McCoyred,
Different people who call themselves "Black" do not consider themselves "African-Americans." For example, some people from India consider themselves Black and when they say so, they receive strange looks. Most use the term "Brown" to distinguish themselves from us, although some have black skin. Also, many Haitians, people from various West Indian countries, and Jamaica don't consider themselves to be "African-American." Yes, they are Black, but not African-American. African-American is more of a cultural term that relates to people of African descent who live in the US as a result of the African diaspora. Jamaicans are Jamaican-Americans. This doesn't make them any less "Black." What about Black Latinos? They are not "African-American" either, but Latinos and social labels are another topic altoghether.
Only in the US are we so obsessed with labeling ourselves. You're Black, you're White, you're Asian, you're Indian (but not from India), you're Hispanic and non-white, etc. In South America, especially counties like Brazil people identify themselves as "white." But this doesn't mean the same to them as it would to us. I read an artcile in which a Black journalist from the US went to Brazil and only associated with the darker skinned (or what we would conisder "Black" Brazilians) his hosts (white looking) were offended because he brought his American way of labeling people with him.
One of my mom's best friends is from South America. She looks white, she married a Black American. She endured a lot of racism which she did not understand. She could not comprehend how we behave this way when in her home country people were "one." Her mother came to visit the US and I was surprised that her skin was darker than mine, she would be consider "Black" in this country. Just something to think about. This is all based on people's perceptions...colored, Black, Negro, African-American, what's next?
[This message has been edited by Talaxe (edited December 19, 2000).]
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