The Term African American

[DSTCHAOS]

Originally Posted by Sista

There are People here in America who have white parents and they call their self black. Not because they have a black parents though, but more so because more so they want to identify with their black side. Here in America, it is a cool thing to be black, almost like a fad. Being black will allow you more fun and the acceptance by the people who are real, hip and trend setting, those people being, black people. I understand the plight of people who are obviously mixed with white but I do not identify with them.

My reason for telling this is because, I was just out buying some food and this Asian girl who looked like she may have had some black in her down the line was talking to me and she went out of her way to project what Arican Americanss call the swaggar, it's a way that African American people talk, move and connect when amongst each other. I didn't identify with her but she thought she identified with me. The thing about those kind of people who try to project the black image just because they probably have 2% black blood in them,or no black blood at all but what they perceive as a black style,

Are you talking about the whole "acting black" and "talking black" thing?

Every group of people has cultural markers and identifiers that both insiders and outsiders know of. This doesn't mean that every member of that group has to display these markers and identifiers, since there is some variation across social classes. The problem is when it becomes a negative and something to be mocked.

I have a level of comfort when I'm around people of the African diaspora. But I don't use my comfort as an excuse to pretend I don't know the English language or am an ignorant person. I used to use my comfort as such an excuse when I was young because I didn't understand the intellectual and cultural roots of "blackness."

That said, I'm annoyed by ANYONE who approaches me and dumbs down or acts what they think is "ghetto" just because I'm black. That includes black people, white people, Asian people, Hispanic people, and so forth. If you can't speak a coherent sentence, talk about something other than "black things," and act like you have some sense and home training around me just because I'm black--keep it moving.

Originally Posted by Sista

they don't really identify with Africa, nor do they care to. They actually think black people in America are their own kind of race aside from Africans. Now tell me, why would they think that if they identified with where the black in them came from, that place being Africa? To me, black means I am African decent, not just black alone. That black in me means something, it means I am African.

I identify with the struggles and triumphs of people of the African diaspora and the black culture. I don't identify with Africa as a continent nor do I want to. I'm not African and don't feel loyalty to Africa.

That's fine if you do as long as you don't think that all black people in America have to.