Quote:
Originally Posted by AKA_Monet
DSTChaos,
I have a question for you:
What do the sociologists say about referring to the African diaspora in the United States in reference to "black" people?
I ask, because last I remember, there is no Republic of "Black" country/region...
And because people were enslaved from various countries/regions solely based on a "phenotypic variation", then that is why "African Americans" are referred to that way.
Just asking 'cuz I really don't know...
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I hope I'm answering the correct question:
Opinions differ on such matters but I find that sociologists who deal in race and ethnic relations tend not to use "African diaspora" because it mixes different groups of people whereas "African American/black" is a more distinct grouping. When sociologists say "AA/black" we understand we are talking about a people with a distinct history in this nation and with a distinct culture/cultural identity. The strength and traits of the cultural identity is the question, not whether or not there is one.
But when taking a more international perspective and talking about the common struggles of black and brown people all over, "African diaspora" is a common term. It is to say that we all deal with similar struggles--the slave ships just dropped us off at different continents (or didn't pick some folks up at all, they migrated generations ago).
Essentially, it is insulting to many sociologists in the racial and ethnic inequality area to assert that blacks/AA do not have a culture or cultural identity. We should focus on understanding it and strengthening it.