[unf0rgiven6262]

Originally Posted by Deuterion

Charlize Theron and Dave Matthews ARE NOT African-American. The term African-American refers EXCLUSIVELY to the African descendants of slavery in the United States of America, period. The reason the entire continent is in the demonym is because African-Americans are not from one particular country/tribe in Africa. If you're an immigrant to the USA you would use your country's name hyphen American e.g. South African - American or Nigerian-American, African-American is reserved for the Black Americans who have been here since the inception of America, not for immigrants. We have our own food, culture, music, language, and etc.

Sounds like a bunch of symantic nonsense if you ask me. I've known a couple guys from Africa and I also agree that the term African-American makes much more sense in refering to them. Honestly ANYONE who has to look back more than a few generations to find relatives outside of America has no business calling themselves anything other than American at this point. Maybe then we can actually be the "united" states of America.

[Deuterion]

Originally Posted by unf0rgiven6262

Sounds like a bunch of symantic nonsense if you ask me. I've known a couple guys from Africa and I also agree that the term African-American makes much more sense in refering to them. Honestly ANYONE who has to look back more than a few generations to find relatives outside of America has no business calling themselves anything other than American at this point. Maybe then we can actually be the "united" states of America.

It's not semantics. If you are from Kenya and you emigrate to the USA you are Kenyan-American. If you are from Senegal you are Senegalese-American. You see, you use your country's name hyphen America, the only reason the original Black population of the USA uses the term African-American is because the people are literally from everywhere in Africa. If you're a recent migrant, there is no reason for you to use the entire continent in your demonym, you will use the exact country you are from. Lastly, if we want to be the "United States" we have to do far more than removing everyone's culture from them. We'd just end up like the Latin American countries where the injustice is the same but more invisible because the marginalize population do not have a collective voice or identity.

[unf0rgiven6262]

Originally Posted by Deuterion

It's not semantics. If you are from Kenya and you emigrate to the USA you are Kenyan-American. If you are from Senegal you are Senegalese-American. You see, you use your country's name hyphen America, the only reason the original Black population of the USA uses the term African-American is because the people are literally from everywhere in Africa. If you're a recent migrant, there is no reason for you to use the entire continent in your demonym, you will use the exact country you are from. Lastly, if we want to be the "United States" we have to do far more than removing everyone's culture from them. We'd just end up like the Latin American countries where the injustice is the same but more invisible because the marginalize population do not have a collective voice or identity.

Except that the black population here is from....here.

[lvmensch]

Originally Posted by Deuterion

American is a nationality which is simply a political designation. People hyphenate the American so that you understand their genetic makeup and culture. Like a second generation Chinese person will call themselves Chinese-American to let you know that they are an American person of Chinese descent just like African-American, Italian-American, Irish-American, and etc. To call us all Americans with no hyphen only serves to erase people's culture in favor of what we deem to be "American". This especially problematic when certain segments of the population have constantly been treated like second class citizens...in order for us to "all be Americans" we must start by looking at how we treat one another. You can't say "shut up and be happy you're here" one day and say "we're all Americans the next day" the person getting railroaded is going to clearly feel like an other. Remember, the people calling themselves African-Americans weren't the ones that created the division, it was the actual "Americans" that told African-Americans that they were "others".

Kind of interesting. Where I grew up the hyphenation did not exist...your choices were Catholic, Baptist or Black. We had heard there were people called Jews but did not know even one. And when i moved back to Long Island for the last year of high school I found out that I was a "rebel"...high schoolese for a southerner.

The discovery that I was a mutt of green Irish, orange Irish and German came after high school. My poor children combine that with Italian.

So there is nothing that inherently requires the hyphenation. In fact when you get to my grandchildren it has effectively become impossible to hyphenate them. You would need 7 or 8 descriptors.

I would also note that the subject of the discussion where "colored" was used dealt with the threat of attacks on black students not students in general. So generic "children" would not have been appropriate.

[Deuterion]

Originally Posted by unf0rgiven6262

Except that the black population here is from....here.

You're exactly right which is why they call themselves African-Americans...Americans of African descent.

[Deuterion]

Originally Posted by lvmensch

Kind of interesting. Where I grew up the hyphenation did not exist...your choices were Catholic, Baptist or Black. We had heard there were people called Jews but did not know even one. And when i moved back to Long Island for the last year of high school I found out that I was a "rebel"...high schoolese for a southerner.

The discovery that I was a mutt of green Irish, orange Irish and German came after high school. My poor children combine that with Italian.

So there is nothing that inherently requires the hyphenation. In fact when you get to my grandchildren it has effectively become impossible to hyphenate them. You would need 7 or 8 descriptors.

There's nothing that inherently requires the hyphenation for you because you have been accepted as "White" which means your people have been able to reap the benefits of this country unimpeded. When you're Black and you've been unable to get loans at the bank, unable to move into certain neighborhoods, your people are locked up at disproportional rates, the CIA pumps crack cocaine into your neighborhoods, and etc the hyphen becomes inherent because the system is showing you that there is a hyphenation there. Let's not act like this stuff was 300 years in the past...the crack epidemic was in the 80's and mass incarceration is still prevalent now. The country shows its native Black populace that they are "others" in its treatment so I think it's totally unfair to the turn around and the accuse those same people of dividing themselves...that's illogical.

[unf0rgiven6262]

Originally Posted by Deuterion

You're exactly right which is why they call themselves African-Americans...Americans of African descent.

Hey man, whatever floats your boat. It's important to remember though that we're just playing around with imaginary delineations. By this same logic, most white people here could start calling themselves european-Americans as most of them have relatives from multiple coubtries. Would you be fine with that?

[Deuterion]

Originally Posted by unf0rgiven6262

Hey man, whatever floats your boat. It's important to remember though that we're just playing around with imaginary delineations. By this same logic, most white people here could start calling themselves european-Americans as most if them have relatives from multiple coubtries. Would you be fine with that?

Absolutely, it's totally accurate but there's no reason to when they can be more accurate and say I'm German, French, and Dutch...African-Americans cannot do that.

[Svoboda]

Originally Posted by Deuterion

Absolutely, it's totally accurate but there's no reason to when they can be more accurate and say I'm German, French, and Dutch...African-Americans cannot do that.

Say what? There are plenty of mixed black folks out there that have DNA from multiple nationalities. My 2nd cousin being one.

Her DNA split includes: Eastern Europe and Russia, Cameroon, Congo, & Southern Bantu Peoples, Baltic States, Benin & Togo, England, Wales, and Northwestern Europe, Mali, Nigeria, Norway, Ireland and Scotland, Sweden, Ivory Coast & Ghana, Eastern Africa.

[unf0rgiven6262]

Originally Posted by Deuterion

Absolutely, it's totally accurate but there's no reason to when they can be more accurate and say I'm German, French, and Dutch...African-Americans cannot do that.

Why can't they?