How do non-Black teachers approach primary sources with the word "negro"?
I'm white and teaching my students about the Underground Railroad and abolition. I wanted to discuss the text of the Scott v. Sanford decision, which uses the word "negro" to refer to all Black Americans. Even typing it makes me feel icky and I don't like to say it out loud because to me, it feels like the n-word "lite". For Black educators, what do you think is best practice in this scenario? Non-black educators, how have you dealt with this in your classroom?
ETA: Thank you for the advice! I want to clarify, I have no intention of censoring the documents or changing the language. I'm strictly talking about me, as a white teacher, saying it out loud. Most of my students are white, with a plurality of Asian/Latino students and only two Black students. There have been incidents of racism against them from their classmates this year so I want to ensure they feel safe and valued.
Edit 2: thank you everyone for the suggestions! The advice I'm mainly seeing is that it's important to front load the lesson with an overview of the word's history and use, and establish guidelines for respectful discussion. I do not intend to censor it and will say it out loud if reading from a text/discussing the historical context. I appreciate the feedback y'all! Going to mute this now bc my phone's been blowing up lol.
Random side note: I just remembered when I was a preteen and the new Hairspray movie came out, and they used negro quite liberally. I was talking to my older cousin about the movie and when I began using the word to just refer to Black people in general, she scolded me and told me I shouldn't say it. Maybe that subconsciously imprinted in my memory lmao