Black/African Americans (I don't even know which term to use here anymore). What are you views..?

Question

... on the question that was posted earlier today on http://uk.answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=AjefZFeC95cTs7Md8Un1Y9tbLxV.;_ylv=3?qid=20070928062137AAkAkI4

Now my question is should we Africans stop calling ourselves black because other peoples from the Carribean and the United States call themselves black sometimes? And what do I answer people who categorise me as black in the country where I live? Are people like Oprah Winfrey and Stevie Wonder wrong for visiting Africa? What about the small number of Jamaicans that have settled in Ethiopia? What's your take on that? And lastly my parents'/our neighbour in Africa who is an African American (who comes and goes)? Is he totally crazy for coming? What do you want to be called? And I'm asking you because others might have difficulty in not mixing politics and hidden agendas in this question.

Excelle, I get the part where you said you've been told Afrcans don't like Black/African Americans. We've been told the same thing too, that you don't like us because you think we are very poor. I told my black friends here (2 from the U.S and one from Peru) and they said they were shocked and laughed the matter off. The same applies to people from the horn of Africa (Somalia, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Djibouti), we've been told they don't like us because many of us are full blood Africans while they've been told we don't like them because they sold out by mixing with other groups. Anyway I always remind myself that relationships are very difficult especially because human beings have different personalities. I find that when you remind youself of that fact then your tolerance level and patience goes up and there's more room for understanding than finding fault with each other.

Answer 1

I don't know i never thought about it I just call myself black and mark african american when ever needed it does not matter to me my grandfather (maternal) in mixed his mom my (great grand mother) is indian white and his dad was black. and the same thing on my dads side. so my blood is all mixed up but I still claim black and so does my parents African American it does not matter its all the same people view you all the same

Answer 2

I've never referred to myself as "African-American." I am an American who is black. My black family had been the US for hundreds of years so I have no practical ties to Africa. If there are no time constraints, technically speaking, white Americans could call themselves African-American as every human being can, ultimately, trace their origins to Africa. My great-grandfather (the only non-American in my family of recent history) was from Scotland and he married my half English great-grandmother but I wouldn't refer to myself as Scotish-American (or, egads, Anglo-American). Furthermore, Africa is a huge continent with many different cultures, languages and lifestyles so saying that you're African-American really doesn't mean anything since you can't claim kinship with a continent (Australians being the obvious exception).

Additionally, unless they're first or second generation, Asians, whites and Latinos have no business hyphenating themselves either.

Answer 3

Come on now people, grow the hell up!! This petty racism and blatant discrimination is childish. To attempt to answer your question let me say that it all depends on how each person wants to be classified. The term African American is tricky. We (in the US) are descendants of those slaves brought over from Africa during slavery. To drop the African part denies our heritage and the American part comes from our ancestors who built this country since the Europeans were just too lazy to do it themselves. You can call me Black or African American, I really don't care. Those are silly classifications, I am human, I am a woman, and I am done!

Answer 4

I'm black. there are African-Americans here. there's a difference, you know. i guess you could be black African since there are white Africans. people that aren't black think that all black people, no matter where we come from, are the same anyway. Oprah and Stevie can go wherever the hell they want; they got the money. just call people what they want to be called, i guess that's the point.

Answer 5

well i think none of us should use the term black. Italian Americans, Mexican Americans, Chinese Americans all get to keep ties with their countries in their descriptions but we just get "black"? unfortunately many of us "blacks" don't really know what country of origin our family came from so African American may not fit either. however i would rather be called African American than "black." but i do have mixed feelings because some of the Africans i have met said that in Africa they don't like us "blacks" in America. whatever you call yourself at least you know for sure your nationality and your culture.

Answer 6

Wow, I think that is so much for my head to take in, we are all just human, we are all just people. Period.

Beacuse if we begin to ask our selves all those questions we will also ask them and think about them of all the people we meet and this will cause racism to be on the rise so lets all just see each other as people like children do they do nto ask each other are you black or white or are you balck or black american unless they get it from grownups.

African is from africa and you can be black from Africa or white from Africa or colored from Africa or yellow from Africa. In the same way you can be black and from America or black from Asia or black from Europe. Lets pull down all these barriers. It is up to us.

African Galore
http://www.africangalore.com

Answer 7

Well.. I call myself... Both.. Even though I am very light skinned and I was born in America... People think I'm Latino or something like that...But yeah I rather be called Black-American because I know nothing of Africa.

Answer 8

we should call ourselves black.period.
we are the same world over,essentially,and I personally have not heard the term "african american" used in my conversations with fellow blacks,I only hear it from white folks
reply to nyni;
We could call ourselves "people" but what is the first question you will get after someone asks you about another btw was it a white or a black person?
American soceity is fueled by classificationof people,if you say we are all "American",people will still always want to quantify what kind of American you are,no soceity can be color blind,I,m sorry this might be a shock to all those(mostly whites)who have good intentions when they say"just call yourselves Americans,you people are dividing yourselves"

Answer 9

I like to be called African American in professional situations, and black in normal conversation

Answer 10

Why can't we all just be Americans instead of dividing ourselves into group classifications. I hate to say it, but that may be one of the biggest problems in this Country. We should just be Americans, equals, brothers and sisters of this great Nation, I mean we are a big melting pot, aren't we?