In a message dated 7/6/99 6:50:57 AM Eastern Daylight Time, [email protected] writes: > I believe the term "mulatto" was descriptive and derogatory at the > same time. It was used by the white race to describe anyone who was not > WHITE. It was used by census takers in some areas to describe the American > Indian. The southern planters even went to far as to create the term > octoroon > to describe someone who was at least 1/8 African. These terms were used in a > > derogatory way to keep any person of color in their place. It was a description, I don't think this was derogatory, just a sign of the times, today you are not black, or colored, or Negro, or mulatto, you are African American. Those folks were Mulatto, the French planters around New Orleans used the terms quadroon, and octoroon. As to it being used by the "white" race, I think everyone had a word for people of other races as well as themselves, white, black, red, yellow.