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So much information. PC is wild. Some people who are from Africa and live in America cannot say they are African-Americans, and some people who have never lived in Africa can say they are African-American, and some immigrants coming from other nations in the Americas that had slavery but not from Africa can say they are African-American.
This is true. Born in Africa and living in America = African American. However, most people mean "USA" when they say "America".
No, they are African Americans.
Technically, Africans of European ancestry with U.S. citizenship are "European African Americans." Of course, one could choose to ignore the obvious European heritage of these folks from assorted African countries and simply refer to them as "White African Americans." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_...opean_ancestry
So presumably, we came up with the term "African-American" ( never mind that it's a misnomer ) because the term "black" sounded too derogatory (?) and so now all white people use the term "African-American" when referring to black people.
What's confusing me is, you'll often hear both terms used in practically the same sentence quite often. I noticed this while listening to Clinton, Sanders, and O'Malley talk at the Urban league conference last week.
"Black" seems to be the term of choice when talking about numbers and statistics.
I'm just wondering, why is the term "Black" considered too derogatory in some contexts, but perfectly acceptable in others?
It's likely the way it's being said. I have found both terms to be acceptable. However, growing up around some people who were prejudiced - it was used negatively. "Blacks are dangerous", "that black guy was rude", "I'll disown my daughter if she dates a black kid", "my kids are in private schools because the public school is full of black kids", "careful driving through that black neighborhood"...stuff like this.
I know it sounds far fetched and it's anectdotal, but that's some of the crap I heard among my neighbors when I was a child. The word "black" was used negatively by them. Overtime, I think the word became less derogatory among educated people and eventually others because it was simply used as a descriptive adjective and not a negative label. In my area, racists are out of the mainstream for the most part - at least my mainstream . Interracial relationships aren't whispered about anymore and there are so many mixed race kids that no one can properly "label" them if they really wanted to. That doesn't mean racists don't exist though. Just telling my experience with the terms "black" and "African American". My personal preference is "black" because it's easier (shorter) to say.
The way I understand it, black is a race. "African American" is more of an ethnicity...like Jewish. It ties people to a similar geographic location and cultural experience. A white South African who moves to the U.S. is technically an African American. But the cultural experience is often different from black Americans, just as it is for a black African who moves to the U.S.
The term African American became en vogue during and after the civil rights movement as a way for black Americans to find some connection to their African ancestry. Because of slavery, most blacks in the U.S. can't identify with a country/tribe in Africa (like the way white Americans can identify with being Italian, German, etc.).
Over time though I think fewer black Americans (myself included) really care about the terminology. I don't identify with Africa any more than I do with European ancestry I have. My experience is that of a black person in the United States, the good and the bad.
So much information. PC is wild. Some people who are from Africa and live in America cannot say they are African-Americans, and some people who have never lived in Africa can say they are African-American, and some immigrants coming from other nations in the Americas that had slavery but not from Africa can say they are African-American.
Ironically, some folks consider "political correctness" (or "PC") to be a pejorative term.
Let's look at some of the polite terminology that has been used over the years for "Americans of African descent"...
black
Negro
Colored
Black
Black American
Afro-American
African-American
African American
Each one of the polite terms for "Americans of African descent" listed above has certain nuances as well as unique histories. Apparently, the nuances and histories aren't taught in standard U.S. history, sociology, and anthropology courses, which justifies the "need" for mandatory "ethnic studies" and "diversity" courses. While it's not incredibly difficult to refrain from using archaic terminology and adopt current terminology, I guess that for some folks, it is.
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. Interracial relationships aren't whispered about anymore and there are so many mixed race kids that no one can properly "label" them if they really wanted to. That doesn't mean racists don't exist though. Just telling my experience with the terms "black" and "African American". My personal preference is "black" because it's easier (shorter) to say.
