"BLACK or AFRICAN AMERICAN" mainly a question...

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  • alexbelly
    alexbelly Posts: 277 Member
    my fiance is Black and prefers being called Black instead of African American. He doesn't get all offended or anything if they don't though. I'm Mexican American yet I get called Hispanic all the darn time lol, everyone has their likes and dislikes.

    Just like the black/African-American question from the brilliant OP, I want to know what the difference is between Mexican American, Hispanic, Latino, Tejano. If your BF is black and doesn't want to be called African American? Why do you refer to yourself as Mexican American? It's really hard to not say the wrong thing when none of it is black and white (pun intended)! I'd love some insight.
    This is the best thread and I'm so proud of everyone for being so respectful. This has been fascinating to get so many different points of view. Thanks, OP, for making my day!

    To answer the Mexican American vs Hispanic vs Latino vs Tejano question..

    Both of my parents are from the Dominican Republic, I was born here in the United States.

    IMHO:
    Mexican American is someone who either has Mexican ancestry and is an American citizen.
    Tejano is the Spanish word for Texan, so I can only assume its someone who lives in Texas with Mexican ancestry.
    Hispanic vs Latino.. that's where it gets tricky. To me, they are synonymous, however I prefer "Hispanic" because it seems more gender neutral than "Latino"

    So, I refer to myself as Hispanic, Latina as well as Dominican. (My parents would say I'm American--also correct, obviously).

    The other terms (Tejano, Mexican American, etc) would not offend me, but they just wouldn't be right. I might as well be called Asian at that point.
  • supahstar71
    supahstar71 Posts: 926 Member
    Just to enlighten a little on terms: Hispanic was a term imposed through the U.S. census bureau and other bureaucracies during the Nixon administration; many people in the Latino community object to the word because they feel it only recognizes the European (Spanish) heritage without any regard to indigenous heritage (Aztec, Mayan). Latino is generally more accepted. People often hyphenate when they are recognizing their specific country of origin (Mexican-American, Puerto-Rican American, etc). Tejano refers to a Mexican from Texas. Chicano is a progressive term that typically means a Mexican-American, although other Americans of Latin descent may describe themselves as Chicano also.


    Yeah. It's pretty confusing. But your respectful curiosity and genuine interest is appreciated. :flowerforyou:
  • jacquelinesmith1965
    jacquelinesmith1965 Posts: 5
    Wow...what an interseting discussion. Though I hesitate to think what I would be called...I am BLACK, BRITISH, of JAMAICAN parentage.
    Jam-british, Jam-english??? Why oh why cant the world be a simple place to live in?? I love the colour of my skin and welcome being noted as a Black woman, definitely not coloured!
    But the fact is that I cannot deny my ancestral lineage fron Slavery, I choose to reflect this by working hard (unfortunately in the UK, being Black means I work much harder than my White peers) to realise my anbitions and be a role model for those who may associate being Black as a negative thing!
    In an ideal world I belong to one category and its called "The Human Race", but through Man's desire for power & wealth some have found it necessary to invade and capture indeginous people and enslave them in order to acheive their objectives.
    How sad. The reality is no matter what the skin colour, if you cut you bleed, if I cut I bleed...the same red blood!!
    One love from:wink: the UK folks
  • macpacman
    macpacman Posts: 64
    I'll take African anytime of the day. :)
  • jacquelinesmith1965
    jacquelinesmith1965 Posts: 5
    Um...forgot to add that I have the same diet and body issues as anyone else, despite being a British, Black woman of Jamaican heritage! Lol.
    How much you want to bet that some "EggHead" in Academia or Research comes up with an idea that the colour of our skin, or our ethnicity impacts on our weight loss efforts and exercise regimes...Have to admit, I'be be interested!!!



    Uk Lady Jacqueline
  • opuntia
    opuntia Posts: 860 Member
    And I hate when white people say they are raising their children "color blind".

