"BLACK or AFRICAN AMERICAN" mainly a question...
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But what about Eskimos?
Inuit?
How dare you refer to them as tax software!0 -
I have always believed that if you were born in America then you are a black american. If you were born in Africa and then moved to the US and became an american citizen then you are an african american. Just my thoughts. Im a white american My great great great great great great grandfather came from ireland that doesn't make me irish american. Just my thoughts for what its worth.
this is very well said and also props to ZugTheMegasau for also bringing prospective.
I was born here in America but am African descent. i consider myself Black.
hopefully, some folks also dialoged that Black isnt an Ethnicity but a cultural indentity. meaning that you are of African descent but not a national/citizen of that continent and as a born American your experiences here are different and 'darker' (due to discrimination, racism, diaspora, social depravity, etc.) than that of Africa-born folks who migrate to American who are by definition African-American hence the accepted term Black for people like myself. i don't dislike being called African-Am. but its not how i self-identify but i despise the term "person/people of color" unless the discription is a collective usage for all Ethnicities in the group. makes me feel inanimate or like a thing. as if im not in the same class/group as the person making the statement.
thats just my 2 cents.0 -
Ballz! - After reading 9 pages I'm still confused. Will check back later to see if a firm conclusion has been drawn.0
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Drinking a beer and watching the carnage
too funny!
It's getting hot in here, take off all your clothes.....
:drinker:
how YOU doin?0 -
So much entertainment on this site.:laugh: :laugh: :laugh:*throws feet up on desk* who brought the popcorn?0 -
i'm not African, and i'm not American...i'm 100% Jamaican....so if you call me Black, i'm fine with that, in fact, you can call me whatever you like, and if I get offended, i'll tell you what your girl called me last night!0
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I always thought "ppl of colour" was more offensive.
And technically, can you really call a "person of colour" an African-American since Americans don't spell color that way anyway?
Sorry... just picking on you a bit.
Funnily enough, even in Canada where we spell it "colour", black people are often referred to as "African Americans" even though they are usually neither African nor American.
Technically, if they are citizens of Canada and from Africa, they ARE African American, as Canada is part of the Americas.
There IS a big difference in the terms, but as people have said, not everyone with darker skin tones are from Africa, and not every African American has a darker skin tone. There are many, many examples of celebrities that fall into the "white African" group... Theron for one, Dave Matthew's another, Tim Robbins I believe as well...
The reason it becomes an issue is that being raised, we're told different things. School tells us "white" kids that calling "black" kids Black is offensive and we should call them African American. Then we get told, no wait, not all are African American. Some are just African. Some, American. Some still are French, Spanish, Asian, etc.
It's kinda like how I hate being called White. I barely can handle Caucasian. The term lumps my ancestors and myself in with a group of people that were not our family, but our enemy.
However, these things are dictated by the societies we live in, as well as the dialect of the area. I defer to African American because at least it sounds respectful (except for my friend who was all, I'm Jamaican American dangit!) and generally isn't used as a slur, while many other terms can be used, but generally at least one part of the US identifies such things as offensive.0 -
All I can say is I feel proud that we can joke and have some fun with each other on such a sensitive subject. It's hard to believe that not that long ago (in our parents/grandparents generation) that segregation still existed.
I'll be happy when all the old guard/good old boys are dead and gone0 -
I prefer "soul challenged"... but I get called "ginger".... to each their own.
Bwahahahahahaha!!!
If African-Americans/Blacks are people of color, and I am very fair skinned, then am I colorless?
Seriously, I have always wondered:
a) aren't we all AMERICANS?!
b) if you can call me white, than why can't I call you black? Or should I be a Caucasian-American? (Actually a Scottish-Canadian-Irish American, but whatever...)0 -
I'm mixed black and white.
The other day another mixed man asked me if I was yellow.
Now I am not easily offended so it didn't offend me but I noticed I didn't like the term.
Even though I am mixed I predominantly go with calling myself black when filling out paperwork and such.
I don't say African-American when asked, but it doesn't bother me or seem politically incorrect to me if other people do.
I don't like colored. My grandma who I love so dearly and is the sweetest most accepting person in the world, is also white. We were in the store one day and she said to ask "The colored young gentleman" working there for help. I found myself explaining to her that I didn't think it appropriate in these days to use that term. My only reason behind it is this term along with the N-word was used in a derogatory fashion and when it's used it can be taken wrong.
I learned in my African-American studies class that the term mullatto was also derogatory, I used to use this term because I thought it sounded cool haha. My mom always told me when I was younger I would say "I'm not black, I'm brown!"
Times change, and with times terms will change as well. I have friends that use the N-word, my dad's family all use it, I don't like it, and I don't prefer to use it myself, but it doesn't bother me either because I know their use behind it is not to slander. And I would hope that anyone who does use it as a racist term will someday learn that no matter the pigment in our skin we all bleed blood, breathe air and live life. The same with the black community that still blame the white community or any other race...it's one thing to acknowledge history and your heritage but it's another to live in the past and continue to separate yourself.
Like some few have said, I prefer to be called by name, I am Mariah, I am human as are you.
Now who wants to be this human's friend
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N word is used by mostly blacks, and some whites. I say the N word. Maybe it's a TX thing. I am not going to lie, it is what it is, oh and when I use the N word, I don't discriminate.
