Brilliant essay on how wrong the term ‘African American’ can be
http://stuffwhitepeopledo.blogspot.com/2009/05/fail-to-distinguish-african-immigration.html
This is a guest post by Doreen Yomoah. She is vagabond currently residing in Shanghai, and a founding mother of the Women’s Liberation Army, a motley crew of women scattered throughout the globe who are sick of injustice and planning to do something about it.
I am black.
I am not African-American.
I am Ghanaian.
These are three things that the white Americans I’ve known have trouble distinguishing from each other. I lived in America for a long time as a student, but only temporarily. I currently live in Shanghai. During my stay in America, I can’t count the number of times I was referred to as African-American, or sometimes African, but almost never my real nationality, even by people who knew it.
My problem isn’t necessarily with people thinking I was American; I do after all have an American accent (which I picked up at an international school in Tokyo, where I spent my childhood). While the assumption that I’m American didn’t necessarily bother me, my problem was that after finding out that I am Ghanaian-born, and a Ghanaian citizen, people would still refer to me as African-American, and constantly refer as well to “my” history (as in, the Atlantic slave trade and the black Americans who now populate America as a result).
One thing that irritated me to no end when I lived in America was the fact that all black people were referred to as “African American.” I believe that this idea of referring to blacks as African-American stems from the false idea that no black people know where their ancestry is from, as I have never heard a white American refer to him/herself or another white American as European-American. I have, however, heard them say things like “I’m French / German / Irish / Italian / Spanish / British,” even from people whose families haven’t seen those countries in generations. However, whether black people in America are the descendants of slaves; or those whose families immigrated from Africa, or the Caribbean, or Europe; or those who are in America temporarily for work or studying, all are grouped together under the inaccurate, blanket label of “African-American.”
Even my casual research (as in, Google) on the subject reveals a dearth of accurate available information about these differences among blacks in America. Perhaps the lack of statistics of this sort reflects the lack of interest on the part of the researchers. The only statistic that I’ve been able to find on non-slave descendant American blacks is the number of current immigrants, which is 1,035,253 (and growing). That means that any black descendant of anyone who immigrated after the late 19th century is not included in that statistic; they have instead been lumped into the category of African Americans, and thus are assumed to be descendants of slaves. I have American cousins, for instance, born to two Ghanaian parents in America, who aren’t included in that statistic. Their direct connection to a specific African country is overlooked, as is their distinct difference from most black Americans.
I heard this topic discussed a LOT during Barack Obama’s campaign. That is, whether or not Barack Obama is “black.” But the point of contention was not his biracial heritage. It was the African part of Obama’s heritage that cast doubt in the minds of journalists such as Stanley Crouch, who said in his op-ed “What Obama Isn’t: Black Like Me,” “when black Americans refer to Obama as ‘one of us,’ I do not know what they are talking about.” Similarly, columnist Debra Dickerson wrote, “black, in our political and social reality, means those descended from West African slaves,” and therefore Obama was “‘black’ but not black.”
Um. What? Since when did being descended from slaves become a prerequisite to being black? Most black people in the world are not descendants of West African slaves. However, I heard this time and time again following the election campaign of Obama from afar. Is this really how black should be defined in America?
The number of black immigrants has more than tripled in the past few decades, and that number will only continue to grow. It is time for the definition of “black” to be widened to mean more than just “West African slave descendant,” because aside from being untrue, it also serves to reinforce the idea that black people are a monolith. Not only do African-Americans and black Africans completely differ from one another in many ways; within Africa there are myriad ethnic groups found throughout its 53 countries. To us, being black means customs as diverse as speaking Zulu or Shona, wearing kente or aso oke, or celebrating Farmer Day or Unification Day.
There are major statistical differences between African immigrants and slave-descendant African Americans, as well the rest of the American population. Africans are the most educated immigrant population in the United States, with 49% holding college degrees—a larger percentage than Asian immigrants, American-born whites, and American born blacks. 86.4% hold high school degrees or more, while only 78.9% of the “model minority” Asian immigrants do. Children of African immigrants also go on to achieve higher levels of education as compared with the rest of the population.
While reaching higher levels of education than most other groups in America and having lower unemployment and poverty rates, immigrant blacks still face discrimination in the workplace. Their employment does not generally reflect their education and experiences, as they are often underpaid and underemployed.
