Recently, an old associate from high school and I have been in an argument concerning what “black” people should label themselves. She believes that she should be considered a “black American” rather than an African American because she was “born in American” and not Africa. In her opinion, the use of the phrase “African American” is considered politically incorrect in today’s society.
After watching the film on race in our class and studying under our school’s local anthropologist, I disagreed with this person. I believe, as do many sociologists, anthropologists, and others, that the terms “black” and “white” are too vague or, more importantly, based on social class and other terms besides the color of one’s skin. The term “black” for me was too general, wherein this person believed “African American” to be too broad for her “race” of people.
She later went on to rebut that neither her parents or grandparents were from Africa and that black people come from all over the world so therefore should not all be grouped into this same “category.” Her family is more from the Caribbean region rather than the African one. The questions of, “well would that make all whites ‘European Americans’?” was then brought up, and I responded with a yes because most “whites” in American date their ancestry back to Germany, France, the United Kingdom, Ireland, and many other various European nations. The terms African American and European American have to do with your ethnic background and not necessarily where your grandparents and parents are from.
Yes, I agree that we should all be coined “American” regardless of our race or ethnicity. But, however, I do not agree that “black” is a better term than “African American” in terms of labeling certain people in society. There are indeed white African Americans, as she stated, and they can be labeled as thus and most likely should be.
I thought the discussion was interesting and thought I would share it with my fellow classmates outside of the classroom to see what your opinions on the subject are.
Like you, I recently had an anthropology class and went through the whole “what should we be called” lesson. I’m probably going to be in the minority here but I’ll go ahead and state my opinion… If someone called me a white American or Euro-American or white or southern or whatever, I really have no preference. I don’t personally know my ancestry and have no desire to look up my genealogy. My dad was adopted so it would be almost impossible to know for sure anyway. Maybe that’s why I don’t have a strong opinion either way but I personally don’t get the technical difference. I think it would have a much stronger impact on the unity of Americans if we eliminated the black/white/hispanic questions on forms and just had American or other. To me, all people who were born and raised American are American- period- end of subject. If someone’s great, great, great grandfather/mother came from another country and they want that recognized then that’s up to them. But to me, the sooner we eliminate the terms the divide us, point out our differences, and keep us separated then the sooner we truly become “one nation under God, indivisible…”. OK. That’s my personal opinion. Go ahead and throw the rotten eggs at me.
Well. personally I don’t have a problem just being called black. If I am referred to as an African American it is not terribly offensive. I used to feel the same way in saying that I’m not from Africa, neither was my grandmother or her parents, so we shouldn’t be called African Americans. I just feel more comfortable being called a Black American. I’ve heard someone referring to themselves as a Black Hispanic. So would that be the correct terminology for them? It’s just really crazy. I agree with the before said comment that if we were born in America, then we are Americans (Black, White, Asia, Hispanic, or Indian). We really make a big deal over simple things sometimes……
I agree with both of you when you say that we should do away with all racial or ethnic terms and just consider each other as Americans. Our country could benefit greatly if each person was considered an equal American in the eyes of our peers. We would have no need for racial discrimination and seeing each other as “different.” Oh Bob and Lisa up the street are “black”? Does not matter; they are still American. It would help our country deal with some of its major problems.
I also agree with Leilani when she stated that “black” is not really offensive when applied in the correct fashion. It really should not be an issue, but I believe that it is human nature to group things, and people, together to help make sense of them. Our minds automatically tell us to group and categorize things. It really should not be such a big deal, but it has become particularly in the United States. Black and white became not only terms that applied to the color of one’s skin, but also came to be applied to social class and lineage. Like we saw in class, the Irish, who are some of the “whitest” people in the known world, were not considered white when they first came to America. Their families had not been here for enough years to be considered American and therefore were not considered white. It can probably be safely said that the poorest of whites, on par with the poor blacks we read about in class, were not considered white either. This is why I think it has become such a sensitive word in today’s world.
Where I disagree with would be Katherine’s statement concerning heritage. Throughout my life, I have been told by my grandparents about my German and Irish heritage, and I have been proud to have the blood of these cultures in my veins. I also have pure blooded great-great (forget how many greats) grandmothers on both sides of my family that are Native American. This is perhaps why I feel differently than you do when it comes to knowing one’s heritage. I have been around it all of my life and consider it notably important because of that fact. It is understandable that you would have great difficulty learning your heritage, but, in my opinion, it is always interesting to know your roots and learn the history of your family. Overall, my philosophy states thus: although we cannot change what has occurred in the past, we must not forget it lest we forget a part of who we are.
I see Dr. Studstill’s (Why be cryptic? Let’s name names.) borderline fetish for political correctness and all things African has sparked another debate. What the hell, I’ll jump into the murky waters and join the adult swim.
I must admit that I’ve never heard anyone make the argument that the term African-American is offensive, so that catches me a bit off guard. I have heard the argument against the term “black” several times, and I can understand that perspective as it is a blanket term that really doesn’t accurately describe anyone classified in the “Negroid” race. —pause—
[NOTE: I use the term "Negroid" because that is what the race most prevalent in sub-Saharan Africa was called by the fields of social science back in the day.]
