Some Blacks Now Say, 'I'm not African American'

sidepasser · #21 02/13/12, 06:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by plowjockey

Well, the most powerful man in the world, is a black man, so maybe their perspective, is changed a bit.

I have always felt they you are either American, or you are not. No "in-betweens" - for anybody.

I do believe the President is half white..

Capt Quirk · #22 02/13/12, 07:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by plowjockey

Well, the most powerful man in the world, is a black man, so maybe their perspective, is changed a bit.

I have always felt they you are either American, or you are not. No "in-betweens" - for anybody.

There are a lot of folks who really question the "American" part of his heritage

TheMartianChick · #23 02/13/12, 07:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MO_cows

Fast forward 30 years, and it seemed like overnight everybody in the media is saying "African-American". Huh?? Where did that come from?? Did I miss a memo?? The sudden change was just confusing. I don't mean any disrespect with the term "black", any more than my grandmother did with "colored". It is just hard to change what you learned when you were impressionable and young.

Using the most PC label possible doesn't seem as important as actually showing respect to one another.

I bolded the last part of your post because I think that it is extremely important and it reminded me of a story that I shared here at HT before.

I was raised in a very rural community with people that rarely ventured further than 20 miles away. We were referred to as the 'colored family on the hill.' Since it was the 70's, the politically correct term was black.

My sisters and I were taught that although they were using a term that we didn't care for, there was no need to get upset about it. They were using the best term that they knew how to use and they meant no disrespect by it. Besides, it sure beat being called by the N word, which was the one that they had previously thought was okay to use. They were ignorant of other cultures, but they weren't intentionally disrespectful. There is much to be said for looking at the intent behind the words and accepting the spirit and context in which they were used.

DQ · #24 02/13/12, 08:25 PM

I never really understood such labels. I am not "german american". If my skin color somehow gave it away should it be different? The whole world is slowly becoming a mixed bag of cultures and genes. Labeling just makes it easier for groups to dehumanize other perceived "out groups" making it easier to use, abuse or ignore their plights. I am not white, or of a certain special origin or religion or country. I am a person just like everyone else on the planet. My ancestors struggled with their own misfortunes just as everyone's has. The sooner everyone realizes we are all just people, the sooner all people can be better off.

plowjockey · #25 02/13/12, 08:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sidepasser

I do believe the President is half white..

LOL

Pretty sure, thats never an option, for old Barack, when he fills out a form and needs to check, one of the boxes, under race.

Maybe he should check caucasion.

EDDIE BUCK · #26 02/13/12, 09:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheMartianChick

I bolded the last part of your post because I think that it is extremely important and it reminded me of a story that I shared here at HT before.

I was raised in a very rural community with people that rarely ventured further than 20 miles away. We were referred to as the 'colored family on the hill.' Since it was the 70's, the politically correct term was black.

My sisters and I were taught that although they were using a term that we didn't care for, there was no need to get upset about it. They were using the best term that they knew how to use and they meant no disrespect by it. Besides, it sure beat being called by the N word, which was the one that they had previously thought was okay to use. They were ignorant of other cultures, but they weren't intentionally disrespectful. There is much to be said for looking at the intent behind the words and accepting the spirit and context in which they were used.

I was raised to say "colored folks".I remember back when I was a kid and setting on the front porch at night listening to black folks at church singing about a mile away.Moma would say those colored folks shore can sing.It was kinda hard to start saying they were "black"and wanted to be referred to as that.That seemed to be getting to close to the "N"word for me.

.

Pauline · #27 02/13/12, 10:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JuliaAnn

One grandfather was Russian/Romanian. His wife was German. They immigrated in the early 1900's. The other grandfather was Swedish, his wife English.

So am I supposed to claim to be a Russian Romanian German Swedish English-American?

you can join the rest of us mutts of the heinz 57 variety of Americans who have just a bit of everything in us and enjoy living each day to it's fullest

Ed Norman · #28 02/13/12, 10:39 PM

Remember the short-lived Afro-American term? I think it was between black and African-American. I remember my mom had a lady who cleaned house once a week who was telling my mom how she was supposed to be called this new phrase or that one now. She said, "I wish they would make up their minds!"

shanzone2001 · #29 02/13/12, 10:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sidepasser

I do believe the President is half white..

Hahaha!! Yes, but only when it benefits him to say so.

My ex husband is black. He has never accepted the term African-American....he has never been to Africa and none of his family members in the last 4 generations are from Africa. Before that, most likely, but he and his family say they are American.

sidepasser · #30 02/14/12, 09:33 AM

I know a Nigerian man who worked with me, very smart guy who had an engineering degree and he never said he was African American. He said he was American. Although he was from Africa originally, he became an American citizen. He always told people he was from Africa (Nigeria) but that he was American. He didn't seem to need that African American label as he worked so hard to be American.