While living and traveling elsewhere, I still hear white Americans refer to any black person that they see as African-American, despite the fact that black Africans here greatly outnumber our African-American counterparts. A white American friend once referred to me as “African-American”, despite knowing that I’m Ghanaian. For some reason she still thought that that was an appropriate label for me. Another American woman I know told her (British) boyfriend that black is incorrect, and the correct term is African-American, despite the fact that in the majority of his life experience, the black people he has met are not American. Nevertheless, because in her mind black people are all African-American, she falsely assumed that was an accurate label for all of us.
Something I have heard white Americans say over and over when it comes to this subject is that “it’s just something you never think about.” The way they say it, it’s as though they are expecting some agreement from me, like I should say “Yeah, I know, the logical default is to assume that all black people on earth are American!” I think that embodies the very assumption that I find damaging. They don’t even think about it. They just assume we are all American. Just today, I told one American friend of mine I had just gotten my hair done. “Are there a lot of African American hair salons in Shanghai?” she asked.
Oh geez. I’ve known her for over five years and she is well aware that I’m not American. I replied with “it’s not African American hair.” Puzzled, she asked me what I meant. I replied “I’m not American. The girl who did my hair was not American. The girls who did my hair before are not American. It’s not ‘African-American’ hair.” She replied by telling me she didn’t even think about that. I find this “I didn’t even think about it” attitude incredibly common among white Americans. Even someone who is aware of me not being American still defaults to referring to my hair as “African American hair,” and then refuses to think any further about it.
I was in the History Association at my American university, and we hosted events at which professors of history would have open discussions with us. At one such event, we had the famed Nigerian author Chinua Achebe’s daughter speak to us. One of my white classmates then asked her if she’d had the chance to research where her ancestors may have come from, to which she replied “I’m Nigerian…” Even with a last name like “Achebe”, a famous Nigerian author for a father, and a discussion about her experience in Africa, this classmate still assumed that as a black person, she clearly was born without the knowledge of her ancestry.
My problem with the common white assumption that all black people are descendants of slaves are that a) it’s simply not true and b) it helps to perpetuate this harmful, ignorant mentality that black people are a uniform group, a concept that is so rampant throughout America and the world at large.
Do I think that black America has a rich and complex history and culture? Yes, I do. I was able to witness it first-hand while living America, and it’s just as diverse and complex as anyone else’s history.
However, it’s not my history. My history is the history of a powerful trading empire, a people who were able to rebuild themselves after attacks from neighboring rivals, a people who came together to resist the colonial reign of the British empire, and the first African nation to reach independence in the 20th century. And that history is ignored by most white Americans, who refuse to see it.
Example:
“Casting Call; Prime Time Takes Affirmative Action; THIS SEASON MANY SHOWS SEEK TO BETTER REFLECT THE DIVERSITY OF THEIR VIEWER AUDIENCE”
Every season, producers add new characters to pep up returning series. This season is no different–except in one respect: Many of the new faces are those of African Americans, Latinos and Asian Americans. And some are joining previously all-white casts, including “The Drew Carey Show,” “Fired Up” and “Sabrina, the Teenage Witch.”
“I think it’s about time,” says African American actress Francesca P. Roberts, who plays the outspoken employment officer Mrs. Francis on NBC’s “Fired Up.” Roberts had such chemistry with series star Sharon Lawrence in several guest appearances last season that she was promoted to a regular this year.
Now Latino Jon Seda is joining NBC’s “Homicide: Life on the Street,” Asian American Lauren Tom has been added to ABC’s “Grace Under Fire,” African American Victoria Dillard is in ABC’s “Spin City,” African American Trina McGee-Davis is joining ABC’s “Boy Meets World” and Latina Daisy Fuentes will be co-host of ABC’s “America’s Funniest Home Videos” when it returns at midseason.
Except you know, Trina McGee-Davis is Haitian, not African American.
For a more humorous take
http://www.thebestpageintheuniverse.net/c.cgi?u=your_stupid_ideas
First of all, the label “African American” is the dumbest, most persistently used phrase in our vernacular. Every time you call someone an “African American,” you’re making at least two assumptions about the person:
1. That the person is an American. For example, if you saw this guy walking along on a street, you would probably think:
…which is fine, except for one small detail: this man is British, which makes you a presumptuous cock.
2. That the person is African (because it’s inconceivable that black people could come from Haiti, India, Trinidad, Dominican Republic, Brazil, Australia, or Jamaica). Nevermind that; BLACK PEOPLE ONLY COME FROM AFRICA.
