Noun

1. The supposed habit of black people of frequently being late, conceived of as a time zone.

Usage notes

• This term was used within the African American community; used by an outsider, it would likely be taken to be offensive.
• The term "Colored People" is now dated.

Quotations

• 1967 January 27, quoted in Stephen B. Oates, Let the Trumpet Sound: The Life of Martin Luther King, Jr., HarperCollins (1994), ISBN 006092473X, page 338

  “Colored People's Time,” King said with a grin. “It always takes us longer to get where we're going.”