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It hasn't changed for generations now. Even if you don't care to call someone African American, I know absolutely no one that objects to being called black. Before that we were Negroes and before that Colored -- no one uses either of these terms in 2024 and is taken seriously.
But if for some reason somebody gives you a hard time about calling them 'Black or African American', you just say, "well that's what the Census Bureau calls you" and there's your out.
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There are certain parallels that exist between all Americans, but also important distinctions that can be made and we don't need to pretend they don't exist. The fact is we are not a "monoethnic" country like Japan or Somalia.
Last edited by godrestores; 01-08-2024 at 10:21 AM..
Reason: Merged 2:1
Being older, and from MI and in an area with about 1/3 black people, I remember in the early 1970s (I think it was), when the terminology changed from "colored" to "African-American". It was during the Martin Luther King time, and the riots in both Detroit and Chicago (we lived between the two points). I remember they had those 3 colors (red, black and green) that were worn and I can't remember the name of the garment, or at least come close to spelling it. We didn't have the racism that many other places had, and honestly, most thought the whole identity thing, the natural way of wearing their hair, etc. was positive. This was more than 50 years ago, so it was a different time.
Fast forward to the late 1980s, I was working on a military fort, and the subject had come up, and most didn't feel African American, but just American, or black if talking about race They were no more African American than I was Euro American.
Following through the decades that I have lived: colored was toally fine when I was in grade school, African American came about when I was high school and as an adult, "black" became the identifier.
Too many confuse ethnicity, culture and race, and jumble it all up.
I've had the pleasure of having employee's that were either born in another country or their parents were born in another country and became American citizens. Most of them are proud to be Americans and they do not like to be "hyphenated".
I don't encompass a large area but my experiences have been interesting.
When someone distinguishes themselves from others they typically want to be considered unique. I have encountered some who have ulterior motives.
For 349 years white people said I wasn't a real American and for the last last 50 years white people say I am not a real African.
Thank you for posting this.
This is akin to what I posted earlier -- that for centuries MANY white Americans wanted to exclude Blacks from daily life, and now many white Americans are complaining that Blacks don't want to assimilate fully into the white American mainstream.
This is akin to what I posted earlier -- that for centuries MANY white Americans wanted to exclude Blacks from daily life, and now many white Americans are complaining that Blacks don't want to assimilate fully into the white American mainstream.
Since the late 1960's there has been an issue with refusal to assimilate. This burst into public consciousness with Malcolm X, and then after him Stokely Carmichael and H. Rap Brown. The NYC teacher's strike introduced antisemitism into the mix. Quite frankly, the Jews were stunned when the black leaders turned viciously against them.
There were consequences such as Jewish teachers losing their position. None or very few were accused of doing anything wrong. But nevertheless just because they were white or Jewish they suffered. For similar reasons they lost coveted Ivy League admissions. There, Asians suffered as well.
Recently I stumble on this video about a wave of African Americans that are rejecting that term and simply say they are Americans. This isn't an attempt of "racial denying" or even denying they consider themselves black, but rather the basis is:
- Most blacks have been in the United States since colonial times just like most whites.
- Blacks also took part (though their recognition is still not enough, IMO) in the Revolutionary War that basically made the USA. Blacks have also been a part of every single war the USA has been in including the Civil War on both sides.
- All blacks have some ancestry from Africa, but they aren't Africans and neither their parents, grandparents, great-grandparents, etc.
Why is it when whites simply say they are Americans there is no issue, but if blacks say they are Americans and not just African-Americans many times an issue arises?
Now, this is a discussion that black Americans should have. I'm not an African-American, so what I think about this is sort of moot. I will say this, I have always seen Africsn Americans simply as Americans because they are. I think as a way to further help the USA move away from race and become a country where race snd color truly doesn't matter, the first step is not just for black Americans to simply say they are Americans with no hyphen, but the rest of American society see them as an integral part of American society and in a way mot some sort of "other." See them simply as Americans too. Barack Obama is a true African Americsn because his mother was American and his father was an actual African, born and raised there. Most black Americans descend from people that have lived their entire lives in the USA. It's ridiculous to see black Americans as so e eoet of foreigners in thrir own land, as if they aren't "real" Americans (not the "right type" of Americans?) when in fact they are just as Americans as most of the whites and, in a way, "more" Americans than actual foreigners in the USA.
What do Americans, particularly black Americans, think about this?
PS. I don't follow the "rule" of always writing a non-white "race" with a capital initial. Quite frankly, to me race and color is secondary, something unimportant about someone and as such, I treat all "racial" lsbels with the same rule. Capital letters if they are the first word in a sentence, otherwise no. To me, people distinguish themselves by their personal qualities.
PS2. I also see this as black Americans still struggling to get recognition as the full fledge Americans that they are. I find it kind of ridiculous that at more than 200 years this is still an issue of a segment of its population that has been in the USA since before it was the USA. When you think about, the black American struggle regarding this is simpky summarized with a group of people that simply wanted to be part of the USA on equal terms and their own country denied them that. I see this as an extension of that, sort of saying "you are not the 'real' Americans" when they have been in Georgia, in South Carolina, in Louisiana, etc since "ever."
Just about every white "American" I've ever met is proud of his or her European heritage. Whether they're Italian, English, Irish, German, Swedish, French, etc. they are extremely proud of it. That's why when African Americans deny their heritage, outright, it sounds funny. Like they don't like themselves. I don't see any conspiracy here.
Just about every white "American" I've ever met is proud of his or her European heritage. Whether they're Italian, English, Irish, German, Swedish, French, etc. they are extremely proud of it. That's why when African Americans deny their heritage, outright, it sounds funny. Like they don't like themselves. I don't see any conspiracy here.
Don't speak for all whites. I certainly take no pride in my Czarist Russian-Hungarian Slovak heritage. Most Jewish Americans take lots of pride in being Jewish, and none in our European heritage.Most of our ancestors fled under conditions that were messy and best, tragic at worst.
My mother's side, from Czarist Russia (Ukraine) were deserters from the Czar's army. I know little about my maternal grandfather's (modern Poland) or my father's (Czech Slovak) side but all fled with barely the clothes on their back. We do not have pride in people who wanted us dead.
Just about every white "American" I've ever met is proud of his or her European heritage. Whether they're Italian, English, Irish, German, Swedish, French, etc. they are extremely proud of it. That's why when African Americans deny their heritage, outright, it sounds funny. Like they don't like themselves. I don't see any conspiracy here.
I have only met a few people who are so proud of their ancestry that they felt the need to inform me. (Typically around St. Patrick's Day, lol)
I don't see it as a conspiracy as much as an identifier that most people from other countries don't require or request. I believe that this may be due to government involvement, but I am purely speculating.
Have a great weekend! Be safe.
H&K
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