How insulting is Colored (vs. African American)

[33girl]

Originally Posted by BabyPiNK_FL

I use the word colored with my friends pretty often when referring to us as a group or something like that. (They are mostly Hispanic.)

I would not mind if an older person or most other people using it in a non-offensive way referred to me as colored. I am colored. I am Black. I am American. I am Jamaican. What I don't like, is the term African-American. I will correct someone on that.

I assume you don't like it because you're not from Africa, which makes perfect sense. But how is someone supposed to know that? Are there noticeable differences in features or skin color?

I'm not trying to stir the pot here, just honestly asking.

This makes me think of an old WWII propaganda poster I saw once, the jist of which was "how to tell a Chinese person from a Japanese person so you're not unnecessarily mean to the Chinese person since it's not them we're pissed off at."