I never referred to him as black either, I referred to him (and still do) by his given name. I still laugh at some of the things he used to say and am always amazed that he speaks 7 languages fluently and can switch back and forth between them at any given time even in the middle of sentences.

Perhaps it depends on the person and how secure they are in who they are, not so much where they once were from or the fact that perhaps they never lived there to begin with but wished they did.

AngieM2 · #31 02/14/12, 09:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sidepasser

I know a Nigerian man who worked with me, very smart guy who had an engineering degree and he never said he was African American. He said he was American. Although he was from Africa originally, he became an American citizen. He always told people he was from Africa (Nigeria) but that he was American. He didn't seem to need that African American label as he worked so hard to be American.

I never referred to him as black either, I referred to him (and still do) by his given name. I still laugh at some of the things he used to say and am always amazed that he speaks 7 languages fluently and can switch back and forth between them at any given time even in the middle of sentences.

Perhaps it depends on the person and how secure they are in who they are, not so much where they once were from or the fact that perhaps they never lived there to begin with but wished they did.

He sounds as if he would be fun to sit and talk with.

FourDeuce · #32 02/14/12, 10:40 AM

Years ago Reader's Digest printed an article by a Black writer who decided to take a trip to Africa to "search for his roots". His conclusion by the end of the article was that he had no desire to ever go to Africa again, had no connection to Africa other than an "accident of birth", and had no desire to call himself or be called an "African American".

thesedays · #33 02/14/12, 11:02 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by beccachow

My DD asked me the other day about Black History month, and I explained it as a time when African Americans celebrate their heritage and accomplishments. She blinked a few times, then said, "Aren't there people in Africa who aren't black? Do they celebrate, too?"

About time for us to all gather together and get over the labels.

There was a news story a while back about a high school that decided to have an "African American Student of the Year", meaning black of course, and a boy who had recently emigrated from Zimbabwe entered the contest. He was of European descent, blond and blue-eyed, and the school decided to cancel the contest, which was controversial to begin with for obvious reasons.

And during the OJ trial, I read a commentary by a woman who was a volunteer with a literacy project at her local jail. She said that all the black inmates with whom she had discussed the OJ case (adding, "and they call themselves 'black', NOT 'African American'") believed that he was guilty.

thesedays · #34 02/14/12, 11:04 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Yvonne's hubby

Interesting thought..... and who, pray tell, might this man be? And exactly how was it determined as to his being the most powerful man in the world?

He was legitimately elected, unlike his predecessor.

HOTW · #35 02/14/12, 11:59 AM

My SIL is one of those who is offended by th e African American term since she is from the West Indies. She tells people to not call her AA.

The slanging of the term Negro(which literally means black ion spanish & portuguese IIRC) has brought much offense but in latin Nigr also menas black and a lot of southerners had backgrounds that at one time stresed the learning of latin as the "knowledegeable" language.

I think th eshow which made the largest impression on me on the terminology of Negro versus Negroid etc was Star Trek where Abe Lincoln meets Uhura and calles her a Negres and then asks if he is correct aboutt he term and Uhura responds that it is correct and how the term was misused and caused offense and now she was proud to be called such(its been a few years since I have sen the episode so correct me if I am wrong) that I figured out as a kid that it isnt the term that is offensive itis how it is abused to th epoint of offense.

And until recently there were only 3 defined skulls types Cacasoid, Mongoloid and Negroid, howeverthe addition of Australoid shows that all is not set if science either and that science has recognized that there is a skull that falls in between the Negroid and Cacasoid definitions. Anyone who has also seen the progression of an Autralian Aborigine from birth (born white with blond hair ) to adulthoof(skin darkens to black and hair becomes much darker) leads us to wonder where th e"missing link" really went to??

Oh well off topic ..

I just wish we spent less time defining and more time refining our differences...

thesedays · #36 02/14/12, 12:24 PM

When multiracial Tiger Woods first became a household name, a lot of people wondered what he "was". My response? "He's a man who plays golf."

TheMartianChick · #37 02/14/12, 01:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by thesedays

When multiracial Tiger Woods first became a household name, a lot of people wondered what he "was". My response? "He's a man who plays golf."

I remember that many black people were offended that he refused to call himself black or African American because he thought that it was disrespectful to his mother's heritage to only identify with "one" portion of his ancestry. My household agreed with him!