Black People: Do you prefer to be called Black or African American?

Question

Ok, I don't like to be called African American because I'm not from Africa and neither is my family. My family is Domincan, Jamanican, and Creole. I may have some African blood in me but it doesn't mae me African. Charlize Theron is African not me. I just feel when people call me African American they're tryin gto say that all Black people are African when clearly we are mixed with Native American, Chinese, and European.I prefer to be called Carribean America, West Indian, or just Black.

Vemon-She is African.She's South African with dutch and french blood.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charlize_Theron

angelam219- I think you need to study a little bit more. First of all there were and are Native American tribe in the Carribbean and I can name a few of them. The Caribs, Arawarks, Tainos,and the Lucayos. During the 1800s thousands of Chinese workers came to the western hemisphere, and most of them were men and they couldn't marry white women and there were no Chinese women there. So they had families with black, hispanic, and Native american women. I'm not saying that African of Black is negative. I'm saying that I'm not african. I don't come from the godddamn contentinet. If you were so African what nation do you come from? If Black people like me were so African, where do we come from? We can't claim that we're African unless we know what excact nation we came from. People like Charlize Theron and Nelson Mandela are Africans, Halle Berry and Beyonce are Black. Simple as that.

Answer 1

I agree i with you,black should be could black and not African -American, when people ask a black person "African-American"what does it mean, that black person did not come from Africa,he may have an African descent but if he born and raised here in America he is black-American .Just like racist will say to a black person go back to Africa, where are they supposed to go when the whole generation of their family was born here in America.

I'm Asian but i prefer to be called Filipino.

And besides black have as much right or more in this country than all white men.

Answer 2

A lot of Carribean people are descendants of enslaved Africans also. The slave trade was not only occuring in the US.
I am fine with either term. I'll claim Africa all day long and wish I could narrow it down to an exact country of origin. It is interesting that you would not want to identify yourself as being a descendant of an African, though. I wonder why not? Professor Henry Louis Gates travelled to Africa to answer that exact question, and he found that even Africans wanted to claim to be descendants of something "other". Most people that he would stop on the street ( and he stopped the Blackest) would answer that they are descendants of Persians. It seems like National Geographic has done a job on the way our people see ourselves. I could cry when I read your question again. Chinese ?!? Uh yeah ok. You would rather list that as your claim to your self-identity? You said that you are not from Africa, which country were YOU born in, America, Europe or China? If you were born on a Carribean island then I can understand not wanting to claim to be American but then where does the Native American background exist in the Carribean? Study a little longer, sweetheart, and please don't associate African or blackness as being something negative. Be proud and whenever you feel in doubt, just watch white people, they do all they can to imitate our characteristics!

Answer 3

Black

Answer 4

I accept as true with Nika. sweettulipz2002, the priority truly is approximately how usa of america sees itself. and that's approximately divisions. Plus, the term "African American" might might desire to contain white human beings whose ancestry is African and whose citizenship is American. that's purely too stupid for something of the international to understand.

Answer 5

Well I prefer Afro- American or black more than African American. I noticed that in other countries where blacks live they use Afro, not African such as Afro-Dominican, Afro-Cuban, Afro-Venezuelan etc. When we use African-American it's basically saying that we're all from Africa. Also this get's confusing because there are African immigrants who come to America and they call them African American also.

Answer 6

THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I feel the same way I am not from Africa yes I no where all the countries are but I'm not from Africa. I have white Indian as well as African blood in me. But since I am mostly black I per fer to be called black because that's what I am I'm not African I am an American but the whole African American thing doesn't fly to well with me call me American or black don't call me African American

Answer 7

yes. you are african. you dont have to be from africa to be african. the people that made the black populations in the dominican rep. and jamaica were from africa and nothing will change that. but you have your opinion. i prefer both terms.

charlize theron is a white african. not of african descent. she is afrikaner.

Answer 8

The term "black" includes everyone so that's what I prefer, it doesn't have to be so complicated the way people make it

Answer 9

Just call me by my name.

Answer 10

Ps Chalize Theron Is so Not African... She is Dutch.

I'll rather be called Black as I am NOT American (thank God) and believe me when I say tha Africans do not have a "slave" heritage therefore they'll rather NOT be associated with that "African-American" .