The Term African American

[LΩVE]

Originally Posted by BlueNYC2

i agree...i've said this time and time again...i tell people i'm not AFRICAN-AMERICAN...i'm black & hispanic(jamaican & panamanian) or Caribbean-American. you got to go waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay back to trace my roots to the "mother-land"...

and another issue i have with African-american...it shouldnt be used to describe ETHNICITY, cuz what if you're white, but ya parents & their parents & their parents were from a country in africa, but you was born here...are you not African-American??? just some food for thought...

oh yeah...let me just say this...ppl, plz stop confusing race with ethnicity...we're all one race...THE HUMAN RACE, but many different ethnicities...ok, i'm done now...

I know a guy who is actually African-American. As in he was BORN in AFRICA and is now an American citizen. He finds the phenomenon funny because as he points out...and he's right...people who have been here for generation upon generation are American, plain American. In fact, anyone born here is just American. Someone born a citizen of another country who emigrates to America is fdsfdsnjk-American.

I can't see why "black" could be offensive. I am "white", but I'm not white. I'm more of a tan color (naturally and made more so by way of the cancerbox in the winter), but I AM "white". Doesn't offend me in the least to be called "white girl". Almost no one is WHITE or BLACK but those are easy lables that everyone understand to mean someone is of European decent or African decent.

To me "African American" makes as much sense to me for kids of my generation who are in fact just American, as me saying "IrishScottishFrenchItlaianwhoknows American". I'm not. I'm American and I'm classified as "white". That's it.

[Langox510x]

Originally Posted by LΩVE

I know a guy who is actually African-American. As in he was BORN in AFRICA and is now an American citizen. He finds the phenomenon funny because as he points out...and he's right...people who have been here for generation upon generation are American, plain American. In fact, anyone born here is just American. Someone born a citizen of another country who emigrates to America is fdsfdsnjk-American.

I can't see why "black" could be offensive. I am "white", but I'm not white. I'm more of a tan color (naturally and made more so by way of the cancerbox in the winter), but I AM "white". Doesn't offend me in the least to be called "white girl". Almost no one is WHITE or BLACK but those are easy lables that everyone understand to mean someone is of European decent or African decent.

To me "African American" makes as much sense to me for kids of my generation who are in fact just American, as me saying "IrishScottishFrenchItlaianwhoknows American". I'm not. I'm American and I'm classified as "white". That's it.

To be honest I completely disagree with you. The terms black or African-American is both just labels to identify someone’s ethnicity or nationality. Labels that are human made. The fact is that you and I both might be American's, but you are white and I am black. Something that does distinguish us apart from each other and regardless of what we have to say on the matter, it is something that people on the outside of our circle will do. These are accepted labels and I sure don't find anything in that offensive.

Also, personally if I was to move to another country, even if I lived there for the rest of my life I would still consider myself an American of African descent. I think many immigrants who live in America would agree with me on this. Can you say otherwise?

[ufpika]

Originally Posted by LΩVE

I know a guy who is actually African-American. As in he was BORN in AFRICA and is now an American citizen. He finds the phenomenon funny because as he points out...and he's right...people who have been here for generation upon generation are American, plain American. In fact, anyone born here is just American. Someone born a citizen of another country who emigrates to America is fdsfdsnjk-American.

I can't see why "black" could be offensive. I am "white", but I'm not white. I'm more of a tan color (naturally and made more so by way of the cancerbox in the winter), but I AM "white". Doesn't offend me in the least to be called "white girl". Almost no one is WHITE or BLACK but those are easy lables that everyone understand to mean someone is of European decent or African decent.

To me "African American" makes as much sense to me for kids of my generation who are in fact just American, as me saying "IrishScottishFrenchItlaianwhoknows American". I'm not. I'm American and I'm classified as "white". That's it.

Exactly what I was thinking...

[preciousjeni]

Originally Posted by LΩVE

I can't see why "black" could be offensive. I am "white"...

Then take yourself out of the conversation.

[BabyPiNK_FL]

I prefer black because I hate when people refer to people who are black from other countries (like my mom) as African-American. I have heard people say things like "He is African-American from the Bahamas" or seen newspaper articles with things like "Thandie Newton, an African-American actress" when they fully acknowledge that she is from ENGLAND. I just drop my jaw, it's downright ignorant!

I have even heard a woman "school" a white lady in Wal-mart that she should not refer to their daughter as black because she is A-A. Well, how in the hell is the woman supposed to know? It's easier to see that someone is more likely than not black skinned, than it is to know where they are from. I am vehemently against the term African-American. I'm about as African as a Swede.