    To be honest, I don't think it's possible, at least not for me, to not see someone's colour. I notice what colour someone is. I also notice what colour and texture people's hair is, I notice what shape someone's nose is, I notice whether their mouth is wonky and the shape it makes when it smiles, I notice their finger nails, I notice the shape of their fingers, I notice people's wrinkles. I notice these things, and many more details - I can't help it. The idea that skin colour is a bad thing to notice and we have to stop noticing it is bizarre to me. And I find it hard to believe when people say they don't see people's skin colour. Surely people know what their friends look like. If your black friend magically turned white overnight, surely you'd notice??

    I grew up having no concept of black and white as political/cultural concepts, but I could still see people's colours. At school we were taught about racism and intolerance, and that made me aware of the history and the significance people put onto skin colour. And that was a really useful thing to learn - it made me sensitive to frictions and sensitivities that occurred in the workplace, when I worked in an environment where pretty much half the staff were black and half white. Had I been unaware of racism, and the fact that some people are black and some white (which being 'colour blind' would result in) I'd have been seen as a complete ignoramus and I would have had no idea how to understand or navigate the staff politics.
  • jacquelinesmith1965
    jacquelinesmith1965 Posts: 5
    So, if you were to be repatriated "back to Africa", do you think the Africans would see ans accept you as African? I think it would be challenging..
  • virichi08
    virichi08 Posts: 465 Member
    So, if you were to be repatriated "back to Africa", do you think the Africans would see ans accept you as African? I think it would be challenging..

    wud be challanging. i hve been told many Africans (from Africa) dnt really like black folks from the states... ugh, now its black on black crime =/ guess we really just cant get along (and before someone says anything im NOT speaking for every single African person because i hve NOT met EVERY SINGLE African)
  • jacquelinesmith1965
    jacquelinesmith1965 Posts: 5
    I agree with you to some degree, but...there is scope for further reflection.
    It is impossible to raise a child to be "colour-blind" in today's World.
    I did not educate my son about Racism as such, and he paid the price for it. In the UK Racism and Slavery etc is not taught in schools, though we have the odd "visitor" to some educational estblishments and Black History Month once a year.
    My poor son, at 9 years old did not know what to do or how to defend himself when confronted and surrounded by 6 boys of the same age who were Pakistani Muslims. This was all because they didnt like the fact that "one of their own" (their words) was best friends with my little Black boy.
    I was more hurt than he was because their Mothers and I had been neighbours for years, swapping baking products, going to each others homes for tea, taking each others children to school or clubs etc.
    I guess I was living in fantasy land thinking that in 2001 these things didn't happen. They do, so whether we like it or not, we need to support our children and young people to develop an understanding and accpetance of ethnic and cultural diversity. In addition we need to be clear about the man made labels that are applied to groups our of sheer ignorance and fear which is underpinned by a lack of understanding of that group.

    OMG, am on one now and this is meant to be a forum for health and fitness support
  • jacquelinesmith1965
    jacquelinesmith1965 Posts: 5
    Yes. I work in the world of Academia and have a lot of African students on the Social Work degree programme. Through discussion, it seems that many indigenous Africans do not accept Black people born outside of Africa (especially those of us born on the Western side of the World) as truly African.
    In addition, those of us born outside of Africa would need to go back to school to study African History in order to fit into a culture that would be totally alien to us!
  • Here2GetFit
    Here2GetFit Posts: 292
    You can call me anything you want except the N word.

    newbie-erkle.jpg
  • Scandinavia
    Scandinavia Posts: 291 Member
    I just played this with my mother.

    "If a man in Britain hunts African Vampires, what would he be called, an African American Vampire Killer or a Black Vampire Killer?"

    "African American Vampire Killer."

    "Do they have a lot of American vampires in Britain?"
  • jpcamden
    jpcamden Posts: 45 Member
    I think calling people African American is stupid. If blacks are African American, am I European American?
    Or what do you call black people in Africa? Africans? And if that's the case, then what is white people in Africa? Africans?

