Top 10 Vintage Terms Imus Could Have Used Instead


These are the top 10 out-of-date, once-politically correct, historically accurate* terms for African American female basketball teams that Don Imus could have used instead of calling Rutger’s University Women’s Varsity basketball players “nappy-headed hos.”

  1. sepia amazons of the maple court
  2. chocolate coeds
  3. dusky hardwood lassies
  4. bronze hoopettes
  5. African floor queens
  6. all-Negro girls bucket team
  7. colored coed cagers
  8. tan tossers
  9. cagey artists of the razzle-dazzle
  10. brown femme casaba squads

Femme headline

*These were actual terms used in white as well as Negro press newspaper accounts of female Black Fives Era basketball teams through the 1940s and beyond.

To me today, these archaic terms seem benign and even endearing.

What do you think?

Meanwhile, please see our related post, December Declared Black Women’s Basketball History Month.

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Peter C. Gibbs
16 years ago

It’s amazing how life goes around in circles and you begin to understand why people think and respond in a certain way. I believe that many people in small town America probably have not stopped using those terms and have most likely passed them on from generation to generation. It is also good that you are educating people like myself on this topic. Keep up the great work that you’re doing.

16 years ago

I personally don’t mind a couple of ’em. And actually, #5 and #8 are kinda hot.

Even #3. Imagine someone goin’ in a club and sayin’ that to some ball playing honey?

At last one guy musta done it. Did anyone besides me notice that the word “dusky” was famously used by Jim Morrison of the Doors in the song “Hello, I Love You”? The lyrics in the last verse went … “How can I pluck this dusky jewel?!” It all makes sense now, huh?!

Black Fives
16 years ago

We agree except that we feel some of these would still be OK even today.

Suzanne
16 years ago

Though they can’t be used today, a number of these terms were really charming. They were written in an era of florid newspaper prose when articles were full of metaphors and flowery language no reporter would dream of using today, in addition to coming from a time when writers were unlikely to care about someones ethnic sensitivities.

16 years ago

Hey Claude, this is great. I have forwarded this to Jennifer Azzi who is a fellow USANA associate. I met and spoke with her at this year’s convention. She might find this interesting. Check out her site. Very dynamic and motivating speaker.