Colored is a North American euphemism once widely regarded as a polite description of black people (i.e., persons of sub-Saharan African ancestry; members of the "Black race"). It should not be confused with the more recent term people of color, which attempts to describe all "non-white peoples", not just blacks.

The term "colored" appeared in North America during the colonial era. A "colored" man halted a runaway carriage that was carrying President John Tyler on March 4, 1844. In 1863, the War Department established the "Bureau of Colored Troops." The first twelve Census counts in the U.S. enumerated "colored" people, who totaled nine million in 1900. The Census counts of 1910–1960 enumerated "negroes."

Free people of color were sometimes accorded higher status than blacks, because of the association of the latter with enslaved status. In addition, free people of color were sometimes the children of planters who may have passed on wealth in the form of property or education, including apprenticeship to a trade. In the well-established Creoles of color community in New Orleans and southern Louisiana, many people became educated and owned property, including their own businesses. but were more often considered lesser than people of separate ancestry.Fact: date=February 2007

"Free Persons of Color"

The term "Free Persons of Colour" first appeared during colonial times (1600-1800s). It was applied to a variety of ethnic people, to include Black, Native American, Portuguese, Spaniards, Sephardic Jews, Greeks, Romanians, Moors, Arabs, Asiatic Indians* and Pakistanis* (*who were here as early as the mid 1600s from England, usually as indentured servants), and varied others including mixed races. The common denominator was skin darker than Northern Europeans.Fact: date=May 2008 The term "colored" was generated from this catagorization, chiefly to indicate those of African ancestry, but to include any person of darker complexion.

Term people of color in the United States

main: Person of color It is difficult to discuss this term without the discussions of power and privilege. This term has very different meanings in different countries and contexts. The term often has a positive connotation and is used more often by non-whites. Some find this term as offensive as the term colored, on the grounds that it fixes whites as the benchmark for racial division, fostering an "us versus them" view of race relations. Proponents of the term maintain that that the term minority suffers more so from these drawbacks; many of its proponents believe that "people of color" refers to an identity borne out of shared struggle. It purports that struggle is against caucasian peoples. They also support the acknowledgment that those who wield power and who benefit from racial privilege in a racist society, as such proponentsWho: date=October 2007 assume the United States to be, are primarily white. Some affinity organizations for people of color will cite historical injustices committed by caucasians as justification for the exclusion and marginalization of whites. Its language suggests that white is not a color like black or brown, therefore justifying its exclusion. During the 1980s, the term people of color came to be used by civil rights activists, such as those involved with environmental justice.