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You all continue to be confused. Blacks have explained the "African-American" thing on C-D many times. Not sure why it has failed to sink in.
African-American specifically references Black Americans whose ancestors came to the US during the slavery trade. Because we have no ability to trace our exact country of origin in Africa, the term African-American is used to make a connection to our ancestors.
White Africans/Black Africans who migrate to the US are NOT African-Americans. They are _______-Americans (insert their country of origin for the blank. Ex: Nigerian-American, Kenyan-American, etc)
I guess I am not white then, I am Lithuanian-American.
Ever hear the term KISS (keep it simple stupid)? Trying to be PC by calling people Nigerian-American, Kenyan-American, etc..is just a little much. Then you might offend someone by calling them Kenyan -American if they are Nigerian-American. Ugh...I like the terms white and black, just like the cookie.
Well, as someone who is half white and half African...born and (largely) bred in Africa...I consider myself African.
Ironically, I'm considered white in Africa and black in America.
The difference being, being white in Africa makes you a part of the "elite class" (even if it's not true..) while being black in America makes you a part of the...shall I say, "not elite" class.
White people born and bred in Africa - are they Africans or not?
I'm thinking of places like South Africa and Zimbabwe.
What is their status?
Other caucasians who live in Aftrica include the peoples of the Magreb (North Africa- Morrocco, Algeria,Tunesia and Libya), Egypt and Sudan. Nearly 2 million Francais Outremers in West Africa and Central Africa. Several hundred thousand British colonials who chose to live in the Independent nations once part of the British Empire(Kenya, Zanzibar, Tanzania, Ghna ,Nigeria etc). They all chose to be citizens of the African nations they lived many even intermarried with Africans. They consider themselves Africans just as we consider ourselves Americans and some African whites have lfamilies ived in Africa londer than some Americans familes have lived in America.
"Race" refers to a person's physical appearance. Things like such as skin color, eye color, hair color, bone/jaw structure etc. Because of all the mixing of races over human history, "Race" is almost useless as a way to differentiate between peoples unless you are a forensic anthropologist.
Ethnicity relates to cultural factors such as nationality, culture, ancestry, language and beliefs.
Most people think "race" refers to a mix of racial and ethnic characteristics.
A descendent of American slavery is the same race as someone who's ancestors never left Africa (assuming neither had any mixing of blood lines with any other races). The former could be called an African-American, but not the later. African-American is NOT a "race".
I've never seen a census form (in any country) that correctly defines "race". As an example, the US Census short-form questionnaire asks, "What is Person 1's Race?" and gives the following choices:
White [Color, and I've never seen a truly "white" person; race would be "Caucasian" or "Europoid"]
Black, African Am., or Negro [Color, ethicity, but "Negro" is close to an actual race of "Negroid"]
American Indian or Alaska Native [Ethnic Groups, race would be "Mongoloid"]
Japanese [Nationality, should be "Japanese-American" which would be an ethnicity]
Korean [Nationality, should be "Korean-American" which would be an ethnicity]
Vietnamese [Nationality, should be "Vietnamese-American" which would be an ethnicity]
Native Hawaiian [Ethnicity]
Guamanian or Chamorro [Nationality/Ethnicity]
Samoan [Nationality/Ethnicity]
It appears that this is not true in Africa. African is a race, and white Africans do not belong.
Africa is a continent. Not a race.
And white Africans belong wherever they want to live just like everyone else.
That being said, "race" is a highly debated issue and has different definitions depending on the context. "Social" race has one meaning. "Biological" race another.
Personally, I identify people by their country or region of birth. So "African" means somebody born there and Chinese means somebody born in China. I don't like the terms "Chinese American", "African American", or "Italian American". They are all Americans to me.
The only African-American I know is a white person from South Africa that is now a US citizen. To me blacks are not African-Americans unless they immigrated from Africa and became US citizens. I'm white and my mom is from Norway. She came to the US when in her 20's and became a US citizen so she can be considered a Norweigan-American though she proudly considers herself an American. I am 100% American and have never considered myself a Norweigen-American because I'm not. Calling myself that would be a joke!
According to the Human Genome Project, we all derive from a common set of ancestors who originated in Africa.
Ergo, we are all African. Does that answer your question?
Petty much. We, as the little people of the world like to break ourselves into little tribal identities" White, Black, Americans, Japanese, Texans etc. apparently it serves some sort of function
And white Africans belong wherever they want to live just like everyone else.
That being said, "race" is a highly debated issue and has different definitions depending on the context. "Social" race has one meaning. "Biological" race another.
Personally, I identify people by their country or region of birth. So "African" means somebody born there and Chinese means somebody born in China. I don't like the terms "Chinese American", "African American", or "Italian American". They are all Americans to me.
There is no biological basis with regard to "race".
Ethnicity, and genetics are entirely different. Race is a social construct.
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