Why do people call themselves African-American?

Question

During a frank discussion in class one day I asked one of my black students who identified himself as African American if he was born in Africa... answer was no. I then asked him if his parents were born in Africa... again, no. I asked if his grandparents were born in Africa... he didn't know. I asked him if he or his parents ever even visited Africa, his answer again, was no. Then, I asked him, how could he be African American? Shouldn't he be described as black, just as caucasians are labeled as white?

What do you think?

OK, 3 minutes and I have lots of answers. Color has no boundaries, I have seen many Indians look black, just as I have seen many Africans appear white. Heritage is not a good answer since white and black people could have just as easily come from Africa. Right?

Oops... just to reiterate, this was a classroom discussion with a very diverse mix of kids. The boy that seemed to have the most to say was alo the one to, in the end, agree with me most. There was no rudeness at all...just an intellectually invigorating discussion.

Answer 1

I find that labels are ignorant but if we must have one.. i think it depends on the individual. Back in the 60's we were called "colored" then we were "black" now we're "african- americans".. I think as time goes on we change labels to define ourselves as what ever is politically correct at the time. I'm 33 so I remember just being "black" and then one day waking up and hearing that we are calling our selves "african-american" .. In actuality, I think the proper term would be "american-african" as in an american of african descent but that just doesn't roll off ones tongue as easily as "african american" .. same goes for "mexican american".. If I HAVE to label myself, I just say that I'm black.. but I'd rather just be labled as ME...

Answer 2

I don't have any problem calling myself, or being called, Euro American or European American and some people even call me Irish America which I am proud of. If you are black and are happy calling yourself African American then you should do so. Be aware that not all Africans are black. The Egyptians, Algerians, Tunisians, Libyans and Moroccans are predominantly Caucasian. It's probably a good time to remember that we are all Americans and we ALL had ancestors who came from somewhere else. Even the Native Americans' andcestors came from Asia.

Answer 3

Actually Caucasians should be called, European Americans, and can be more specific like German American or Greek American. But because of the slave trade I suspect many African Americans do not know the specific country they originated from. And then we also have the Japanese Americans, Indian Americans (not to be confused with American Indians or Native Americans or Indians), or Thai Americans. But in the end, everyone has their own preferences and some people do not have preferences. But when you throw political correctness in there you have people that will go ape shiit over the whole thing and sue someone. Thus we never really talk about it because someone might get offended and start suing the shiit out someone.

And why don't you Australians stop insulting us Americans, you did terrible stuff to your Aborigine natives. So don't point fingers while you have a plank in your own eye!

Answer 4

Cultural identity is a matter of personal choice, a right conferred to all Americans, not just blacks. The term African American is used more as an identifier of cultural ties rather than nationality. Even if someone isn't actually from Africa I see it as little reason to forget the history that preceded them. What is often misunderstood is that impressions of the term African American vary widely within the black population. I would for instance refer to myself as simply a black American, just as easily as someone could be a white, Irish or German American.

Answer 5

It is an attempt to hyphenate one's self from a group, or in other words distinguish one's self from the norm. All individauls want to feel important, feel they have heritage, be seen, and be heard. Hyphenating ones self outside of, or within a society gives some a feeling of legitmacy for their cause or communitiy or sub-culture. As long as an individaul simply has a feeling of heritage or ancesteral pride then calling themselves or distinguishing themselves in such a manner is a matter of personal preferance and freedom. If, however, there are political agendas or anti-cultural reasons then it is bad judgement but if it does not break any laws, hurt anyone, let them call themselves green-Americans if they want. A hundred years from now it will be a forgotten footnote in the annals of history.

Answer 6

I consider myself to be black. I only use African American on a standardized test when "Black" is not an option. James Brown said "I'm black and I'm proud!" Since then those of us who know our heritage and are proud of the good and the bad and are proud to be here consider ourselves black. I take it that your classmate isn't proud to be black. What he should know is that Africans call us Black crackers. Because we're not from Africa but we live here in the U.S. Anybody who says they're African American and not Black obviously doesn't know his/her heritage because if they did they would definitely be black and proud.

Answer 7

If he's an United States Citizen, he's an United States Citizen who is black. Not all black people decended from Africa either. I've never understood why a lot of black people call themselves. African-American either. My grandparents are Swedish descent, but I'm not a Swedish-American. I was born in the US.

Answer 8

They call them that b/c almost all of the african americans who were brought here during the triangular slave trade were from africa. Then they were just africans, but after the civil war and the 13th amendmant they became citizens. This made them African Americans. That term didn't come about until 1865 or 1866 when they passed the amendment making ex slaves citizens.

Answer 9

I'm the least racist person I know but this has always bugged me. It's the same with Mexican-Americans,Asian-Americans or anyone else who has to hyphenate their nationality. I guess it's because "American" is not a race but Mexican and African are. Perhaps we should start identifying ourselves as Caucasian-Americans just we don't get left out of all the trendy hyphenating

Answer 10

I agree, but to the opposite of the point I think you are trying to make. I hate being called white. I am lumped into a category with every other fair race. I so desperately want to write "Irish" on forms, but I can't. Hispanic ethnicities get to differentiate between countries of origin. Why can't I?