<p>Not all black people in America are Americans. Does this bug anyone else? My family immigrated to America and I don't like that there's an assumption that we have American citizenship. Black and African-American aren't always interchangeable.</p>
<p>I understand what you mean. My family is from the Caribbean but most people wouldn’t think that not all black people were brought to America straight from Africa as slaves. I don’t mind just being called black but I’ll also accept African-American because other people just don’t know any better. It’s really just a generalization.</p>
<p>I think “black” is good enough. Always wondered about white Africans whom immigrate to the USA. Are they African-Americans?</p>
<p>Yeah, I get what you mean. My parents are from the West Indies so I’m definitely not African-American but people just think that’s the politically correct term. I always thought African-American was more a nationality and “black” is the race. </p>
<p>It’s funny though. People think I’ll get offended if they call me “black” lol.</p>
<p>I don’t feel black or African-American or anything… I feel like other people just came up with so many names for us that they became confused and now, don’t know what term to use. Lol. My dad is African-American, but Mom is from Jamaica… I’d rather just be called by my name, but hey…gotta mark something on my papers. XD</p>
<p>LOL my mom is from nigeria, and my dad is dominican/puerto rican</p>
<p>i was born here in america so i guess that makes me “african american” but seriously i just prefer being called black…</p>
<p>I just like being called a person. I think some people are too obsessed with classifications</p>
<p>^^ Then don’t check any of the boxes.</p>
<p>I’m pretty sure that the label “African Amercian” was intended to be applied to those black Americans that are descendents of the Africans once enslaved throughout the U.S. Personally, I have never been fond of this term, as im atleast 12 generations removed from Africa myself, therefore, know virtually nothing about my African roots. In fact, I know more about my european and indigenous ancestry :/</p>
<p>Notredamebrother’s point is valid. In this country, the terms African-American and Black American are intended to identify the progeny of the enslaved Africans whom were brought to North America from the time of Jamestown to the early 19th century. Therefore in the “classic” American tradition, a man or woman whom immigrated from Africa in recent years, or immigrants to the U.S. from Caribbean and latin nations, is, by definition, not an African American. But of course, we’re a free society and folks can call themselves whatever they wish, witness our current President for example. Remember, Black folks in America didn’t create the confusion and hypocrisy of race and color in America.</p>
<p>I agree with arsenalcrazy. Black is the race in broader terms, and African-American is more of specific nationality.
I also think some of this comes from the opinion of some people that “Black” is a derogatory term, and that “African-American” sounds better. Almost like the whole “White”/“Caucasian” thing. THAT ONE reallllyyy baffles me. lol</p>
<p>Basically I just think both are listed because one sounds “better”/more “politically correct”/and “inoffensive” …you know, because people really care so much about what black people think all of a sudden…(sarcasm). lol</p>
<p>Who the heck was it that made the decision about 20 years ago that we were now “African American”? When I was a little girl, we were “Colored” or “Negroes”(Yes, I’m that old) . Then during the early 70’s we became “Black” (As in, “Say it Loud: I’m black and I’m Proud!”—Thank you, Godfather of soul…LOL) Just when I’d gotten comfortable with “Black”, a word that historically carries with it all manner of negative connotations, we became “African American.” Again I ask, who’s in charge of these decisions?</p>
<p>It reflects, I think, the tragic fact of our on-going identity crisis as black descendants of slaves in this country. I’ve thought about this a great deal, and I suspect we began calling ourselves “African Americans” as a way of reclaiming our roots that didn’t begin on a Colonial auction block. I don’t know about anyone else, but I have long resented the fact that I will never know anything concrete of my African roots. I would like to be able to trace my ancestry to a particular tribe of people who speak a particular language, and engage in a particular culture and system of beliefs. White people often so take for granted their ability to trace their ancestry to identifiable people, places, languages and customs, that they dismiss it as unimportant. They at least will say that it means little to them. But, I don’t believe for a minute that the “American identity” that they hold so dear is in any way divorced from the European roots that make up our dominant culture. Ellis Island isn’t a cherished national landmark for nothing. And Ancestry dot.com isn’t a rapidly growing website for nothing. To a large extent, I believe a people who don’t know their ancestry don’t really know who they are. Us AfAms, whose ancestors go back hundreds of years in this country only know of our legacy as white people’s property, as a powerless and oppressed people, denied the most basic freedoms and access to opportunity in the Jim Crow South. Most of us won’t say it aloud, but there’s not a lot of room for pride in that history. We’re still trying to cast off the shame we’ve internalized or centuries. </p>
<p>When I met my first African Immigrants in college, I was struck by how rooted they seemed to be in their cultural identity. They had a tribal identity and specific knowledge of their ancestral heritage that us black Americans could only dream about. They had an ancestral language, cultural lineage and religious beliefs that grounded them in an identity that was theirs alone. Many of the women whom I met held their heads up high and walked with an authority that startled me, so different was it from most of the black women with whom I’d grown up. They just seemed to know who they were. And who they were was not derived from some European template foisted upon them in lieu of their own. Their sir names were African names, specifically tribal, and with ancestral meaning, going back time out of mind. They knew who they were! Their names were not that of a plantation ‘Massah’ who had owned their ancestors hundreds of years ago. Discount it if you want, but there’s something precious in having those things. That’s why they were so completely stripped from our slave ancestors. Not by accident were slaves forbidden to speak their own language, or be called by their own name once they landed on these shores. Once those things are gone, they’re gone for good. What they’re replaced with ends up determining a lot.</p>
<p>Poetsheart, for better or worse, you can thank Jesse Jackson Sr. He essentially led the movement for broad and popular acceptance of the term “African American” about 20 years ago. I guess he thought “Black” was too santized (devoid of depth), indifferent or vague, culturally speaking. And a lot of folks never liked the term “Afro-American.”</p>
<p>As an African immigrant I’ve always been confused by the terms “Black” and “African American”. Most black people living in America are not African so why are they called African American? Shouldn’t they be called Americans of African Ancestry? And people from the Caribbean? They’re ancestry is from Africa, but they are no more American than I am. And the term black. What black people are really BLACK and what white people are really WHITE, naming races (and there really isn’t a such thing as race genetically) by color is just confusing. I really dislike that the only option for me when marking ethnicity is Black/African American or Other. Black isn’t even an ethnicity!! Canadians and many other countries don’t have this problem. In Canada, you are just a Canadian, you are not identified by your race. Even in the census! Now isn’t that mind-blowing!</p>
<p>I recently had a white cop asked me if I was offended by the term African American as a true African soon to become an American. It amused because I’d never actually been asked that, and certainly didn’t expect to be asked that by a white person lol. I answered that in the beginning it had, but I’ve semi- gotten used to it.</p>
<p>^ I totally agree with you.</p>