Not to mention that every time you give a black person the distinction of being “African American” out of a mixed group, you’re making an assumption about an entire continent; not everyone from Africa is black. I guarantee all you politically correct morons out there have never called a white person an African American. Of course you could avoid all these problems by using the same standards on blacks as you would on whites by simply assuming that all whites are from Africa just as you do for all blacks, but that might be too forward, and in a polite society like ours, people would be all too pleased to point out which of the 192 countries you didn’t guess they were actually from.
I have always waited for something like this!!!!! I am Latino and for some reason people in America have mostly label me as Mexican when I haven’t even been to Mexico! I married a black man and he always told me when I called him Black that I should learn to be politicaly correct and it was “African American” …… Thank u so much for such BRILLIANT essay!!!!
I never understood why it was insisted that you call blacks ‘African-Americans’ to be ‘politically correct’. I knew a black man who was from another country, but it wasn’t Africa.
When are we going to quit identifying people by the color of their skin or the country they originate from?
Can’t we just all be ‘humans’?
Ok, I’m glad SOMEONE is finally having this discussion. Because I have to tell you — non-black people aren’t trying to be dumbasses when we say “African American.” It’s because THAT is what people in their teens-to-30s have been brainwashed into thinking is the proper, respectful way to address black folks since we were in kindergarten. For a while (ie – 50s/60s), “black” was taboo but “negro” was kosher; now “negro” is considered offensive.
I totally agree that we have to separate ethnicity from nationality. The problem is, some black people continue to prefer the term African-American regardless and find ‘black’ offensive — like the lady said about her husband (above). If we’re officially using the term ‘black’ now, I’m all for it. But is everyone cool with this, including the black community?
Like most non-black, non-racist, non-suffocatingly politically correct people, I’d like to know what the hell is the adjective du jour.
In response to the comment above, about “can’t we just all be ‘humans’”, I understand what you’re saying. But as long as race is still an issue, we will need labels in order to have that conversation — respectfully.
Fine. I vote for ‘deeply tanned’. Who can that possibly offend?
i am a black latina and perfer the term Afro-Latin American
People see me as a black woman then call me african american hear me speak spainsh and suddenly i’m not black beacuse I don’t speak english and have spainsh name a afro american told me i wasn’t really black because i have spainish name and my friend who is british nigerian told him that if that was the case he was really black becuase he dosen’t have any type of african name
The number of of black immigrants from South America, the Carribeans and Africa has increased a lot over the years there is documentary called
The Neo African Americans
http://www.ireport.com/people/Kobi1
OK…How about African descent….or just black? geez. And why get offended if someone says african American, that’s naturally what they’re going to think if theysee brown skin and hear no accent. I swear people just make a big deal over the smallest thing. “Black” is a term reffered to people of significantAfrican Ancestry, sure you might not be 100% African but you can still be black…why make such a big deal out of it? Unless you’re uneasy with who you are and where you came from…
EMANCIPATE YOURSELVES FROM MENTAL SLAVERY, NONE BUT OURSELF CAN FREE OUR MIND!
Anyway you are African ! Ghana is in Africa but since most people in the US don’t know where Ghana is, African would be quite accurate… and it goes around the black thing which is sometimes offending.
and what is this comment meant to serve ?
My history is the history of a powerful trading empire, a people who were able to rebuild themselves after attacks from neighboring rivals, a people who came together to resist the colonial reign of the British empire, and the first African nation to reach independence in the 20th century. And that history is ignored by most white Americans, who refuse to see it.
It seems to me that you have a problem being identified as one of “those” in the ghetto… I don’t think you are being fair to African Americans, who you through your comment push all back in the ghetto! My people, my ghanaean people: this is the same stupid talk like the white supremacist bull shit!!
I am a quarter african and no African sees me as one of them. My mom is half African and quite black and no African sees her as an African!!! but when she is and I am in the US she belongs to the black, aka african americans, aka negros, aka blablabla and i belong to the latinos (which i kind of like), aka mexicans, aka blablabla… and when I am in Austria i belong to the Black !!!! lots of fun
Nevertheless I do belong because i am “cafe au lait” to a group that is from time to time discriminated that is for sure ! unfortunately… therefore i feel a sense of solidarity with the african americans. But for most people who can’t think in complex models, I feel like a “mogelpackung” (deceptive packaging)!
unite !! and fight against discrimination whom ever it falls on ! but still try to get it all: degrees, class, style, standard, values and wealth.
