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

awesome and rightly stated!

I personally do not want to be referred to as African American. Here is why...I do not hold a belief that all "Black" people are decendants of Africa. Plenty of people from countries such as the Dominican Replublic identify as "Black" even though they speak Spanish and are of "mixed" heritage. That is just one example. Myself personally...I identify as "black" but my great grand-father was in fact of Irish (white) descent. My father's father was hispanic. I feel that most "black" people are many things so to be labeled from Africa automatically is not ok to me. I don't get terribly offended when called African American because I know most people are meerly attempting to be politically correct. Howeverm those that I am close with I let them know I prefer Black. I think the term "black" also partially refers to our skin complexion (which is really brown...lol), but this is less offensive to me because as I stated before plenty of other nationalities (such as Dominicans) have dark skin besides "black" people. That's just my two cents.

Those of us from the Dominican or Panama or any of the Latin Countries are still of African decent and were brought over on the same slave ships. "Same ship different stop" is what my grandfather used to say. My family comes from Panama, and some of us use the term Afro Latino and some say Black Latino.

and I always get a better haircut at a black barbershop

When my daughter was in Grade 2, her best friend was a sweet little girl named Magenta. They played together all day at school. Two weeks into their very intense friendship, Josey comes up to me after school and says "Mom, I don't understand why Magenta's parents named her Magenta" (please keep in mind that at this point I hadn't met or seen Magenta) I said...oh..why is that? It's a very unsual and pretty name.

To which Josey replied "Well Magenta is brown...do you think they are color blind? Magenta means purple"

The color of her friends skin was NEVER an issue for her (except for her concern with the parents eyesight) and at that point I really felt as a mother I was doing something right.

in our house we call them black, for exactly the reason stated earlier, we are Canadian so the people we meet may be african (they may not) but they are not american.

Most of my friends prefer the term black also.

I've often wondered the same (I'm white). I have a friend who is black and is offended when called African American becuase he was born in Brazil.

This further proves my point. Her friend is from Brazil and identifies as Black. Not an "African-American" because he is in this country and his skin happens to be dark.

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's not a Texas thing, it's a racist thing. I've lived in Texas all my life, and the only white people I know who use that word are people who intend to be offensive.

Apparently, you have no black friends

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.

I'm caucasion (as the photograph gives away) but I have a few mixed race friends and none of them get offended if I say 'black', to be fair 'African British' is a bit of a mouthful. The only time I've seen any of my black friends get annoyed about it was when there was a ban in college for calling black boards 'black boards' as it may offend them it should be chalk boards; as a group they marched up to the heads office and told them to stop being so petty!

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's not a Texas thing, it's a racist thing. I've lived in Texas all my life, and the only white people I know who use that word are people who intend to be offensive.

Apparently, you have no black friends

I've got a few black friends and co-workers, and I know 100% if I ever referred to them as that, they'd be extremely offended.

I personally do not want to be referred to as African American. Here is why...I do not hold a belief that all "Black" people are decendants of Africa. Plenty of people from countries such as the Dominican Replublic identify as "Black" even though they speak Spanish and are of "mixed" heritage. That is just one example. Myself personally...I identify as "black" but my great grand-father was in fact of Irish (white) descent. My father's father was hispanic. I feel that most "black" people are many things so to be labeled from Africa automatically is not ok to me. I don't get terribly offended when called African American because I know most people are meerly attempting to be politically correct. Howeverm those that I am close with I let them know I prefer Black. I think the term "black" also partially refers to our skin complexion (which is really brown...lol), but this is less offensive to me because as I stated before plenty of other nationalities (such as Dominicans) have dark skin besides "black" people. That's just my two cents.

Those of us from the Dominican or Panama or any of the Latin Countries are still of African decent and were brought over on the same slave ships. "Same ship different stop" is what my grandfather used to say.

I can understand that statement but if you are of Dominican descent but were born in American...do you really want to be called African-American by default? Did you come from Africa directly? That is all I am saying.

I prefer being called Snowflake or Blanca to white

Good question. Personally, I don't really see a difference. I notice that people who are not of my heritage call me African American because they are afraid that "black" will offend me but it doesn't.

Once someone asked my heritage and I said "African American" they were also black/African American and he called me the B-word and then said "You ain't African American. You are black!" I thought that was pretty rude. Not because he called me black but because he called me the B-word.

My cousin who is very into our heritage told me that I really shouldn't refer to myself as African American because I wasn't from Africa. However another friend told me it doesn't matter.

Regardless, I am not 100% on the rules. I use both terms but that's mainly because whenever I fill out a form and they ask for my heritage black and African American are normally under the same category.

Like I said I am not 100% on which to properly call myself. I have never really put too much thought into it.

You asked for thoughts from "older" people and I qualify on that account. It is an interesting and important question. Way back when -- I'm thinking back to way before you were even born, the terms were either "people of color" or "Negros." But at that time, Caucasians were typically called "white." Now, I'm actually no more "white" than you are "black." I was always told my complexion was olive, which always upset me because it made me think of a sickly green shade. Yuch! And you, your hair is more black than your complexion. Actually, my hair was the same color as yours before it turned gray.

It was sometime in the 1960s as I recall that it was thought that if Caucasians were white, then Negros would insist on being called black. That was also the beginning of the phrase "black pride." A decade or so later, about the time the TV mini-series "Roots" came out, someone decided that black pride needed to incorporate a pride in the African continent. With that, came the African-American label. Why? We don't refer to Irish-Americans, German-Americans, Polish-Americans. But, the term stuck and left many with the same question you have. What term should we use? Besides, it seems silly to refer to anyone by a continent. There are many countries on that continent and it certainly makes a difference which part of Africa ones ancestors lived in just as there is a difference in racial traits between people from the USA and people from Mexico even though both are technically from the North American continent.

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.

Of course, this is only my thoughts on the topic. I'm certain that others think differently and that's okay, too. Especially for those of different races. There is no way I can ever share the experiences of people in another race so I can't possibly wrap my thoughts around how other think and feel. Please forgive this shortcoming in me.

I prefer being called Snowflake or Blanca to white

No disrespect...but you got Jon B Swag....

In your pictures you seem to have more swag than a lot of black people I know!

Reminds me of a besft friend from grade school...He is the only white dude I allow to use the N word with...he is like family to me.