On Oprah, many years ago, I saw a white lady raised in Ethiopia who currently live in the U.S. She said that she was African-American. People like this more than qualify. I, however, do not feel that I do.

[AKA_Monet]

Miscreant... I'm African American!
~Katt Williams in First Sunday movie

[NinjaPoodle]

I am African-Native-American. Simple as that. I do not like the terms:

• Black-my skin is a beautiful chocolate brown
• Negro
• Negroid
• Nig***
• Niggras
• Darkie
• Sambo
• Colored

or any other negative connotation created to make me (or my people) feel like we do not belong to the HUMAN race.

My roots go back to Africa and to the Blackfoot Nation of this country though I wouldn't doubt there is some Caucasian somewhere down the line of my family tree.

I like the term and I find it to be an accurate term for those who have African ancestry but are American citizens, not those who are Haitian, Jamaican, Trinidadian, etc..

I don't put much energy into "correcting" people into my line of thinking because ultimately, we are all going to think what we want however, if someone were to ask me, then I will say I am A.A.-Native American. If some 90 year old woman who is still stuck in the 50's terminology (I personally know people like this of all races) says "and then the colored woman said blah blah..", I let it go. It's not worth the energy.

[KYquietstorm]

I am part of the Blackfoot Nation and Cherokee tribe also, NinjaPoodle! We could be related

[LΩVE]

Originally Posted by NinjaPoodle

I am African-Native-American. Simple as that. I do not like the terms:

• Black-my skin is a beautiful chocolate brown
• Negro
• Negroid
• Nig***
• Niggras
• Darkie
• Sambo
• Colored

or any other negative connotation created to make me (or my people) feel like we do not belong to the HUMAN race.

My roots go back to Africa and to the Blackfoot Nation of this country though I wouldn't doubt there is some Caucasian somewhere down the line of my family tree.

I like the term and I find it to be an accurate term for those who have African ancestry but are American citizens, not those who are Haitian, Jamaican, Trinidadian, etc..

I don't put much energy into "correcting" people into my line of thinking because ultimately, we are all going to think what we want however, if someone were to ask me, then I will say I am A.A.-Native American. If some 90 year old woman who is still stuck in the 50's terminology (I personally know people like this of all races) says "and then the colored woman said blah blah..", I let it go. It's not worth the energy.

Should "white" be offensive, then?

I am "white", but I am not white at all. I'm a light tan.

I haven't heard/met anyone who used the term "black" in an offensive manner. I have heard almost all of the other terms used either by old folks who aren't going to change their ways or by people who intend to be hateful. But I haven't heard "black" used in that manner. I'm not saying it hasn't happened, but I don't think it has a negative connotation like the racial slurs listed do. We can all think of racial slurs for every race under the sun including white, Asian, black, Hispanic...anyone and everyone. Some people in every race enjoy tearing down a different race. It's just that I haven't heard "black" nor "white" in anyone's arsenal of hateful words.

Would you feel it accurate for me to call myself Scotch-Irish Italian American, as that is my "ancestry"...about 200 years or more back. European American would I guess be a more accurate analogy to African American. There are still heirlooms and bits of speech here and there in my family that have been passed down so the heritage is there, but I think people would find that description of myself inappropriate or unnecessary.

I'm curious to know because for some reason this doesn't seem to translate. It's interesting to me.

Also, someone else brought up an interesting point...someone who is white but was born and raised in an African country and moved to America is African-American, if the term is used correctly. There IS a place for skin color in descriptions...it's a physical characteristic. I guess that's why to me "black" and "white" make sense. Anyone with eyes knows that both descriptions are rarely absolutely correct, but it simplifies. "White" is the color of an eggshell and how many people do you know that are THAT color? Few. "Black" is the color of ink and again, how many people are that color? Few. But everyone knows "white" means a person who is Caucasian, and who is probably somewhere in the range of white to deep tan and that "black" means someone who is African and probably somewhere in the range from black to light brown.

Maybe I'm idealistic, but I enjoy the idea of limiting differentiations based on race to simply physical characteristics...white, black, brown, tan, etc. But "African American" or "Asian American" to me, for someone born in the US many generations back creates a division. We're all Americans. It's different for someone who was born and raised in a foreign country and probably does owe some allegiance to their childhood home. But for those of us who have been here for generations it feels divisive to me, and it is used in an overly PC manner. Many people have given the example of a person who is of "African descent" but from another country like England or a Caribbean island being called "African American". I just find it all interesting. I think we should all form our own personal identities, but I don't feel like I'm being offensive when I call someone either "white" or "black", I guess. I don't feel obligated to differentiate between "African American", "Asian American", "European American", etc.