Like other readers, I find it hard to understand Doreen Yamoah’s beef with being referred to as African-American. By her own admission she acquired an American accent while attending an international school in Japan (presumably from her teachers and/or schoolmates) so it should be reasonable to expect most people in the US to assume she is African-American. I am Ghanaian myself and I consider myself well-travelled enough to be able to discern the origins of different accents, ethnic features, etc. Yet there has been one occasion when I mistook Ghanaian girls at an event for African-Americans at first sight until I was introduced to them! I have also been mistaken for a Haitian a few times here in the US, and in Europe on a visit to Amsterdam, for a Surinamese. I took no offense in either case but instead used the occasion to strike new friendships and to learn more about the amazing survival of certain facets of African culture in the diaspora.
The statement by which Doreen repudiates any links to African-American history as a Ghanaian is quite baffling. Perhaps Doreen’s childhood in Japan may have caused some conflicted identity crisis within her. Certainly, if Doreen had spent equal time studying her country’s history as she put into her American-accented English drills, she would have had a less confused view of Ghanaian and African-American historical links. No less a person of such historical prominence as Harriet Tubman claimed ancestry from Ghana. She is said to have revealed that her parents were of the Asante tribe in Ghana, and her descendants visited the country a few years ago. So was the ancestry of Capt Paul Cuffee, the first black to own a fleet of ships, born of an enslaved Akan father from Ghana and a Native-American woman. In 1780 he challenged the Massachusetts legislature for taxation without representation for blacks. He made several trips to the West Coast of Africa, and played a role in the Back-to-Africa movement. The documentary ‘Traces Of The Trade’ by White American film-maker Katrina Browne (http://www.tracesofthetrade.org/guides-and-materials/historical/the-dewolf-family/) and filmed partly in Ghana details the brisk trade in slaves made by her own family, the De Wolfs of Rhode Island. In one of the historical documents she discovered during her research were the poignant details of a young girl from Ghana who was sold by the family. I have also searched through the Afro-Louisiana History and Genealogy Database (http://www.ibiblio.org/laslave/) by tribe and found many instances of slaves of known Ghanaian tribes listed. But without even citing specific cases of slaves from Ghana, it should be a certain conclusion for anyone conversant with the history of the trans-atlantic slave trade and the fact that the coast of Ghana has the greatest number of European-built slave castles and forts, that a significant number of African-Americans – not only first lady Michelle Obama’s family – could have some degree of Ghanaian ancestry. The point then that I am making is that African-American history is a subset of African history (and vice versa).
Unlike Doreen the majority of Ghanaians see themselves as a Pan-Africanists as exemplified by the first president of Ghana, Kwame Nkrumah. We identify with all Africans – from both the continent and the diaspora. We are all part of the same family – same tree, different branches. And I personally I am delighted if I am mistaken for a Haitian or a Surinamese or, possibly in the future, for some dark brother from the backwoods somewhere in Mississipi or Alabama – for it is symbolically affirmative of our common ancestry AND shared history.
Quote…”Fine. I vote for ‘deeply tanned’. Who can that possibly offend?”
George Hamilton maybe?
I’m part black and have given this alot of thought. The term african american is politically correct pseudo-empowering, pseudo-intellectual crap.
1. If you refer to me as african american, you disregard 1/2 of my family tree. Who is anybody to say which parent counts, or which one doesn’t? (unless, of course you’re obsessed with race and categorizing, which is a favorite hobby of the politically correct.)
2. I’m not from africa, nor was either parent. We’re all Americans. When you link a group of Americans who have ancestry hundreds of years ago on another continent based on their skin color, it is you (or the thought process) that leads to terms like African American that represents nationalistic racism. (example: we don’t say “European American”, do we??? Oh no, only people of color get the label as a whole.)
3. When you refer to an American black person as african american, you spit on the investment they and their ancestors have made in this country. Uhhh, excuse me, but after all the blood, sweat, & tears shed by blacks from slavery foreward, how dare anyone attempt to disenfranchise the black invidual from a piece of this country’s pie? Blacks are Americans. This especially applies to the millions of black laborers, factory workers, engineers, doctors, laborers, skilled workers, professionals, bussiness people, parents who raised their kids, and military veterans dating back to this nations’ founding. (I left out black ball players and entertainers. The very fact that they’re held up as “role models” speaks to the social decay rampant in black “communities”.)
