Why do we say black people?

Question

I mean just think about it. We are all different shades of brown. light brown, dark brown... so i don't get it. so why black. and all people of color come in different shades just like us. or anyone who has had some type of black blood in them at anytime.

why don't we say African. since we came from African. you don't have to be born there to be it. at least that would came us have some type of histroy of who we are.

if i was Asian and i was born here when my parent were not, i would still be Asian. so doesn't that make me African?

i read! i know we all come from africa. so we should say we're african.

and just think about it everytime you see black in something it's bad, black magic, black heart....

Answer 1

THAT IS SO TRUE!, I have thought of the same thing myself...why do people call our race ,"black"?? ,.tecnically if you look at us were are not litterally the color "black"... there is alot of us who have brown color skin and "they" still call our rece" black" for some reason......you know. you made a good point, and good question there! :)

Answer 2

It's just a short cut for easy ID. Like calling whites white, when they're not really white.

Personally, I prefer the term "of color." But usually I"ll interchange black or African-American if I'm referring specifically to people who are African-American.

For a brief time, I got caught up in how one distinguishes between a born-in-the-U.S. "African-American" and someone who is a naturalized American from an African country. (Not that it really matters, but there's that instinct to categorize we all have ... ) Then I realized that person would be Nigerian-American or Burundi-American, etc., and not African-American.

As to the color black being associated with bad things. To some extent that's true - in the U.S. But it's also associated with positive things, particularly in the world of business. If you're "in the black," you're making a profit. "Black Friday," the day after Thanksgiving, is the day when many businesses make the best earnings. A "black belt" karate level is one of the highest (maybe the highest?) levels of skill. Black clothing has a positive sexy connotation.

Answer 3

There really is no black or white. you see Caucasians are weak people . they use psychological warfare to gain access to what does not belong to them. they made the definition to the word white (clean, pure, without harmful intent) and then told the world they were white. They made the definition to the word black (dark, sullen, dirty, soiled, wicked ,evil), and then called the darkest people on the planet black. Note the meaning and their definitions and who they apply to. It's a mind game.You have never seen a Caucasian stand in front of a pure white wall and blend in. Nor vice versa for a brown person. Actually they are pale: a shade of brown, and we are brown. That is why people who are brown outside of the u.s. say I'm not black. They are subconsciously identifying with the Caucasian definition of the word black. Caucasians created this wordplay to keep darker peoples' divided. A so called white guy once told me the white man gained control of the world by dividing (pitting tribes against each other) and conquering (stepping in when the fighting was over). They don't want the world to know that there are more brown people on the planet than there are Caucasians. Its like 5 to 1. This keeps them at the top of the food chain. Yet if you go to any dark brown person outside the us and ask them if they are brown they cannot deny what their true skin color is. They will have to say yes, cause it's an undeniable fact. Then and only then will we begin to accept our brotherhood and come together. Something that powerful Caucasians have been fearing for thousands of years.

Answer 4

The term "black" was chosen by the black nationalism movement of the 60's and 70's, but was first used by abolitionist former slaves in a quest for self identification.
It's an example of taking back a word or a paradigm, and turning it on its head. The trend turned toward African American in the 90's and now the term of choice is person of color.

Answer 5

Black people are called black people because if they were called brown they would get mistaken for Arabs and Mexicans. Plus, you guys aren't really African, alot of you guys have mixtures with Native Americans. Just like how white Americans aren't called Europeans, black African Americans aren't called African.

Answer 6

"Blacks" have been lead to believe that because they come from Africa and have similar skin color that means we are all the same. Because "African Americans" lost the true heritage that cause them to identify with ALL black skin people on the continent. Didn't your mom ever tell you not to go out with guys and people you don't know? Don't indentify yourself with a group you don't know, JUST because you look similar.

FACT: You are just whatever someone tells you that you are. If your African, then what is African? Do you ever hear about how it's the cradle of civilization? How about the beauty of the land, people and culture? How about the great Kings and Queens? The Nubian kingdom of Cush and Egypt? NO, The African You know is associated with poverty, disease, drought, famine, uneducated, uncivilized all people are sad depressed and hate there life. This is the African you know when you mention Africans(one who lives there) Egypt is not included because it's not the Africa "you know". The African you know is what they call primitive culture there ALL naked, swing from trees, live in Huts and have no written language and this is how ALL "Africans" are.

Africa is not a tribe, country, language or nationality, Africa is the name of a continent. It has 53 countries with many different people, languages and cultures. Africa is not a nationality because there's not a country on earth name Africa, so you can't refer to a group of people as African in reference to their national origin. The Ancient Egyptians, Nubians, Hebrews and other people who are indigenous to that continent, never mentions a place called Africa. And that's because the name Africa is Latin in it's origin.

