Fact Check: Black Crayola Crayon Labeled 'Negro' Is NOT Racist -- It's Spanish

Fact Check

  • by: Alan Duke
Fact Check: Black Crayola Crayon Labeled 'Negro' Is NOT Racist -- It's Spanish Spanish

Is labeling a black crayon "negro" a racial reference and does Crayola have "some explaining to do"? No, that's not true: This is an example of a practice detected by Lead Stories: other languages use different words than English. The black crayon carries the labeling "negro" for Spanish-language users because that is the word for "black" in Spanish. It is not a racial reference, but a translation. The same crayon also is labeled "noir," which is the French word for black.

The claim appeared in a post (archived here) shared on Facebook on December 17, 2020. It featured a close-up photo of a black crayon with the message:

Y'all Tell Me i am trippin or do this black crayon say negro ummmm crayola got some explaining to do!!!

This is what the post looked like on Facebook at the time of writing:

Facebook screenshot

(Source: Facebook screenshot taken on Sun Dec 20 21:04:29 2020 UTC)

A Google translate search (click here to see it) reveals the Spanish word for "black" is "negro" (masculine) and "negra" feminine:

image (60).png

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  Alan Duke

Editor-in-Chief Alan Duke co-founded Lead Stories after ending a 26-year career with CNN, where he mainly covered entertainment, current affairs and politics. Duke closely covered domestic terrorism cases for CNN, including the Oklahoma City federal building bombing, the UNABOMBER and search for Southeast bomber Eric Robert Rudolph. CNN moved Duke to Los Angeles in 2009 to cover the entertainment beat. Duke also co-hosted a daily podcast with former HLN host Nancy Grace, "Crime Stories with Nancy Grace" and hosted the podcast series "Stan Lee's World: His Real Life Battle with Heroes & Villains." You'll also see Duke in many news documentaries, including on the Reelz channel, CNN and HLN.

Read more about or contact Alan Duke

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