self rightous idiot insulting an entire group of people by assuming that we all speak the same language. I guess he thinks we all live in the projects or that we all know every black person in the world.
Harry Reid appologized to Barack Obama but he owes an apology to all Black people and Senator Reid remember this the next time Negro enters your mind "Say It Loud We're Black and Proud." Negros died with Segregation.