There has never been ONE UNIFIED GROUP WHO IDENTIFIED THEMSELVES BY THE TERM BLACK that's a European Racist creation, So is the Myth of an "AFRICAN PEOPLE".

You have been fooled into thinking you have made progress because you refer to yourself as African or black, instead of *****, or ******. You have not made any progress, calling yourself black and African is the same as calling yourself ***** and ******. They are all bywords and proverbs they still don't explain who you are.

Ask yourself this, IF YOU WERE REALLY A PEOPLE CALLED AFRICAN OR BLACK, WHY DIDN'T THE SLAVE MASTER TRY TO WIPE THIS AWAY FROM YOUR MIND SET. In the infamous Willy Lynch Letter, how to make a better slave, Willy says this:

OUR EXPERTS WARNED US ABOUT THE POSSIBILITY OF THIS PHENOMENON OCCURRING, FOR THEY SAY THAT THE MIND HAS A STRONG DRIVE TO CORRECT AND RECORRECT ITSELF OVER A PERIOD OF TIME, IF IT CAN TOUCH SOME SUBSTANTIAL ORIGINAL HISTORICAL BASE: AND THEY ADVISED US THAT THE BEST WAY TO DEAL WITH THIS PHENOMENON IS TO SHAVE OFF THE BRUTE'S MENTAL HISTORY AND CREATE A MULTIPLICITY OF PHENOMENA OF ILLUSIONS, SO THAT EACH ILLUSION WILL TWIRL IN ITS OWN ORBIT, SOMETHING SIMILAR TO FLOATING BALLS IN A VACUUM.

Willy Lynch was advising the slave masters to take away the knowledge that we are Israelites. This is the culture that was wiped from our minds and replaced with phenomena of illusions like we are BLACK, AFRICAN, AFRO AMERICANS ETC. Our slave masters told us we were black and African, he called us by these names, because he created them to be used on us. If we are "African" why didn't he wipe that away from our minds?

Since your African what your African culture, religion and customs that ALL Africans have. What your African language that ALL Africans speak. See where I'm going no one in African say I'm "African" they say I'm Nigeria, Ghanian, Ethiopian, Algerian, Egyptian etc.

Find your true identity and not what others call you, because you were also call *****, Afro Americans, Blacks, coon, porch monkey etc. Which means you are what ever they tell you that they want you to be.

Answer 7

Well, some may look African, but could be from another part of the world, such as Jamaica or Haiti....I usually just say "of the darker persuasion", just as Caucasians are "of the lighter persuasion."

It's the most simple way I can think of without naming a colour nor a specific race. In this world of rampant political-correctness, the way one refers to one's melanin level is tricky nowadays.

Answer 8

people say that because of the dark complexit of your skin. i know you arent really black, and sometimes i do, myself, feel guilty when i say black people. everyone should say african-american. just like everyone should really say native-american, but instead we call them indians. i myself am real indian, from india, and i have to constantly tell people i dont live in a teepee. anyways, just like we call some people black, we call others white, and some brown. we like to categorize people on this spectrum of color. it really is just disgusting. so, to answer your question, the word "black" came from the Europeans who that that the Africans were very dark, so they called them black. the Africans in turn thought the Europeans looked like ghosts, so they called them white. its all really confusing and racists. also, people think "black" is easier to say then african-american. you are not african if you were not born in africa, so i think you mean to say african american and asian american.

Answer 9

On most applications they have a list of nationalities to choose from, you have that choice to pick who you are. Just like the N word most people get offended by that b/c it was used as a slave name but we as AFRO AMERICANS choose to use the word loosely and it Has become an epidemic. Bottom line if we teach our kids to change their views on what they hear in the streets and teach them the right and the wrong way we can have a fighting chance to eliminate most of the stereo types that are placed on people of color, race, or creed.

Answer 10

Now that is a complex question!

If you said "African" then they would be not considered American, assuming that they are American to begin with.

Hence, "African-American".

Of course, I am American and I call myself Rromani, but then Rromani is not an actual "nationality"... it is an ethnicity. If you went with the nationality from whence your parents hailed, I would be "Romanian-Rromani-American" and I do not want to say all of that!

If you did away with the word Black, what would you replace it with, unless you wanted the appelation "African-American"?

Keeping up with PC jargon makes my brain bleed.

Answer 11

because we dont know what to call you when you refer to race and then we refer to it.We are never right no matter what we say and it makes us racist no matter what. If you say african, they think you are calling them slaves or poor or uneducated, if you say black, they say we are brown and you are discriminating. Just pick one name and go with it. I dont get offended when people call me white or cracker or caucasion or whatever the hell you want to call me. So please, inform us on what you would like to be called. I am not a racist yet if you call yourself a black person and then I do the same it is a racist slant because I am white.

We are all people. It doesnt matter the color of your skin or mine. But dont get offended, 99 percent of the people are not meaning any offense.