African American v. Black

[DOVE1920]

Which one do you prefer?
I personally like Black, with a CAPITAL B. It reminds me of that poem "God,why did you make me Black?" I agree that African and American symbolizes our mixed heritage but I'm not ready to accept America yet and I'm quite sure it hasn't accepted me.

[SoTrue1920]

There's nothing like living abroad that shows you just how very American you really are. That being said, I prefer African American, for lots of reasons, but mostly because there's no place called "Black" or "White".

I believe in calling people what they want to be called, so if someone wishes to be called "Black", that's what I'll call her/him.

[DOVE1920]

[QUOTE]Originally posted by SoTrue1920:
[B]There's nothing like living abroad that shows you just how very American you really are.[B]
I spent 3 months in Morocco and I'm very aware of how "American" I am. I respect your opinion but I guess I prefer Black because it eludes to a specific condition. Being in Africa, even though some people don't consider Morocco Africa, made me realize that one cannot homogenize the continent into a country. So I feel that by saying I'm African American I'm making Africa into a country instead of a continent with millions of distinct peoples. I hope I'm making sense...

[straightBOS]

I couldn't agree more, Dove1920.

Africa needs to be accepted as a continent more. Most people say "Africa" or "African" so much when they describe an artifact, cloth, song, or dance, that it negates the importance of the actual country or tribe from which the item originated.

Personally, I prefer black, capital or no. I am West Indian, so I really can't be African-American. I think that African-American is too exclusive. It implies that someone who looks just like you is somehow a different classification because he or she was born in another country. Black seems to be more unifying.

But I also ask, why haven't you accepted America, yet? It isn't perfect, but I can think of worst places to live.

[Shelacious]

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.

[DST Love]

Originally posted by Shelacious:
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.

I agree completely. I personally use the term "Black". I don't know about anyone else but as my father says, we know for sure our ancestors helped to build this country in every way. Despite how America has treated Blacks, for me to deny that I am American is a slap in the face to any and every Black that has fought and died for us to be where we are today.

Besides, I've heard of a lot of Africans that are upset that we try to call ourselves African-Americans, not that we need their approval but I understand why they wouldn't like that. During the olympics in Atlanta, my boyfriend heard an African woman talking about how 'we' don't know anything about Africa.

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#10 Sigma (Clark Atlanta University) Spring 1999
Currently: MAL, Southern Region

[This message has been edited by DST Love (edited July 13, 2001).]

[SoTrue1920]

I wasn't suggesting that you start calling yourself "African" or "African American" based on anything I said. Sometimes my fingers get away from me and they type things I don't mean. All I know is when I was in Senegal, and now that I'm in Canada, I'm painfully aware of how much I have internalized American culture including its pastiche of many different cultural influences. I have a distinctly American point of view compared to people from Senegal, or Nigeria, or British Columbia. No matter what color I am, that probably won't ever change.

I know that Africa is not a country. What kind of African/African American Studies scholar would I be if I didn't? However, since my heritage was stolen from me, and since I'll probably never know where my ancestors originated from (though I suspect it's Nigeria or Ghana), I embrace all of the continent, from Algeria to Zimbabwe. Since enslaved people came from so many different African nations/countries, and since all of their cultures combined and made up (most but not all of) "Black" culture in the United States, it's expedient for me to say "African American" rather than "Ibo/Wolof/Hausa-American." I don't mean it as a slight to African countries or different African cultures/nations. But I'm merely a descendent of Africa, I'm not African.

Here in Canada, people embrace blended identities a little bit more. It's not perfect by a long shot, but you see more people referring to themselves as "African Canadians" if they're from the continent, "Caribbean Canadians" if they're from the islands, or, in the case of Chinese, they call themselves CBC - Canadian Born Chinese. Sure, multiculturalism gets a lot of lip service up here, but generally there's not as much static if you claim a different identity for yourself.

Originally posted by DOVE1920:
I spent 3 months in Morocco and I'm very aware of how "American" I am. I respect your opinion but I guess I prefer Black because it eludes to a specific condition. Being in Africa, even though some people don't consider Morocco Africa, made me realize that one cannot homogenize the continent into a country. So I feel that by saying I'm African American I'm making Africa into a country instead of a continent with millions of distinct peoples. I hope I'm making sense...[/B]

[This message has been edited by SoTrue1920 (edited July 13, 2001).]

[The Original Ape]

Eh, Yall!

Good topic!

I was always taught that mankind is identified by the land from which his forefathers come. If that be the case, then we are African-Americans.

[ShakespareDST]

Well.....

I like the term African American for me because both of my parents are from Kenya, the Kikuyu tribe. I also use the term African or Kenyan because I am a direct descendant.

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"To whom much is given, much is required."

[ShakespareDST]

Well.....

I like the term African American for me because both of my parents are from Kenya, the Kikuyu tribe. I also use the term African or Kenyan because I am a direct descendant.

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"To whom much is given, much is required."

[CelestialBlu1]

black...or american...african-american is pc...most blacks in america do not know what specific group of people they are decended from...to just utilize the label "african" does not give proper attribution to your heritage...nor does it invoke any real sense of pride...it only provides an illusion of belonging to a people we in no way truly identify with on a day to day basis beyond sharing the same skin tone in most instances...africans do not define themselves as such so why would we find pride in simply defining ourselves as "african"-american??? "i am black and i am comely..."

http://www.angelfire.com/ny5/celestialblues/index.html



[This message has been edited by CelestialBlu1 (edited July 17, 2001).]

[kiml122]

I prefer the term "Black" nothing more, nothing less.

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Holla - 2001
KL

[This message has been edited by kiml122 (edited July 17, 2001).]

[mccoyred]

I prefer Black, capitalized!

To me, this term encompasses the worlwide experience of Continental Africans and Diasporan Africans. While my struggle in Maryland may be different than the struggle in California, Mozambique, Brazil or France, they are fundamentally the same. Many of the same elements flow through these cultures because we are all Black.

Originally posted by kiml122:
I prefer the term "Black" nothing more, nothing less.

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MCCOYRED
Mu Psi '86
BaltCo Alumnae

Dynamic...Salient...Temperate...Since 1913

[Kimmie1913]

I prefer the term Black person or Black people. I use it as an adjective not a noun. For some reason it bothers be to be refereed to as a Black or Blacks. I prefer it to African -American because African American is too non-descript. If I could say I was a Kenyan-American or a Nigerian-American then maybe...for me calling myself a Black person is a reflection of my history- the fact that I cannot identify my origins as a result of the inhumanity and enslavement my ancestors suffered.

[DOVE1920]

Originally posted by straightBOS:

But I also ask, why haven't you accepted America, yet? It isn't perfect, but I can think of worst places to live.

Well I know it is IMPOSSIBLE to deny how Americanized I am but, I don't think that the United States, as an institution, has accepted people of African descent and our contributions to the establishment of this country. That being the case I don't like to associate myself with a country that continues to exploits (mentally/physically/ spirtually) my people. You'll never hear me call myself an American...