<p>Well?</p>
<p>we were talking about this when we were filling out the AP forms, he left it blank I think.
He lived in Egypt til he was 8, First Language was Arabic...</p>
<p>But... Egypt is pretty much Africa...</p>
<p>yeah technically he is "african" and "american." it depends on your definition of african american. a lot of people think you have to be part of the "black" race to be considered african american. but if your friend identifies himself as african and american, i think that decision is within reason. just expect a lot of people to disagree!</p>
<p>I mean... he speaks the native language, visits yearly, keeps with tradition...</p>
<p>Shoot, he's more African than pretty much all the black african americans I konw</p>
<p>He is pretty much White (looking... kinda darkish), and has absolutely no accent.
His parents though...</p>
<p>"just expect a lot of people to disagree!"</p>
<p>Like me. :)</p>
<p>Why do I disagree? First and foremost, a person should be raised in the United States if he wants to claim to be any form of American. Second, just because a person is from Africa and lives in America does not mean that person is African American. Descendants of White Dutch Africans who move to America are Africans in America, but are, by no stretch of the imagination, African American as it is meant to be defined in the United States.</p>
<p>Yes, he's African-American.</p>
<p>He only lived in Africa till he was 8...so he has lived in America for plenty of time. He is most certainly American! You don't have to be born here to be an American :)
But I agree, the title of AFRICAN American is a bit dubious...</p>
<p>Well I know he's American... Its whether he says he's Middle Eastern or African American on standardized tests, college app even.</p>
<p>considering that the Common App has "African American, African, Black" as one of the categories, I'd guess that "black" is what they mean by "African American." So if your friend isn't "black" (I agree, this can be somewhat ambiguous) then I'd recommend filling out the "other" category and putting down Egyptian.</p>
<p>It's your friend's choice. he can put african, other-egyptian, other-middle eastern, whatever he desires. if he were syrian though, for example, he wouldn't have a choice of african, but instead between middle eastern & caucasian.</p>
<p>kk, race issues aren't meant to be thought of that extensively. if it were a huge matter, it would be published on passports/social security cards/etc. we're in a time period where we've moved on, at least in the states. the whole race thing is optional, which shows that it's not a "pull your hair out" matter.</p>
<p>i knew a girl born in venezuela, moved to america when she was like 2 or something. then her dad said she was latino on her social security forms just to help her later in life. shes whiter than the snow. oh well, guess theres always loopholes like these...</p>
<p>"kk, race issues aren't meant to be thought of that extensively. if it were a huge matter, it would be published on passports/social security cards/etc. we're in a time period where we've moved on, at least in the states. the whole race thing is optional, which shows that it's not a "pull your hair out" matter."</p>
<p>-I don’t know who has moved on, but this is certainly not the case for many, many Americans. But, I’m not looking to get into a whole discussion about this, so I’ll let you’re idealism stand. :)</p>
<p>chriscap, she was venezuelan though, no?</p>
<p>kk...don't know who's moved on? dude, there is no more segregation, no more poll taxes, no more huge obstacles for people of a certain race to overcome. i guess you're one of the few who hasn't moved on? still trying to make a big deal of the time period before the 80s? </p>
<p>kk, maybe for kkk? just playing.</p>
<p>“kk...don't know who's moved on? dude, there is no more segregation, no more poll taxes, no more huge obstacles for people of a certain race to overcome. i guess you're one of the few who hasn't moved on? still trying to make a big deal of the time period before the 80s?”</p>
<p>-No more segregation??? Maybe not legalized segregation, no. No more huge obstacles? Sure..... Wow, I think you just may be the most naive person in the United States. And yes, we all know American history starts in 1980… :rolleyes:</p>
<p>umm technically hes african american but egyptian would appear alot more underestimated then african american cheers =)</p>
<p>----No more segregation??? Maybe not legalized segregation, no. No more huge obstacles? Sure..... Wow, I think you just may be the most naive person in the United States. And yes, we all know American history starts in 1980…-------</p>
<p>If you have the drive to succeed, america is one of the few places that will allow you, black, white, mixed, cancerous, whatever. What kind of huge obstacles do you think are present? </p>
<p>And we're not applying to college from the 80s, it's completely different. history shouldn't play a role.</p>
<p>If you are asking people on a message board what your friend should mark down...what does that tell you? Still, the call is on your friend...people call it ambiguous...I seriously don't think it is.</p>
<p>This just shows how silly these categorizations are.</p>
<p>"And we're not applying to college from the 80s, it's completely different. history shouldn't play a role."</p>
<p>-This is by far the most ridiculous thing I’ve heard in a long time. Good night!</p>
<p>Charlize Theron was born and raised in South Africa but now lives in Los Angeles. Does that make her an African American? Take a look at a few pictures of her and let me know what you think.</p>
<p>Sure, it does. Charlize isn't black, but she's African American. African American doesn't mean "black." There are A LOT of other people in Africa who aren't black, you know. If she isn't African--since she IS from Africa, no matter what part--then what is she?</p>
<p>Take Alexis Bledel. Half-Mexican, half-Argentine, spoke only Spanish until she went to school. She looks Irish, but she's definitely Hispanic.</p>
<p>That Venezuelan comment is just ignorant. I think half of the people I've met from South America (such as Argentina, Colombia, Brazil) and not Mexico or Puerto Rico are really white-looking. Hispanics, Africans, Asians, Caucasians, Europeans, Americans COME IN ALL COLORS.</p>