Guess blackface would be satire in your world too, eh? Totally innocent. Most if not all organizations have changed their names so they don't include Negro, even if the acronyms haven't been altered. Not to mention, who the hell says "negro spirituals" anymore? Must be an Alabama thing.
Racist.
Well Negro is still widely used and accepted as a word. I looked on dictionary.com and didn't find any definition which classified the word as "racist" but I did find this...
"Professor Booker T. Washington, being politely interrogated ... as to whether negroes ought to be called 'negroes' or 'members of the colored race' has replied that it has long been his own practice to write and speak of members of his race as negroes, and when using the term 'negro' as a race designation to employ the capital 'N' " ["Harper's Weekly," June 2, 1906]
I found several common uses of the word:
Negro bug -- a minute black bug common on the raspberry and blackberry. It produced a very disagreeable flavor.
negro corn -- the Indian millet or durra; so called in the West Indies.
Negro fly -- a black dipterous fly which, in the larval state, is injurious to carrots; -- called also carrot fly.
Negro head -- Cavendish tobacco.
Negro monkey -- the moor monkey.
Rio Negro -- 1. a river in NW South America, flowing SE from E Colombia through N Brazil into the Amazon. 1400 mi. (2255 km) long.
2. a river in S Argentina, flowing E from the Andes to the Atlantic. 700 mi. (1125 km) long.
3. a river in SE South America, flowing S from Brazil and W through Uruguay, to the Uruguay River. ab. 500 mi. (800 km) long.
But the most popular definition of the word is:
Negro --being a member of the black peoples of humankind, esp. those who originate in sub-Saharan Africa.
Oh yes... and this...
http://www.negrospirituals.com/
“Swing low, sweet chariot” is a popular one you may have heard.