4. Africans themselves take offense to the term african american…, many of them percieve American black culture as one of fatherlessness, illegitimacy, and laziness. So what a hoot it is when some “playa” or “gansta” thinks they’re so hip referring to themselves as african american. Ha!
5. People with pigment in their skin are not monolithic. They vary by nation of ancestry, profession, language, politics, and profession. The irony of the folks pushin’ this african american garbage is that they think they’re so “with it”, or “culturally sensitive”, when nothing could be further from the truth. These politically correct hypocrites revel in all the diveristy of white people, but as soon as there is one iota of color that can be found in the family of someone, WHAM!, you’re suddenly African American!
6. The term african american is divisive. It imposes an additional difference between Americans, as if color wasn’t enough. We cannot endure as a nation with increasing amounts of division (but then again, many would love to see this country go down).
Bottom line: we’re all Americans here, black or white.
Floacist- Thank you for posting me here! I found you through Googling my name (part curiosity, part narcissism, part paranoia).
Nana-
Actually, it’s Yomoah, not Yamoah. My problem isn’t people assuming that I’m African American… I say that directly in the sentence that you’re taking issue with. It’s after I explain that I’m not, I’m still referred to by an inaccurate label. Also, I take offense at your statement that I am having an “identity crisis” because I have parents who took my abroad as a child. I’m not going to apologize for having grown up abroad. I am not in any way saying that African Americans and Ghanaians have no comment ancestry, clearly that would be a ludicrous proclamation. But America=/=Ghana (or any other country), and to say that African American and Africans are the same is illogical, because the histories of those two countries, while intertwined, are still separate from one another. Yes, Ghana (and other west African countries) contributed parts of their population to the slave trade, but the events that unfolded once they arrived in America are completely independent of what happened in Ghana.
Karine-
I’m not pushing anyone anywhere with my statement about Ghanaian history. I’m simply saying that it’s Ghanaian history. Ghana did do all those things that I mentioned. However, it’s not American history. I agree with you that unity is good, but that doesn’t have to mean overlooking differences to the point where you are actually ignoring what or who somebody is.
Donna-Indeed.
I appreciate everyone’s comments here, thank you for reading!
MISSED THE POINT: Some of you still aren’t getting it. I hear people saying well some black people (americans) prefer the term African American so I am not sure the term Black is ok.
There is nothing wrong with using the term African American, if in fact the person you are talking about IS AFRICAN AMERICAN.
MORE THAN ONE TERM FOR APPROPRIATE SITUATIONS: You guys have to get from under this need to use the same term for everyone with dark skin. You can refer to African Americans as African Americans, but not ALL black people. Just change your programing in your head NOT to assume that every black person you see is from America or from Africa and you should be fine.
THE TERM BLACK IS OFFENSIVE?? NO: If ever you generally refer to a black person or black people as “black” (and you are not sure about their nationality) and someone tells you it is offensive—THEY ARE WRONG. If you ask “what what should I have said” and they say “the correct term is African American” you should respond intelligently and say “how do you know they are American or African?”.
Personally though as a black person who was born in America, I do not like to be called African-American, because I have never been to Africa and have a mixed ancestry as most people black, white, or other in the Americas do. All humans are descendants from Africa so it is not very distinguishing.
The term “black” should be as unoffensive to anyone as the term “white”. People of color is also another general non offensive term to refer to people who are not white (usually black) and you have no clue to their nationality. THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS AFRICAN AMERICAN HAIR, or AFRICAN AMERICAN SKIN LOL. Is there a such thing as British hair, or French hair? Japanese or Chinese hair? Asian American Hair?– NO, as there is no special category of hair for American blacks that makes them totally different from European blacks, or African blacks, Caribbean Blacks or Southeast Asian Blacks. All black people do not have the same hair texture either but thats another topic.
WHITE IS “DEFAULT” MENTALITY: To the person that said ” lets call them deeply tanned, that can’t possibly be offensive” YOU ARE WRONG. Tanning refers to a process of being darkened by the sun or some other process from an originally lighter shade of skin. Black people are born with their darker skin color so to call them tanned as if they are altered from their original state, into being black is INCORRECT. Dark skin was also the original skin of human kind, thus any term that makes the default into the “other” is false. If anything white people should be referred to as genetically lightened blacks, because black is default and light/white skin evolved relatively recently in human history.
