Negro. There it was on the form for the 2010 U.S. Census. A clear reminder, among many, that there are still battles left to be fought in post-Obama America.

On this U.S. Census form, under the checklist for race, there's a spot for "Black, African Am., or Negro." While the U.S. Census Bureau announced late last week that it will "explore" doing away with the word Negro on future surveys, the damage has already been done.

"It was absurd. It's totally outdated and insulting and it's racist in its connotation," said Councilman Charles Barron (D-District 42). "We're living in the 21st century, and we're still using derogatory words like Negro."

Barron also didn't pass up the chance to address the other Negro issue: Senator Harry Reid's (D-Nevada) comments about President Barack Obama during the 2008 election campaign (as featured in the John Heilemann and Mark Halperin book Game Change).

"Light skin and Negro dialect? What Negro dialect?" asked Barron. "Because if you still think we're Negroes in the 21st century, you have a problem. If that light skin and dark skin stuff [still] plays a role in your thinking, that's sad."

But the Census form makes the case that Reid wasn't the only one who felt that way. The controversy has sparked debate about the origins of words to describe those of African ancestry and whether or not the hoopla is strictly another example of political correctness gone awry. Rev. Al Sharpton isn't one of those people. The message is loud and clear to him.

Sharpton said that the term "African-American" "was developed by African Americans, not some PC outside group. That was a self-defined expression that we have developed after the other terms that we did not agree with, like 'colored' and 'Negro,' had been imposed upon us."

According to Sharpton, the U.S. Census Bureau isn't using the proper resources to reach populations that are hard to count, like new immigrants and minorities – especially the former group, as they usually don't trust anything connected to the government. But Sharpton understands how proper counting can lead to more funds that help the downtrodden of America, regardless of what they're called on the Census. According to his spokesperson, Sharpton met this past December with Commerce Secretary Gary Locke, who's responsible for the population count this year.

"The undercount in places like Mississippi becomes the partner to the under-servicing, the lack of resources," said Sharpton. "People want [African Americans] to be undercounted so they can justify not sending money to those areas of Mississippi, because they say there are not enough people [there who are] going to be served by that money," said Sharpton.

While Sharpton seemed to temper his justified anger with the realization that the Census can help ethnic minorities, the assumption was that other Black organizations would be willing to express their disgust at the U.S. Census. But, surprisingly, some weren't willing to speak out.

"We were instructed by the NAACP not to comment on this story. I don't think the other branches [in New York] would be willing to help you," said a spokesperson for the Brooklyn chapter of the NAACP.

The AmNews attempted to contact Hilary Shelton at the Baltimore chapter of the NAACP and was told that he'd eventually call back. As of press time, the AmNews still hasn't heard from him.

Barron, however, was willing to keep talking.

"We are people of African ancestry," said Barron. "Africans, new Africans [and] Black. Anything but Negro or nigger in the 21st century because we're all African people."