Moor vs. Negro vs. Afro-American vs. Black

“The English word “Negro” is a derivative of the Spanish and Portuguese word negro, which means black. The Portuguese and Spanish, who were pioneers in the African Slave Trade, used this adjective to designate the African men and women whom they captured and transported to the slave mart of the New World. Within a short time, the Portuguese word negro (no capital) became the English noun-adjective “negro.” This word, which was not capitalized at first, fused not only humanity, nationality and place of origin but also certain white judgements about the inherent and irredeemable inferiority of the persons so designated The word also referred to certain Jim Crow places, i.e., the “negro pew” in Christian churches.” See What’s In a Name? Negro vs. Afro-American vs. Black Lerone Bennett, Jr. Senior Editor, Ebony Magazine

President Barack Obama signed a bill into law Friday banning the federal government from using the terms “Negro” and “Oriental,” making the official terms African-American and Asian-American. The measure, H.R.4238, was an amendment to the Local Public Works Capital Development and Investment Act of 1976 to modernize terms relating to minorities. The legislation passed unanimously in the House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate earlier this year. See Obama Signs Bill Banning Goverment Use of Negro 

In the Blackamoores In Tudor England  the Author after reviewing several English Records states:  “Some Africans who were present in Tudor England were born in Africa and others were of Black African descent. I use the word African to describe both sets of people, but I acknowledge that in Tudor records these people are described by terms such as ‘Blackamoores,’ ‘Moor’ and ‘Negar.’” (page XIII) He cites a letter written in 1501 by “Tudor politician Thomas More to his friend John Holt” talking about the Moorish presence in England. (page 39) “In Europe during the medieval and early modern period, however the word ‘Moor’ could be used to describe Africans without the adjective ‘Black.’ …So the use of these words [Black and Moor] by sixteenth century writers is not just a reflection of their inability to follow modern rules of grammar. Rather, I suggest these words when used in parish records or other documents reflect the word Moor’s linguistic and rich cultural heritage, and this is why its variants were used to describe Africans: including dark-skinned or ‘Black-Africans’ in Tudor England.” (page 42) See Blackamoores In Tudor England By Oneyka Nubia