Too many white people feel they are the default and everyone is the “other” this is why the issue in discussion is not limited to blacks, but also white people (and many black people too) have no idea what it means to be latino or hispanic (that its not a race and you can be a black, white, or mestiso/native latino or hispanic); have no idea about Asian Americans vs Asians vs Hmong, Korean, Taiwanese. Americans in general (of all shades) need serious education about cultural and geographic populations.
BLACKS IN OTHER PLACES THAN AFRICA AND AMERICA: Humans with dark skin (black) are the oldest physical form for humanity. Being such there are populations of black people all over the world, that you will not find in your history books in American public school. Here are just a few examples of native and diasporic black populations that most white and many black people have never wrapped their minds around. Black Asians (south east asians, melanesians, pacific islanders)–Yes they are black if they were in the states you’d probably be calling them African American too. “Arab” Blacks…I use the term Arab because most people tend to class off North Africa and the Middle East as being non black geographic regions when this is totally FALSE. Most of the light arabs you see there are the new comers. The black dessert dwellers like Tuareg, Falasha (one example of true ancient Egyptian descendants); blacks in hispanic counties, cuba, puerto rico, brazil, mexico; black europeans (blacks have had an instrumental role in pre slavery european history refereed to then as moors, as well as more recent populations of blacks in europe.
Study a bit and you won’t seem so dumb, that goes for everyone of every color. Get outside your box its a beautiful world.
Exactly. Folks have missed the point entirely. This was never about whether people’s race/culture should be acknowledged, it was simply about the assumption that all blacks in America are “African-American” when that is not the case. And bingo @ “white as the default”. Basically the folks are arguing against racial acknowledgment in any form are advocating for inclusion in the “mainstream”, as just “Americans”. Well what is the perception of a real American? White, heartland values, apple pie, khaki shorts, etc.
Regarding North Africa and the middle east, there are black (dark skinned) jewish people too. Just another reason the whole hyphenated-american crap is nonsense.
Three points:
1. Notice how you don’t see alot of people from Asia or India, etc get all wrapped up in this sort of crap. They just work hard, buy bussinesses, become engineers, doctors, take pride in their families, have self respect/dignity, and manage to stay out of trouble with the police. Might be a lesson to learn there for the hyphenated-americans. (case in point: the Harvard professor race hustler “historian” who recently caused such a disgraceful stink because a “white” policeman was seeing if his residence was being burglarized. You see, the whole hyphenated mentality is devisive. There was no way the white policeman could win. If he ignored the call, he’s turning his back on the community. If he looks into the call, he’s a racist profiler.)
2. Hyphenated Americans beat the drum about how unique and distinct they are from mainstream America. They also constantly trash and insult the “American majority”. That is until America and the American majority has some cash or benefit to hand out, then all the hyphenated-americans come running with their demanding, entitled hands out. Interesting, eh?? Clearly, the hyphenation is not helping to empower. It’s just superficial “feel-goodism.”
3. Unfortunately, in many cities, the hyphenated american is most likely to victimized (even murdered) by another hyphenated-american. So it seems the hyphenations are not helping with unity or respect.
Bottom line, we’re all americans here. Amazingly, even with all the differences in races, and ridiculous hyphenations, we still all manage to exist without mass murder or anarchy. Compared to alot of places in the world, that’s pretty good.
Nothing ridiculous about hyphenations because you yourself make the distinction between “them” and what you described as “mainstream America”. So what if the “American majority” is trashed and insulted? As the majority, you hold the upper hand. What it seems the majority can’t stand is criticism even though you have many advantages. People do not want to be lumped in with the “mainstream” culturally if it does not speak to their particular experience, period.
Hey, Quanli…
I AM 1/2 BLACK. (or do my views invalidate my “minority-black-african-american status in your mind?) My father lead white men in battle at a time he couldn’t even order a sandwhich at a lunch counter in this country. Despite that, he never gave in to the victim mentality or held the past against people who weren’t even alive then. He was very thankful and happy to be a black American with his freeedom. He raised us in the knowledge that people are far more apt to judge you by your works, values, behavior, and by how you speak, rather than the color of your skin.
My own experience: mopped floors and cleaned toilets for years while working my way toward an Ivy League MD degree.
It’s not about who holds the upper hand. 2 wrongs don’t make a right. This nation has opportunity for all.
I know what i’m talking about.
