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I think the question you should be asking is "why does it matter?"
America is hardly a melting pot. It is still very much an immigrant nation of segregated ideals and heritages, so I don't see the harm in one carrying a title that makes reference to their culture's nation or continent of origin.
I proudly call myself "American" mainly because I have native ancestors. This land is part of my heritage. But it doesn't tell the whole story. There is another major part of who I am, and it goes by the name of Africa.
It's supposed to be a melting pot but of late "immigrants" have decided to change it into a salad bowl instead. There is no reason for us to be segregrated by heritages. Afterall, aren't we all Americans first? My point is and always will be one can be proud of their ancestor's heritage without hyphenating themselves. As another poster put it it's like divided loyalties with their ancestor's country/continent first and then American after it.
9/10's of African Americans time in this country has been spent either in Slavery, with Jim Crow, or separate but (not at all) equal.
It's only VERY, VERY, VERY recently that it wasn't legal to treat blacks poorly. It's only recently that white people had to take down the LAWS, that they voted on and passed that were designed to help whites at the expense of blacks. Forgot the centuries of slavery, what about the centuries of legalized oppression that followed.
The laws may be mostly gone, but the malice and hatred that inspired and passed those laws hasn't gone anywhere. Blacks can never assimilate. Whether you're of Italian, german, russian, irish, french, british, whatever decent, at the end of the day, when you walk into a building, you're white.
Black people can be all of those things too, german, russian, irish, french, at least in terms of nationality, but we're always going to be black first and foremost. That's what people see. And the bigots who wish they could legally mistreat blacks, believe it or not, will still do it, in whatever way they can.
If you pause and listen instead of letting the "whoosh" of a knee-jerk reaction drown it out, there is much truth here.
While I reject the revisionist claims blacks "built America"(many hands of many colors did), their sweat and blood certainly did mix the mortar more than anyone elses and I wonder about the karmic aspects of ignoring this.
I have no idea what this young lady has been doing professionally since she played a cute little kid in the Cosby Show back in the 80's (which I watched) and a teenager starring in her own comedy (which I never saw) but she was recently interviewed by Oprah Winfrey.
1. She does not want to be labelled gay - she wants to be known as a lover of humans
2. She does not want to be labelled African American - she wants to be referred to as an American, and her roots are in Louisiana.
I don't give a lot of weight to what entertainers have to say about anything political, but many people do. A different perspective than what you often hear coming from personalities:
She is brilliant in the way that she expresses herself. Maybe the leftwing will hate it, but everyone else will go awww.
No, rightwinger... the leftwing will not hate her. In fact, I think she said her bit about not wanting to be called African-American or not being labeled just to take the heat away from folks finding out she's gay.
If you pause and listen instead of letting the "whoosh" of a knee-jerk reaction drown it out, there is much truth here.
While I reject the revisionist claims blacks "built America"(many hands of many colors did), their sweat and blood certainly did mix the mortar more than anyone elses and I wonder about the karmic aspects of ignoring this.
Even the "karma" thing don't fly if we're gonna go there. I say that because Dr King and Ms Parks WOULD roll in their graves seeing way too many American Black people, especially the dudes, NOT taking care of business in 2014.
Too; slavery was gone by 1865 and MOST of the US was built AFTER 1865 by white people.
When the Democrats disown her, guess where she will go, after a slap in the face?
The Republicans are praising her and the Demwits are a hate'n.
Are you kidding me. I am a democrat and praising her. She is absolutely right. We are all Americans. There are no labels for Irish Americans or Italian Americans....etc. So why do we have to have labels for African Americans. This labeling is what is what is dividing our country.
A long time ago someone said within a group discussion that they were not Black but were African-American.
I thought they were an immigrant and asked "Oh what part of Africa are you from?"
Total blunder on my part because they went off on me about the Civil War and slavery and so on.
I should have saw it coming.
Now I keep my mouth shut.
You knew better...you we're just being a wise ass...serves you right..
Are you kidding me. I am a democrat and praising her. She is absolutely right. We are all Americans. There are no labels for Irish Americans or Italian Americans....etc. So why do we have to have labels for African Americans. This labeling is what is what is dividing our country.
This country has always been divided and will always be divided.
It's in the DNA of the country. That's how it was built to be.
Megadell: IF things are that bad for American Black people; they're free to leave the US. In 2014 it ain't the white man putting the Black man in his place: the killers of MOST Black dudes are other Black dudes, maybe the KKK is now a Black group.
Too; please tell THAT to the Black people who HAVE assimilated. Yes, they're still "Black", but, more and more of us anglo whites WILL take a decent Black person living next door who takes care of business over a PWT meth head.
It's supposed to be a melting pot but of late "immigrants" have decided to change it into a salad bowl instead. There is no reason for us to be segregrated by heritages. Afterall, aren't we all Americans first? My point is and always will be one can be proud of their ancestor's heritage without hyphenating themselves. As another poster put it it's like divided loyalties with their ancestor's country/continent first and then American after it.
Well, maybe some do feel that their loyalties are somewhat divided. When you live in a nation that is overwhelmingly populated and governed by the ideas of one group, it's difficult for all other groups to feel a total sense of belonging.
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