> Is this broadening of the scope something that happens just here, or is 'negro' also slowly falling under the definition of the N-word in the US?
"negro," in American English, is basically equivalent to "oriental," in that it's not so much of an in-your-face offensive slur like the n-word, but it's an outmoded term that only someone like your grandparents or perhaps great-grandparents would be caught using, and then swiftly corrected. definitely still offensive if used in the presence of the contemporary person who was being dubbed as such, though.
for more information on this topic among many others, I would suggest checking out the podcast "Moe Factz with Adam Curry," wherein "American Descendent of Slavery" Moe and famously Dutch-raised white American Adam Curry talk about such issues. every episode they play this Malcolm X clip that summarizes the idea for their show (and shows just how recently "negro" was commonly used—within my parents' lifetime!):
> First the white man and the black man have be able to sit down at the same table. The white man has to feel free to speak his mind without hurting the feelings of that negro. And the so-called negro has to feel free to speak his mind without hurting the feelings of the white man. Then they can bring the issues that are under the rug out on top the table and take an intelligent approach to get the problem solved—that's the only way that they'll ever do it.