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Strange this provokes so much discussion, the woman is can describe herself as she pleases.
Plus most "African Americans"...aren't.
They've been here for 400 years, those ties are long severed. Even in more recent voluntary immigrants by the third generation the "motherland" exists only as an abstract concept having no effect on daily life.
How do you define yourself then and how do you remove your race/ethnicity, sexual preference and gender out of your life experience and perspective?
I don't label myself publicly to others unless asked. If someone asks me what nationality I am I will say that I am an American, period. If someone asks me where my ancestors came from I will say Germany. If someone asks my race I will say white. I am obviously a male and don't need to declare my gender. My sexual preference is my own business and no one else's but I don't go around declaring that I am a straight male either. Does that answer your question?
Minorities are forced to think of themselves this way in our white dominated society. When you are applying for a job, the "voluntary" racial identification form always come up. Ironically, this "voluntary" self-indetification is required to be filled out on many job applications. The racial form gives the categories: "white/caucasian", "black/African", "Asian or Pacific Islander", "Hispanic/Latino", "Native American", "Other" or "Two or more races".
White people in America aren't forced hyphenate like minorities. White people in America aren't referred to as "European Americans". White people, especially conservative leaning white folks, often simply refer to themselves as "American". It's a code used amongst white people primarily only by white people. As a biracial ethnically ambiguous person, some white people ask me if I'm "half American" as if American was a race. Everyone else who is not white refers to white people as, well, white people.
The term "African American" was coined by white people. Many black people don't like to be referred to as African American in their daily lives. Many black people prefer the term "black". The term African American is stupid because not everybody in Africa is black. And no, I'm not just talking about white South Africans. Moroccans, Egyptians and most North Africans are not black. But the term African American in the United States always means descendant of black West African slaves. Someone who was born in Morocco or Egypt but raised in the States would probably be encouraged to check off "Middle Eastern" instead of "African American" which makes even less sense because these people actually are from Africa. Also, black people have lived in America since before the Declaration of Independence was signed.
Black people in America, collectively, have been removed from Africa for hundreds of years. Because of this, most black people in America don't know any of the customs, languages and cultures of West Africa. Continental Africans often do not consider American blacks to be African at all. Black people in America also are generationally mixed as well. Black American culture has been also undoubtedly influenced by Native American and white cultures over hundreds of years. Because of the arbitrary nature of the one drop rule, we have people who have minimal black African ancestry calling themselves African American. Only in America.
But on the other hand, claiming to be African American is a profound acknowledgement of one's roots for millions of black people in this country. And yes, many black cultural trademarks and traditions in America can be traced to native West African traditions.
So being a hyphenated American member of a racial minority group is a double-edged sword. It can be something ugly that the oppressive dominant white society is telling you that you will never truly be a real full-blooded American. Remember Malcolm X saying he was not an American but one of 22 million Africans living in America? But on the flip side, being a hyphenated American is a deep acknowledgement of your roots. It fosters a sense of identity and community based on a common ethnic origin in a country that relentlessly otherizes ethnic minorities.
Generically, white American culture often lacks this acknowledgement of their ethnic roots. Most white people seem to believe that they don't possess ethnicity at all; which is a lie because every human being possesses ethnicity. Outside of full-blooded ethnic whites (i.e. Irish, Italians, Greeks, Russians etc.), garden variety euro-mutt white people believe their own hype that they are just "American" and "normal" and everybody else is "ethnic" and deserves to labelled as different often to their detriment because of whole-hearted belief in stereotypes in a highly racist society with a strict human color-coded pecking order.
Because of this, white people have no sense of racial unity or community amongst themselves that is present in black, African, Latino, Native American and Asian communities in America. But in America, white pride is seen as racist, which stops many white people from openly being proud of their race. This lack of identity and unity amongst whites leads to ugly antisocial isolationist phenomena in white American culture like rampant drug addiction, one person households as the norm and shoving your aging needy parents into abusive old folks homes.
Are you kidding me? When the question of race comes up under certain circumstances all humans have to answer it. Who says that blacks have to hyphenate themselves? However, there is such a thing as a white American, black American, Hispanic American. That merely denotes what race/ethnicity and nationality you are. So what's the big deal?
Whites shouldn't be referred to as European-Americans nor should blacks be referred to as African-Americans. What difference does it make what continent our ancestors came from? Stop the stupid stereotyping that all or even most whites refer to black Americans as African-Americans. Many whites refer to themselves and other whites as being German, Italian, Irish, etc. So you don't know what you are talking about.
Why should whites or any other race have a sense of racial unity? We should have a sense of national unity instead. Otherwise it is just being divisive to separate ourselves into racial groups.
Seek help for your apparent racism against whites. It is ludicrous to suggest that most white Americans just shove their aging parents into a nursing home if they can care for them themselves. It's not just a white thing anyway and it is none of your business nor should it be considered a derogatory thing. Circumstances warrant certain actions. Whites just don't want to live several generations in one household. Why is that a bad thing?
Strange this provokes so much discussion, the woman is can describe herself as she pleases.
Plus most "African Americans"...aren't.
They've been here for 400 years, those ties are long severed. Even in more recent voluntary immigrants by the third generation the "motherland" exists only as an abstract concept having no effect on daily life.
I can declare myself as a clown from Mars also but that doesn't make it so.
Strange this provokes so much discussion, the woman is can describe herself as she pleases.
Plus most "African Americans"...aren't.
They've been here for 400 years, those ties are long severed. Even in more recent voluntary immigrants by the third generation the "motherland" exists only as an abstract concept having no effect on daily life.
Bleh...we have more ties to that than we do with you...severed or not.
You have ties to Africa? Have you ever set foot in Africa? That is what I wonder, have these people even been to Africa?
Never, nor do I need to..
I know several Asian Americans that call themselves exactly that, and very few of them have set foot in Asia.
If they can, we can. No...screw that...
In fact, we can call ourselves African Americans regardless of whether other groups use hyphens or not...And we're not taking suggestions from outsiders on the matter.
I know several Asian Americans that call themselves exactly that, and very few of them have set foot in Asia.
If they can, we can. No...screw that...
In fact, we can call ourselves African Americans regardless of whether other groups use hyphens or not...And we're not taking suggestions from outsiders on the matter.
That answer your question?
It sure does, you like to label yourself. Sad.
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