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I agree, I say Black Americans is a better fit because blacks who have been here since slavery times have no connection to Africa what so ever and most have never even been there. African American should refer to people born in Africa who immegrate to America.
Why doesn't anyone have these same strong opinions about Asian Americans? Should they also stop referring to themselves as such? What should Asian Americans call themselves instead?
Why doesn't anyone have these same strong opinions about Asian Americans? Should they also stop referring to themselves as such? What should Asian Americans call themselves instead?
The only people that call themselves Asian Americans are the recent immigrants. The rest just call themselves Americans.
The only people that call themselves Asian Americans are the recent immigrants. The rest just call themselves Americans.
Try not to speak out of ignorance on the topic. Obviously you don't know many Asian Americans because even those who have been here for several generations refer to themselves as Asian Americans. Newly arrived immigrants from Asia refer to their specific country of origin: Japanese American, Chinese American, Vietnamese American.
LMAO...dude, i've been on this earth for 45 years and i'm as black as it gets (not meaning complexion, but in mentality) and with the exception of my wife and some other friends, my whole circle is black as a tire.
I've yet to meet ANY BLACK person who refers to his/herself as a Negro regardless of age. We toss around Negro when we're joking around, but if we're speaking in all seriousness, it's never used. I don't know what old black folks you're hanging around, but maybe they don't get out much.
"Negro" played out about 45 years ago. And it'll never come back.
Oh it's coming back. That's just the Spanish word for black and there's an awful lot of Spanish spoken in places now. That's how they call you all. I hear "negro" all the time, never "americano-africano". Los negros.
With all due respect, why must you compare your heritage to that of whites? It's not a contest.
I don't think he meant it as a contest but just to show how silly it is to refer to some as a hyphenated American when lots of blacks have been here longer than some whites who don't usually use any hyphenates. White Americans who have been here for generations are not called Europeon Americans even though that's where white Americans originated, so why should any other ethnicities who have been here for generations use a hyphenation?
Quote:
Originally Posted by Quick Enough
Since the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People still use Colored to describe themselves, I think Colored is the best term.
Anything else might "offend" them.
I never saw anything wrong with using colored either, it meant a person of color, nothing wrong with that.
Quote:
Originally Posted by calipoppy
So I guess that means Asian-Americans don't exist either, right?
Americans of Asian descent who have been here for generations don't really need to refer to themselves as Asian Americans IMO. They are just Americans too.
Quote:
Originally Posted by h0tmess
What if you are white and from South Africa?
I guess that's racist
That's my exact point! The term becomes silly when you have people who are black and white who were born in Africa and move to the US, those are the real African Americans, not the blacks who's ancestors have been here since the 1600s.
Try not to speak out of ignorance on the topic. Then obviously you don't know many Asian Americans because even those who have been here for several generations refer to themselves as Asian Americans. Newly arrived immigrants from Asia refer to their specific country of origin: Japanese American, Chinese American, Vietnamese American.
Must be a West Coast phenom then. None of the "Asian Americans" I know refer to themselves in this manner. Carry on.
It's not about your nationality when people say African-American. It is a reference to your ethnicity, background, ancestry or even your culture (there are some people who either are closer to an African culture or who have studied African culture and implemented it in their household and life). I have mixed ancestry as well, but to me, ... I am a Black American or African-American. Like I said in my post above, people only tend to talk about these things in specific situations. So, if the need arises or someone asks, I can add or explain my other ancestry because it may be appropriate for the conversation. However, the truth is that I am predominantly of African ancestry, so that's what I choose to identify as.
But the word Black American can convey that without having to use reference to another country. To me using black means a person is of a certain genetic lineage but is still American, therefore Black American. Not all Africans are black or have black genes or lineage, so even using African American does not convey genes or genetic lineage. Black is more accurate for conveying that.
Must be a West Coast phenom then. None of the "Asian Americans" I know refer to themselves in this manner. Carry on.
My Asian American friends are proud of their respective heritages and refer to themselves as thus. The reference is usually to being "Asian" in informal settings (in the same manner that Blacks call ourselves "Black") and "Asian American" in more academic/formal reference (same with "African American")
None of this means that we (Black or African Americans) are not proud AMERICANS...we just know that we are distinguished based on our racial background and there is nothing wrong with acknowledging who you are.
Why doesn't anyone have these same strong opinions about Asian Americans? Should they also stop referring to themselves as such? What should Asian Americans call themselves instead?
They can call themselves American. Why do they have to say Asian American or anything anyway when anyone can look at some one and see that they have Asian genes. No need to state the obvious. If they were born in America then they are American. Period.
Another difference between other people or cultures who hyphenate is that most of them have more knowlege of their actual culture of the country they or their parents originated from more than Black Americans do. Asians who were born here mostly have parents or grandparents who immegrated from Asia so they have more of a direct link to their mother land than black Americans. Most black Americans who do know something about African culture had to read about it or learn it from a book, not from actual blood relatives like other ethnicites do. That's why Black American is more fitting for blacks dispite what other ethnicites may choose to identify, themselves by.
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Why do they have to say Asian American or anything anyway when anyone can look at some one and see that they have Asian genes. No need to state the obvious. If they were born in America then they are American. Period. 