    If that's the case, then we're all Americans. We could end it there.
    None of my black friends or coworkers get offended by being called black. I don't care if people call me white.
  • kmsairam
    kmsairam Posts: 317 Member
    I prefer being called black. But I also hate when people try to be politically correct. I rarely use the term African American.
  • kmsairam
    kmsairam Posts: 317 Member
    I agree with PP. I'm an American.
  • danimal5867
    danimal5867 Posts: 390
    Aren't we all "people of color." Look around. We're all various shades of brown with other tints added in. Actual white people and truly black people are extremely rare to find.
  • MrzBlessedLady
    MrzBlessedLady Posts: 164 Member
    I think it's because some feel the term "black" labels them as having no background to their ethnicity, and the term African American gives more meaning to heritage(which I agree with, although Im not offended when Im called black).
  • Noonoo757
    Noonoo757 Posts: 280 Member
    So, if you were to be repatriated "back to Africa", do you think the Africans would see ans accept you as African? I think it would be challenging..

    wud be challanging. i hve been told many Africans (from Africa) dnt really like black folks from the states... ugh, now its black on black crime =/ guess we really just cant get along (and before someone says anything im NOT speaking for every single African person because i hve NOT met EVERY SINGLE African)

    Yes I know you stated your not speaking for all Africans an I appreciate that because its simply not true. My husband has been to Africa and they are very accepting of black people from America. Of course you will have a few that do not agree with our lifestyles and such but thats to be expected with any group of people from a different place or culture. In fact they love our music and our style of dress. My husband brought back videos and plenty of pics and it was a love fest lol. I know its stated alot because I have also heard that people from Africa do not like us but its not true not the majority.
  • arewethereyet
    arewethereyet Posts: 18,702 Member
    :flowerforyou: Hello, Moderator here.

    I just wanted to say I am very proud of everyone for having a decent conversation about a very touchy subject. Normally these are shut down by page 2, but I decided to moderate as it was going well.

    Very few posts were deleted and that was only because they were not on topic.

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/welcome/guidelines

    Thanks,

    Arewethereyet
    MFP Moderator
  • NCchar130
    NCchar130 Posts: 955 Member
    I live and was born and raised in the South (United States) and I hear black and white people describe others (or themselves) as black and white. Black and white people refer to "Hispanics" but most Hispanic people I know seem to identify with their country of origin (Mexican, Guatamalan, Honduran, Venezuelan etc). And usually it's in the context of describing either themselves or, more commonly, others. As in, "what's the older black lady's name we see in the smoking area that we talk to all the time?" Or, "I almost got run over by the UPS guy by the elevator! Which one, the tall black guy or the skinny white guy?" I have always worked and gone to school and church in diverse environments and I haven't ever really noticed it to be a 'thing.' Other than on TV, I can't think of a single instance I've heard someone personally identify themselves or someone else as African-American. The church I attend has a group of new arrivals from Ghana meeting there each week as well in a separate room (so they can hear it in their own language) - I don't know if they refer to themselves as Ghanaians or African or African-American...now I'm curious though!
  • virichi08
    virichi08 Posts: 465 Member
    :flowerforyou: Hello, Moderator here.

    I just wanted to say I am very proud of everyone for having a decent conversation about a very touchy subject. Normally these are shut down by page 2, but I decided to moderate as it was going well.

    Very few posts were deleted and that was only because they were not on topic.

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/welcome/guidelines

    Thanks,

    Arewethereyet

    I had a feeling it was going to get a little crazy when ppl where "eating their popcorn and waiting" but i had to go backk and clarify that this wasnt met to be insulting to anyone. Im glad to see all the decent comments too. =)
  • virichi08
    virichi08 Posts: 465 Member
    So, if you were to be repatriated "back to Africa", do you think the Africans would see ans accept you as African? I think it would be challenging..

    wud be challanging. i hve been told many Africans (from Africa) dnt really like black folks from the states... ugh, now its black on black crime =/ guess we really just cant get along (and before someone says anything im NOT speaking for every single African person because i hve NOT met EVERY SINGLE African)

    Yes I know you stated your not speaking for all Africans an I appreciate that because its simply not true. My husband has been to Africa and they are very accepting of black people from America. Of course you will have a few that do not agree with our lifestyles and such but thats to be expected with any group of people from a different place or culture. In fact they love our music and our style of dress. My husband brought back videos and plenty of pics and it was a love fest lol. I know its stated alot because I have also heard that people from Africa do not like us but its not true not the majority.

