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

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:

I'll take African anytime of the day.

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.

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!

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?"

I prefer being called black. But I also hate when people try to be politically correct. I rarely use the term African American.

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.

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.

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!

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.

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 ) the red head, the black guy, the tall girl, etc... A word only becomes offensive if we allow it to, IMHO.

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

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!