col-ored \’ke-lerd\ adj 1 : having color 2 : SLANTED, BIASED
It’s Jan. 21, 2015, and British actor Benedict Cumberbatch sits on an oversized slate couch, surrounded by mahogany walls, an imitation city-scape and dozens of set lights and film cameras.
Wearing a linen grey suit, a casually unbuttoned poplin shirt, and a blasé cool demeanor typically reserved for the golden actors of yesteryear, Cumberbatch appears prepared. With the cameras rolling, 38 year old Cumberbatch starts his interview with PBS host, Tavis Smiley.
Smiley and Cumberbatch begin discussing the actor’s recently announced Academy Award nomination for his role in the biopic “The Imitation Game” as Alan Turing, a man who helped the British decode a Nazi message during World War II and was later persecuted by the British once his homosexuality was revealed.
More than 20 minutes later Smiley asks Cumberbatch about the amount of white and black British actors securing roles in Oscar-nominated films such as “Selma” and “12 Years A Slave.”
“I think as far as colored actors go, it gets really difficult in the UK, and I think a lot of my friends have had more opportunities here (in the U.S.) than in the UK, and that’s something that needs to change,” Cumberbatch replied.
The interview continues for several more minutes. The cameras catch a final shot of Cumberbatch and Smiley chatting and laughing before the interview ends.
When the interview aired on PBS on Sunday, Jan. 25, social media users began to shout their outrage for Cumberbatch’s use of the word ‘colored.’ Hundreds of angry messages began appearing on Twitter and Facebook calling out the use of the term.
“Benedict Cumberbatch used the term ‘coloured’ to describe black actors,” London-based journalist Sonya Thomas tweeted the next day. “What year are we in?”
Broadcaster Charlene White echoed Thomas’ tweet, “Cumberbatch’s comments make the UK look like a country living in the Downton Abbey era.”
person of color \per-son of col-or\ n 1 : a person who is not white or of European parentage. See also : man of color, woman of color
The term ‘person of color’ has a long standing history in the U.S. with documents prohibiting slave ships entering ports dated as early as 1807 applying to “any negro, mulatto, or person of colour” indicating usage at the time prevalent enough to merit a general understanding of the phrase.
The first term used in those documents, ‘negro’ proved more timeless when referring to the African American slaves.
More than 70 years later, following the abolishment of slavery in the U.S., Jim Crow laws warranted the legality of segregation. At a time when ‘negro’ was the dominant term for African Americans, ‘colored’ began to rise in popularity, often appearing on signs separating facilities, businesses and services between African Americans and caucasians.
“At that time you find in the American south that the term ‘colored’ was deemed polite because the alternatives were so much worse,” says North Central College history professor Shereen Ilahi.
During the civil rights movement, the term ‘colored’ became more popularly regarded as insensitive. By the 1960s African American civil rights groups shifted towards using the term ‘people of color.’ In the same decade the U.S. officially adopted the use of “African American” on documents and political discourse.
“By the time we get to the 1980s and 1990s we see a movement towards the importance of being politically correct,” says Ilahi. By this point ‘colored’ is considered offensive by many.
se-man-tics \si-‘man-tiks\ n sing or pl : the study of meanings in language
On Jan. 26, the day after the interview aired, with comments swirling amid news outlets and social media, Cumberbatch released an official apology.
“I’m devastated to have caused offense by using this outmoded terminology. I offer my sincere apologies. I make no excuse for my being an idiot and know the damage is done…”
“…The most shaming aspect of this for me is that I was talking about racial inequality in the performing arts in the U.K. and the need for rapid improvement in our industry when I used the term…”
“…I feel the complete fool I am and while I am sorry to have offended people and to learn from my mistakes in such a public manner please be assured I have. I apologize again to anyone who I offended for this thoughtless use of inappropriate language about an issue which affects friends of mine and which I care about deeply.”
“It’s all semantics,” says Marvin Russell, owner of a boutique technology company in Chicago, Ill. “I wasn’t offended by (Cumberbatch’s) comments. It’s all about context and you can usually tell if someone is trying to be disrespectful or hurtful.”
“I think he just didn’t realize he was saying something wrong,” says Russell.
The day of Cumberbatch’s apology Smiley came to the actor’s defense tweeting, “Those who saw Benedict Cumberbatch on @PBS, know he feels persons of color are underrepresented in #Hollywood.”
in-equal-i-ty \i-ni-kwä-le-tē\ n 1 : the quality of being unequal or uneven; esp : UNEVENNESS, DISPARITY 2 : an instance of being unequal
Cumberbatch’s recent dilemma isn’t the first public figure in recent years to make headlines for using racially insensitive terms. Comedian Michael Richards, television chef Paula Dean, and most recently, L.A. Clippers’ former owner, Donald Sterling, have all been in the news for similar situations.
However, Cumberbatch is the first celebrity in recent months to publicly use a racially insensitive term, in this case, while ironically trying to shed light on racism in a particularly industry.
British actor David Oyelowo defended Cumberbatch to Newsbeat at the London premiere of “Selma,” “When you look at what he was actually saying it’s clear that he’s a huge supporter of black performers.”
“Excellence is the best weapon against prejudice,” Oyelowo continued. “I intend to be part of the solution and not the problem.”
Cumberbatch says in his apology, “I can only hope this incident will highlight the need for correct usage of terminology that is accurate and inoffensive.”
College senior Megann Horstead echoes Oyelowo and Cumberbatch’s statements, “It’s part of our job as African Americans to set an example so there aren’t as many misunderstandings (like this). We have to work to educate people.”