Hyphenations are stupid and devisive.
rineyville, ky
Well, I am an American and I hate the term African American because I am of mixed heritage. The author of the essay apparently wants to reflect and acknowledge herself as a Ghanian, so as not to be confused with the people, her people sold: the losers in her eyes. Allow me to rip her for that because I have been living in Europe for the past few years. Whereas, she see’s all of this honor in attempting to show herself as the ‘true” model minority, in Italy, the are known as 419, prostitutes, and clandestine. Instead, the Italians view Americans who happen to be black, as strong, beautiful, powerful people who gave them Jazz, Jesse Owens, Michael Jackson and Beyonce. So I guess, depending on where you are, there will always be a model minority. She can keep America for all I care, if she doesn’t want to be associated with my people because she will never come near, this descendant of an Angolan slave.
Well, my nationality is American
so the term ‘African American’ would be inaccurate.
My parents immigrated from East Africa so therefore I’ve called myself ‘East African’ for the longest time
My ethnicity is somali (a country in the east of africa, because east africa isn’t a country) but my nationality is American.
Essentially, I’m just an American who’s heritage is in East Africa- specifically somalia
We humans really do have a need to categorize one another into boxes don’t we?
Where ever you see a black person on this planet, they are genetically African. As Malcom X said “If a cat gives birth in a oven, you don’t call it’s off spring cookies.” Where ever black people are born, if it’s goddamn underwater, they are genetically African. That is our commenality. That is our link. Our nationalities do not change our DNA. Just as being born underwater would not make us fish.
Don’t be confused by my nationality, I am biologically African as any
African born on the continent though culturally we are different. Yes we will be confused for each other because we are each other beloved. Our mother is the same. I was stolen from her but she is still my mother. The world can see our resemblance. Yes you will be mistaken for me and I for you foolish one. I can claim and do claim your ancient Ghanaian history as my own because Ghana is where my family originated. My story didn’t start in America though my more recent ancestors built the nation I now call home. My oldest ancestors contributed to that ancient history of which you speak so proudly before they were sold away from their original home.
My family had it’s mitochondrial DNA traced and it went straight to the Ghana Akan people. My kids broke down and cried from happiness and joy to know who they are in their blood. Their step father is Ghanaian. We celebrated that knowledge with him and his family. He had married an American born Ghanaiain without knowing it. We cracked up. We walked across a centuries old bridge toward each other knowing we had found family across the span of time. With all that had been done to seperate us, we had found each other. I am certain my Ghanaian Ancestors were dancing in heaven because they knew who we were and they had waited a long time for us to meet.
We went to Ghana together kids and mother-in-laws included. When that great grandmother found in my DNA was caught and chained and put on that ship, did she weep and cry out to God to bring her back home one day? Did she lose all hope of ever returning once her feet touched down on foreign soil and she understood what her lot had become? When she had children did she hope one day that the nightmare would be over and she would be able to take them home? Did she die with that in her heart?
She watched from heaven as our feet, flesh of her flesh, touched Ghanaian soil.
When they see you they see me. Don’t be outraged and shocked. We are your family.
Great article! Even as an “African-American” I always prefer to be called “Black.” I’ve never heard it from the other point of view, but I’ve always thought of the term “African-American” to be presumptious, and overly pc. Firstly, being Black in America, and having no direct connection to any African country, it feels wrong to be referred to as Af-Am. Most American Blacks are not JUST of African descent, as a lot of racial mixing occured that goes unmentioned. Also, since a lot of Americans in general aren’t really sure of their heritage or background (not just Blacks), there is a possibility that YOUR particular ancestors weren’t from Africa, and were not slaves.
Also, as was pointed out, not everyone from Africa is Black. Africa is a very diverse continent, and while there are many, very beautiful Black Africans, there are White Africans, as well as mixed-race Africans.
And not everyone who’s Black is American. No other country has terms like “African-British” or “African-Canadian”. Only America (USA) has this term.
I think white Americans are afraid of being referred to as racist. Maybe they’re afraid that they’ll call someone “Black” and that person will get mad. What they forget is that a Ghanian is not an American, nor is a Brit, or an Aussie, or a Frenchman. Most White-Americans (the PC ones, anyway,) would refer to all of these people as “African-American.”
Anyway… I see nothing wrong with the term “Black.” Af-Am is just being too PC.
This reminds me of a funny story someone told me, about a friend of his who was so afraid to say “Black” to a Black person, that he referred to a dark colored shirt as “African-American.” Lol! It’s NOT THAT SERIOUS.