Originally Posted by preciousjeni

Then take yourself out of the conversation.

The point of discussion is to discuss. For instance, someone could explain to me why it is offensive. I explained why I do not understand...because I do not find "White", an inaccurate description of my skin color, to be offensive. So why is "black" offensive? That is what I'm discussing/asking. Since it is simply an overly simplified physical description (as is "white"...or "brunette"...or "redhead"...there are shades of every color we have on our skin, heads and in our eyes), it seems useful in describing a person. Like white girl with long brown hair and blue eyes or black guy with short hair and brown eyes.

[preciousjeni]

Originally Posted by LΩVE

The point of discussion is to discuss. For instance, someone could explain to me why it is offensive. I explained why I do not understand...because I do not find "White", an inaccurate description of my skin color, to be offensive. So why is "black" offensive? That is what I'm discussing/asking. Since it is simply an overly simplified physical description (as is "white"...or "brunette"...or "redhead"...there are shades of every color we have on our skin, heads and in our eyes), it seems useful in describing a person. Like white girl with long brown hair and blue eyes or black guy with short hair and brown eyes.

As you can see from the thread, some people prefer African American and some prefer black. What more needs to be discussed? Anyway, NinjaPoodle responded to your question. She said, she prefers not to be called black, among other things because those identifiers were "created to make [her (or her people)] feel like we do not belong to the HUMAN race." Did you miss that response?

[AKA_Monet]

Originally Posted by LΩVE

Should "white" be offensive, then?

I am "white", but I am not white at all. I'm a light tan.

I haven't heard/met anyone who used the term "black" in an offensive manner. I have heard almost all of the other terms used either by old folks who aren't going to change their ways or by people who intend to be hateful. But I haven't heard "black" used in that manner.

I'm curious to know because for some reason this doesn't seem to translate. It's interesting to me.

But "African American" or "Asian American" to me, for someone born in the US many generations back creates a division. We're all Americans...But for those of us who have been here for generations it feels divisive to me, and it is used in an overly PC manner. Many people have given the example of a person who is of "African descent" but from another country like England or a Caribbean island being called "African American". I just find it all interesting. I think we should all form our own personal identities, but I don't feel like I'm being offensive when I call someone either "white" or "black", I guess. I don't feel obligated to differentiate between "African American", "Asian American", "European American", etc.

I explained why I do not understand...because I do not find "White", an inaccurate description of my skin color, to be offensive. So why is "black" offensive? That is what I'm discussing/asking. Since it is simply an overly simplified physical description (as is "white"...or "brunette"...or "redhead"...there are shades of every color we have on our skin, heads and in our eyes), it seems useful in describing a person. Like white girl with long brown hair and blue eyes or black guy with short hair and brown eyes.

There is too much sanctimony on GC to find a supercilious resolution to your inquiry. That is why we are telling you to leave this topic--because really it is a ridiculous discussion. Such self-righteousness only ends in bitter disgust of the many on GC.

Good luck in finding your own answers to this question, especially on GC...

[DrPhil]

Originally Posted by LΩVE

I am "white"

Which explains why you are forcing this topic.

No offense to the white GCers who can take how people self-identify and let it be, but topics such as this are often perpetuated by whites. It is similar to some whites who want to probe blacks on the use of the N word. This isn't an in depth discussion of race dynamics and race interactions that generate and perpetuate these categories. It's a surface-level probing that gets extremely annoying when people have essentially told you that blacks are not monolithic and opinions will vary.

Americans of near or distant African descent understand why "black" and "African American" and "black not Hispanic" and "Hispanic not black" are relevant for Census, research, record keeping and other purposes where categories of humans are necessary. But as for cultural and ethnic identities that include but transcend race, people know what they identify with and as.

For instance, an olive complexioned Greek-American has cultural and ethnic identities. For race identity, he or she is classified as "white" but can PERSONALLY prefer to be called something else. That doesn't mean that their personal preference will be acknowledged by everyone or that it socially overshadows the general category of "white" that is used to simplify matters. The people who responded to this thread acknowledge the categories and were sharing their opinions of them. However, they aren't unaware of the social reality of these categories.