It is NOT a Texas thing. I'm from Texas. You're just an idiot. And I not only have black friends, I'm married to a black man and have 2 biracial children. People like you make me physically nauseous.
Agree. This word is NOT okay. I've never used it.0 -
Not black myself, but got my undergrad degree in African-American history (focus on Civil War era). I took several courses from the same professor since the school only had one in that subspecialty. On the first day of every class, he would start with an explanation of why he used the term "African American" rather than "black" history.
He reasoned that for a very long time, African Americans were denied their African heritage. During the slave trade, Africans from the same region would be intentionally split up so that they did not share a common language or common history that they could share together. They were told for years (even up to today) that they were lucky to have been brought here, that they came from a place with nothing to be proud of, from a history of savage heathens, that they'd be living in misery if they or their ancestors hadn't been taken as slaves across the Atlantic. On top of that, they were long denied status as Americans as well. They started out as property, then became free with conditions, then became legally equal, but continue to struggle for true equality. African Americans are often seen as mere hangers-on to the greatness of America rather than an integral part of its success.
So "African American" means something different than "black." It is not merely a way to identify someone's appearance, but a way to acknowledge their history, heritage, and contribution that were deliberately ignored and denied for so long.
Not everyone sees it this way of course. Many people are just fine being called "black." And it's sometimes ridiculous how the term has come to be used to describe any person of African descent. But I don't think it's ridiculous or overly-PC to use "African American" as many people seem to gripe about.
Just my perspective.
Eloquently put
I've always been a bit confused on this topic too---and I have family that's African American! I will certainly keep this in mind from now on.
And just my two cents....I have a coworker that I've had to repeatedly correct for referring to them as "colored"....apparently she doesn't realize it's not 1965 lol0 -
Ok, i've seen it twice (i thnk on this thread) where ppl are "going to get thier popcorn" or "waiting for someon to pop off" or whatever, but seriously, nothing i wrote here was racist by any means, no where was i trying to offend anyone, so why the big deal that i asked a race based question? Im not cursing anyone out or sending ppl hate mail. Im curious and wanting another HUMANS perspective on the subject other than my own. So why the big 'OMG, CANT BLIEVE SHE ASKED THIS QUESTION?'
ON TOP OF THAT, I am ALSO black....
i think this is s good thread>>>>sometime we don't wanna ask!!!! but it's nice that coming from a black person then it's okay ....I'm Mexican American!!!! they call us beaners0 -
As for me, I try not to use any term except American, or American Citizen. Our census forms ask for race -- I write "American Citizen." Race or the continent of one's ancestors going back dozens of generations shouldn't matter, period! Sadly, it does. Maybe some day we can all just be people.
Here's the thing. Affirmative Action laws require that most legal documents identify race, though, it is generally optional. HR has to make certain that their hiring process does not lean to one race or another. You see that racial designation on most applications so that the potential pool of applicants can be determined to have diversity. Generally, the black (or AA, if you prefer) population are deemed to be an underprivileged ethnic group, therefore, if the race of the applicant isn't considered, then it stands to reason that the pool of applicants could potentially be primarily white, and therefore, result in unintentional discrimination for which the company could be held liable.0 -
Ugh. This is entirely too much thinking for a Friday afternoon. More popcorn, please.0
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How about just "person?"
A point was made to me not too long ago that the entire CONCEPT of race (as separate from Ethnicity - your genetic makeup, or Culture - your social background) was for all intents and purposes INVENTED by white people and more or less around when colonization of the states began.
It was necessary (or at least useful) at some level to be able to have a concrete reason for committing genocide against the natives and importing other people for use as commandable furniture.
The solution ended up being along the lines of "we are naturally better/stronger/purer than these other folks," and they based it off of race - at that time there was "people of color" and by implication, us "normal" folks. History is written by the victors, so it's all stuck.
And unfortunately, it's pretty much handed down parent-to-child.
So black, white, asian, middle-eastern, hispanic - we're all just goddamned people. Put a bunch of kids together and they'll play together like kids. Any other prejudice is ingrained by our previous generations.
SO - PARENTS - KNOCK THAT **** OFF.
I would like to refute that timing. If you look into history you will see that discrimination based upon asthetic differences that distinguish lineage goes back much longer than the colonization of the Western world. Slavery was a pretty big thing in Egypt, I hear, and Egypt is not filled with with people.0 -
Since I am the older generation and grew up in the hood in Washington DC, black would be the most appropriate term.
People are just too Damn sensitive these days!!!0 -
I know it's easier to use simple terms like, white, black, yellow and brown instead of American of African decent, or American of German decent. etc etc.... In the end it does not really matter. What I care about is your intent when using any term. It's not so much about the word. It's about the intent.
^^^^THIS^^^^0 -
Charlize Theron is an african american.
I'm African American as well. Born and raised in South Africa, became an American citizen five years ago.
love it!0 -
How about just "person?"
What if you were missing and the police asked for a description? What if a person robbed a store and the police asked for a height, would you just say "feet" tall? When the BMV asks what color hair you have for your license do you say "hair"?
Saying my mother is black or my neighbor is white shouldn't be offensive at all.0
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