Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA) named Mercedes Lackey a Grand Master at the Nebula Awards ceremony, then almost immediately turned around and removed her from the Nebula Conference. The stated reason was that she “used a racial slur” while on a panel.

English has long had taboo words. At one time, the strongest ones dealt with religion. Later on, ones relating to bodily functions headed the list. It’s still illegal to tell people on broadcast television what the Supreme Court’s seven dirty words are. How do you avoid breaking the law when you can’t be told what the law forbids?

The Lackey situation is similar. The File 770 article doesn’t tell us what the alleged racial slur was. Readers are likely to imagine the worst words possible (which I won’t mention, since they may lower my search engine visibility). In fact, the word she used was “colored.” If that’s a slur, then the NAACP commits it every time it gives its full name, National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.

Getting more information took some digging. She was complimenting Samuel Delaney on his accomplishments in overcoming the color barrier as a writer. Delaney wasn’t offended. In his response, he said, “With all due respect for anyone over 60, there are no ‘bad words;’ it depends alone on the vernacular you were brought up with.”

In claiming she was using a “slur” without clarification, SFWA lied. A slur is a gratuitous insult. SWFA misleadingly said: “The use of a racial slur violates the instruction to ‘Respect all cultures and communities. Do not make derogatory or offensive statements even as a joke.'”

A reasonable reader would get the impression that Lackey made a bad-taste racial joke or worse. She didn’t.

“Colored,” unlike some other racial terms, was never a slur. It was used in a time when the demeaning of black people was frequent and blatant, so it gathered a lot of negative baggage. The same is true of “Negro,” which is Spanish for “black.” “Black” survived in spite of similar associations. We can imagine a different history in which calling people “black” was banished from polite discourse and “Negro” (or maybe “Negrx”) became standard. Arguably that would have made more sense, since “black” has lots of negative connotations: “black-hearted,” “things are looking black,” etc.

Writers and speakers should avoid the word “colored” today, since it’s an old-fashioned term that sounds like something out of George Wallace’s South. That’s a different matter from claiming the use of it is an insult. It’s like saying “the Ukraine.” I’ve had trouble breaking myself of using the definite article, since using it was a habit of many years, but accusing me of a “slur” if I slip and say “the Ukraine” would be unfounded.

The event organizers smeared Lackey, giving the impression that she had said something awful when she didn’t. Some people on the Net have speculated about internal political maneuvering or someone’s grudge as the real cause. Whatever the underlying reason, SFWA owes her an immediate apology.

Update: Lackey has posted an apology on Tumblr, saying: “I’m not an amazing speaker. I stammer, I freeze up, & I get things wrong. I am sorry that I bungled a modern term while bringing attention to an amazing black creator.” I think she handled it well. She didn’t grovel but admitted she misspoke.