Generally, I have been using "Black" of late because there are many Haitians, West Indians, Africans living in the US who are not American, and I don't want to limit the struggle to the African American condition. Having said that...
For the blacks who were born in the US or hold US citizenship, I prefer American of African descent (I know it's long, but anyhoo). I am solidly American, whether my ancestors were forced in chains to be enslave in the country or not. My ancestors have been here many more generations than a majority of the people currently living in the US (many second-fourth generation Americans whose ancestors changed their names at Angel or Ellis Island). It is my birthright to claim America as my home country, with all the rights and privleges such a birthright brings, and claim I shall. I have been shaped and raised by black men and women for whom America was the only country they knew.
I do not negate, however, the fact that if history had been different, I could very well be Ebo, Yoruba, Fulani, Chokwe or a multiude of other groups. I understand and respect my relationship with the mother continent, Africa, from which the genesis of all humankind was created. I also tire of people speaking of Africa as it it's some little country, rather than a vast continent full of people from a variety of countries, ethnic and religious groups. If you asked the average "African American" to name 10 countries in Africa, they would be hard pressed to do so.
In the end, I respect my roots, but know that I have been 100% shaped by America: the good, the bad and the ugly.
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Hybrid Mode
