Are people of african desent being unreasonable for wanting to be referred to as african americans?

Question

If you want please state your race. thanks

Answer 1

I think this is a great question.
If you are African, move to American and become an American then yes. It is reasonable to want to be called an African American.

But if you were born in America. No matter what color your skin is, you are American!

Answer 2

White American here. I think they can call themselves anything they want; however, it has changed so many times in the past 40 years that's one wonders what the name should be this week.

I don't think African American is very suitable. Black American, I think is better. I personally know some Africans, but I don't know any people born in Africa who are Black Americans as well.

Answer 3

The original American Indians came from Asia. Everyone else came from somewhere else. The only Americans that should have another country in front of American are those people actually born in another country. By having anther country in front, you are saying " I am in America but I do not really support it". Bad stuff happened to just about everyone's distant relatives, get over it. Stop living in the past. History is a good teacher when we stop living it and move on.

Answer 4

I think there has to be some sort of line, although that's never gonna happen.

I have relatives (by marriage) from South Africa. They were born and raised there, as were their families for almost 4 generations. Their ancestors migrated from England. They have origins of Irish and Scottish blood and recently moved to the US. Does that make them African American if they're looking to get their citizenship? Or does one have to be black???

I think there's wayyyy toooo much PC going on. Why does there need to be specifics about origins? I'm from the Philippines and I have referred to myself as Pacific Islander, or Asian but I'm American. I've never said Asian-American, or Philipino-American. Seriously, when do we arrive a point where I start refering to myself as "SanNicolas -IlocosNorte -LuzonIsland -Philipino -NewJerseyian- American Citizen"

Answer 5

Yes.

African-American is just as silly as European-American or Asian-American, as those would be the equivalents because they're using a continent, not a specific country.

We should all view ourselves as American and focus on our similarities instead of always pointing out our differences.

I'm white, and just as proud of my heritage as they are of theirs. But I don't insist on people calling me Irish American, Scottish American, or European American.

African American isn't even always correct! I had two friends in college that showed me the idiocy of the African American title. Dennis was black and from Canada, married to an American girl. Audrey was white and from South Africa (born and raised) and then married a white American. Technically, her children are TRULY African American, while Dennis' children at most are Canadian American. But when she tried to list her children as such, people had a cow.

Audrey and Dennis were very good friends, btw, so no comments about her being racist because of where she was born and raised. I've met many Americans 20X as racist as her.

Answer 6

I don’t know that they do. For one, white south Africans don’t want to be called African-american. And no one calls north Africans African-american. There are some who may, but whatever. I don’t think it is unreasonable to be called anything. Maybe I want to be called Emperor of the Moon. I just need to be realistic enough to understand that not everyone will call me that, that some people might not know I want to be called that, and that other people don’t care, and it isn’t a disrespect to me.

I don’t refer to black people as african-american for a number of reasons. But, it is another persons right to be called african-american if they want. They just need to respect my right to chose my own language. Obviously I’m not claiming I have the right to be abusive or attack people, that isn’t what I’m talking about here.

It is unreasonable to insist that anyone else do anything because you want them to do something else.

Answer 7

No. I think they just wanted to have a descriptive name that they chose for themselves.

Remember the word ***** is black in the Spanish language and is a slave name, so I guess it was thought why not use the American word for black. Then for pride purposes, it became Black American, and then African American. I think most just want to be considered American, if that is possible.

Answer 8

Not all people of African descent want to identify as African American. For example, I am of African descent but of Caribbean ancestry so I identify as Afro-Caribbean or Caribbean-American. The reason for this is that African American describes a specific culture that developed from the Africans who were displaced to the United States.

My culture, while sharing many of the characteristics of our shared African history, can be significantly different. So I think that African Americans wanting to be identified as the culture that defines them is fine & it is their right to do so. Thier decision to identify themselves does not impede the rights of anyone outside or within the group as it is a self chosen label. Anyone who wishes to identify as something else can.

I also think that it is easy for people to dismiss the need for people to feel a part of a shared identity but given the history of African Americans in this country, I can certainly understand why they have this need. It means something to me when I am surrounded by people who share my history & culture with the knowledge that we share the same title... I would not keep anyone from feeling that shared connection.

Answer 9

Im white and Canadian. I believe that African American's can call themselves anything they want. They are the backbone of that country and the work that their forefathers and mothers did is the stuff that built that nation through slavery. We dont see black and white in Canada, or very rarely. We all don't like muslims.

Answer 10

The descendants of African who have been living and working in America for several centuries deserve to call themselves African American. I am Eastern Asian.