[FURTHER NOTE: Speaking of census forms and the like, I can't tell you how many times I have encountered people who swear up and down that "Hispanic" is a separate race. Just in case any of you are one of those people, this is absolutely not true. There are/were only three categories of race: Negroid, Mongoloid, and Caucasoid. Negroid I have already covered. Mongoloid are, loosely, people of Asian descent. This includes not only Chinese, Japanese, Korean, etc., but also native Americans (see Bering Land Bridge). Caucasoid are, loosely, people of European, Middle Eastern, and South Asian descent. This would include all of those European bastards plus Arabs, Iranians, Afghans, Pakistanis, Indians, etc. Hispanic--whatever that term means--is nothing more than a poor denotation of a group of people assumed (no doubt by the aforementioned European bastards) to share a similar cultural background because they overwhelmingly speak Spanish. All three "races" are significantly represented within the Hispanic group concept.]
[FURTHERER NOTE: Last time I checked, the whole concept of separate races was being widely discredited by anthrophologists and other social scientists. Therefore, erase everything I said from the previous two notes. Consider them antiquated information useful for alternately confusing and angering people.]
—resume— In regards to the friend who would rather be termed Caribbean-American than African-American because her family is “more from the Caribbean region than Africa,” she is aware of another term, Afro-Caribbean, right? Black–forgive me the term–people in Jamaica, Hispaniola, Cuba, etc. are descended from slaves who were brought from Africa. I would assume she knows this, but you know what happens when you assume. Yes, black people live all over the world now; but they do not originate from places all around the world. It would therefore seem to me that she is more concerned with cultural identification than racial identification when she disagrees with the term African-American.
Speaking as an American male of full Irish descent who was born in south Florida, raised in middle Georgia, and matured in Atlanta, I’ve never had a problem referring to my black friends as being black. I am, as most of us in this class are, of a generation when the black and white label isn’t the issue it has been in the past. It’s simply shorter to say “black” or “white” and get on with it; nothing demeaning is meant by it. However, that is not to say that racism is absent from my generation, or the generation I see coming swiftly on our heels. And I’m not just talking about those young whites who insist on still using the n-word. I’m talking about those who see a large black man on the street and reflexively wonder if he is a thief or a gang member. I’m talking about those who see a young black mother and immediately assume she didn’t finish high school and/or is on financial assistance. Many times these thoughts aren’t even conscious ones we choose to have or necessarily believe, and yet there they are. That’s why I do think it is still important to have conversations like these. Not talking about racism isn’t going to make it go away; it’s just going to push it under the surface. I would much rather it be out in the open so we can confront it when we see it rather than being blindsided when it suddenly explodes (as repressed anythings have a tendency to do).
Yes, I have stolen some of Dr. Studstill’s terms, but this was certainly not the first time I have heard this argument mentioned in a class. My sociology, diversity in education, and I think my critical methods professors have all mentioned the “doing away with” of the racial terms black, white, yellow, red, and brown. I was also interested in hearing your explanation of the “racial” terms “Causcoid,” “Negroid,” etc. when applying to these types of arguments. It is interesting to think that, knowing these terms exist, professors do not teach them when it comes to teaching about the concept of “race.” Is it perhaps that most of these professors do not accept this theory (which seems likely with Studstill)?
I am not quite sure, however, if she realizes that most of the “black” people that live in the Caribbean came from Africa. I had thought of pointing this out to her but fear of ignorant retaliation and more unnecessary “Facebook drama” kept me from stating this fact. As I have been taught through debate discussions, I tried to keep the tone neutral and avoid comments that would create negative feelings in the other party.
That being said, it was nice to have a conversation concerning race where it felt like I was not being attacked. She stated her opinion, I retaliated with mine, hopefully backed by significant evidence, and I think in the end that we have agreed to disagree. However, coming from a Metro Atlanta school, this was certainly not always the case. Our school once held an assembly concerning behavior where the statistics were broken down by race. According to the assistant principal, Indian and Asian students were written up the least amount of times while African American students were written up the most. Instead of accepting this as a coincidence or accounting for the fact that our school has a good majority of black students, the teachers and administration were automatically considered racist. In that area, it was difficult to have constructive conversations concerning race and even more so after this assembly.
This is such a hotly contested topic. Even here in Africa it has sparked a few major debates in social circles mainly because we have a huge influx of American students visiting our South African shores. I speak on behalf of a select few authentically African (born and bred) black people who do think it is a cultural sensitivity issue and therefore have qualms about the ‘African-American’ term being used to denote race when the race is actually ‘black’ and the ancestral origin/history is African. The argument in many cases has been that black Americans have no understanding of and appreciation for the cultural, moral values and belief systems associated with being an African and as such, its use, along with their ACTUAL nationality(American), is a form of ‘false’ advertising. Africans don’t dispute the unfortunate period of slavery black Americans experienced and the oppression many still experience (whether it be mental, corporate,etc), and we understand the need to feel a sense of belonging. However, one cannot simply continue to assume a culture one does not practice to simply ‘belong’. The argument is, why not embrace being a black American and build a positive culture around that. Accept that yes, the remnants of slavery exist(unfortunately) but work beyond it and stake a claim in the America they’ve helped to build. Nowhere else in the world do black people so strongly attach the word ‘African’ to their identity(possibly because everyone who is educated should know that as a black person your geneology runs you back all the way to Africa anyway so its unnecessary). I personally agree that saying ‘black’ or ‘white’ simplifies things, IS NOT offensive and that political correctness has gone a bit far in trying to be all inclusive. Identifying ones-self as one wills is up to them, but how about sticking to what we know to be truth. I AM an African(yes, simply that, despite my heritage, as that is what I know to be). Please read and comment on my blog too: http://1blacksnowflake.wordpress.com/2012/04/17/a-misqualified-identity/ as getting educated and of course, controverial but engaging commentary, is key to opening up dialogue around sensitive issues.