    Love it! =)
  • curvygirl77
    curvygirl77 Posts: 769 Member
    too be be honest I don't care if I'm called black or African American; I don't even get upset by the phase "people of color", as a matter of fact I believe that phrase is still used to today mainly by african american especially when referring to women about such things as hair, skin etc... I remember once in college people used an entire class debating about which one to use when referring to students---finally after fifty minutes someone asked (as if I represent the entire population), I just called the student by their name and that will solve all problems. ----side note I truly am African American because my dad is from Egypt, mom is from Alabama ----i technically consider myself black--my father on the other hand does not although I see him as black.
  • LiftBigtoGetFit
    LiftBigtoGetFit Posts: 3,399 Member
    One of my close friends told me he actually hates when people call him African-American because it make him feel like LESS of an American. He said to me once (because my ancestors on my dad's side came from Scotland) "Why am I African-American and you're just American? I am no more African than you are Scottish and certainly no less American than you."

    I thought it was an interesting point. Bottome line, he prefers "black" to "African-American" or "person of color."

    Exactly, we all came from somewhere else down the line far enough.. Either they are American or they are not... Unless of course they hold duel citizenship in both Africa and America which would then make them African-American. Calling someone black (if they indeed are black) is no worse than someone referring to me as the bald guy or the bald white guy. It is just a way of describing who you are talking about. Nothing more nothing less. Racism only continues today because of all the PC crap that puts an emphasis on making sure no one is offended. By the way, I will be offended if you are offended by this so make sure all responses are of the PC nature. :smile:
  • gerripho
    gerripho Posts: 479 Member
    :flowerforyou: Hello, Moderator here.

    I just wanted to say I am very proud of everyone for having a decent conversation about a very touchy subject. Normally these are shut down by page 2, but I decided to moderate as it was going well.

    Very few posts were deleted and that was only because they were not on topic.

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/welcome/guidelines

    Thanks,

    Arewethereyet
    MFP Moderator

    Dear Moderator,

    I think I can speak for all of us who have been following this through the day by saying thank you for letting us chat on this topic. And I do appreciate the level of sincere discussion along with the right amount of humor (some of it really funny). If we could just have more of this type of honest and open exchang of ideas, maybe we could finally heal as a nation of people regardless of background.

    And a special thanks to the OP. (Edit was to include this here rather than a separate post.)
  • LiftBigtoGetFit
    LiftBigtoGetFit Posts: 3,399 Member
    I think it's because some feel the term "black" labels them as having no background to their ethnicity, and the term African American gives more meaning to heritage(which I agree with, although Im not offended when Im called black).

    If that is the case should we refer to all Americans with a hyphen. Italian-American, Mexican-American, German-American, etc.. either we are American or we are not.... unless of course someone has duel citizenship in America and another country then they are just Americans. All other words are just descriptors used to differentiate between people. I.E. the bald white guy (that is me :smile: ) the red head, the black guy, the tall girl, etc... A word only becomes offensive if we allow it to, IMHO.
  • mlynnea03
    mlynnea03 Posts: 41 Member
    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.

    I agree, being called African American is not offensive for me. It is not accurate. I feel that everyone should be proud of their history and learn as much as he/she can. Black Americans and African Americans are very different culturally. I am a Black American who envy's the culture of African people, but the relation is very slim. I think the same is true for any American who has generations and generations of their people born in US.
  • Tann19
    Tann19 Posts: 94 Member
    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.

    I agree, being called African American is not offensive for me. It is not accurate. I feel that everyone should be proud of their history and learn as much as he/she can. Black Americans and African Americans are very different culturally. I am a Black American who envy's the culture of African people, but the relation is very slim. I think the same is true for any American who has generations and generations of their people born in US.

    I agree with you, but I think that especially the US government on forms and applications should have black as an option for those who are not American
  • TxAlpha
    TxAlpha Posts: 173 Member
    <----I'm brown......
  • jbgeeZy
    jbgeeZy Posts: 1
    If I'm African-American, then are white people Euro-Americans? Technically speaking, white people derived from Europe if black people came from Africa. Though we are not actually "black" but brown, black is acceptable to me. I do not like being called African-American or person of color (or colour). Last time I checked, I was born in New York, my mother was born in Alabama and my father was born in New York! Sounds like I'm American. So, if anything, I am an American who happens to be black. There's my answer!

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