What's in a name? Plenty for African descendants
Angela Lindsay
It may have been just a subconscious slip or perhaps a deliberate effort to be politically correct. Either way, while covering the riots in France, CNN reporter Carol Lin misspoke when she referred to two black teenagers there as "African Americans."
A more correct reference would have been to call them black Frenchmen or maybe even French-Tunisians, since they were French citizens of Tunisian origin. Lin may not have managed to get her euphemisms right, but she did spark discussions about the apparently still debatable issue over how people of black African ancestry in America are nominally defined. Negroid. Negro. Colored. Black. Afro-American. All of these terms have been used to describe blacks in America.
An acquaintance, who is black, suggested that I consistently use either the term "African American" or "black" throughout my editorials. He stated that people still attach very specific definitions to each term and may be offended by their interchange. Interestingly, a Caucasian man expressed similar sentiments to me, pointing out that white people do not consistently refer to themselves as, for example, Irish-American. The difference with black people, however, may lie in the significance labels have played in our collective history.
Many black people associate very distinct experiences with certain terms such as 'Negro' and 'Colored'. Whereas these monikers were once used by both blacks and whites, hearing them these days would cause most black people to cringe. These terms have fallen out of favor for various reasons, not the least of which being their association to the Jim Crow era and the close relation of the term 'Negro', in particular, to the derogatory term "****." Some social commentators say that the creation of a new moniker functions like a defense mechanism, serves as a source of racial pride, and even acts as an objection of white American society.
Currently, the term African American is the most widely used moniker to describe black Americans. Proponents of the term say it causes them to feel closer to Africa and what it symbolizes for black heritage and history. It also designates a place to which we can relate as a people. Some believed that it increased the status of black Americans because of its parallels with terms for other ethnic groups like "Asian Americans." And for some, such importance is placed on it that they are even offended by the hyphenation of the phrase.
Still, the term is not without its dissenters. Opponents of the term "African American" often view it as pretentious and overly politically correct. They deem it inappropriate as many blacks have never been to Africa, have no relatives there, and are too far removed from the country itself. Some believe that the widespread acceptance of the term by many whites is due to a desire to see blacks like other ethnic groups who came to the United States by choice and to ignore the implications of slavery and the Middle Passage.
And there are even those native Africans who have moved to the U.S. in 20th or 21st century and wish to use them term exclusively to separate themselves from those black Americans who are descendants of slaves. Then, of course, there is the common argument regarding inequity of terminology because "African American" technically includes non-blacks who were actually born in Africa. A popular example includes U.S. Sen. John Kerry's wife Teresa, a white who was born in South Africa. However, she would likely be greeted with raised eyebrows if she were to refer to herself as such.
Along those same lines, critics of the term "black" are quick to point out that it is too general since people of other ethnicities, like champion golfer Vijay Singh, could be considered "black" whereas African American is more specific. They point out that it also ignores the key concept of being an American citizen. Those in favor of "black" point out that the term is more universal, represents an entire Diaspora of who we are, and links us to something identifiable beyond just one continent.
The touchy-feely topic of race relations causes a lot of tip-toeing around certain subjects to the point that it leads to incidences such as Lin's mistake. It is the inevitable result of our society's constant struggle to find less ways to offend people.I can remember a time when the "race" section of a standardized test or application basically included white, black or other. Now the section reads like an ethnic dictionary of our ever diverse society.
Blackness clearly encompasses more than just the stringing together of a bunch of letters. As a friend suggested, we may be better served concentrating on more important titles such as fathers, mothers, and educators. And even if more inventive terms do evolve to identify black people, an individual's truest sense of identity should develop from the inside out.
ANGELA LINDSAY is a Charlotte attorney. E-mail her at lindsaylaw00@yahoo.com.
google... a mans best friend..
I, too, sing America.
I am the darker brother.
They send me to eat in the kitchen
When company comes,
But I laugh,
And eat well,
And grow strong.
Tomorrow,
I'll be at the table
When company comes.
Nobody'll dare
Say to me,
"Eat in the kitchen,"
Then.
Besides,
They'll see how beautiful I am
And be ashamed--
I, too, am America.
to take the more radical approach to this, i do not say i am american, even though my decendents were seeds of Africa blown across the americas i don't consider myself an American, i mean they don't want us to be here and claim american why should we.. but i am proud of my African heritage, call me african, call me black, call me African American. I hate that we must classify eachother by the color of our skin.
I understand where you're coming from, but I feel like Blacks as a people are sewn into the history of this country. I don't feel hardly any connection to Africa. I feel more of a connection to Japan than anything. Overseas, they don't call us African American, we're AMerican.
What's in a name? Plenty for African descendants
Opponents of the term "African American" often view it as pretentious and overly politically correct. They deem it inappropriate as many blacks have never been to Africa, have no relatives there, and are too far removed from the country itself.
Africa's a COUNTRY? Wow, learn something new everyday.
^^^...Basically. I mean, it's just another reason why I'm not trippin over the whole thing. People just group Africans together, and don't take into consideration the different nationalities. I'm an American citizen. Short, sweet, and to the point.
juss to play devil's advocate..juss a lil..
what's wrong w/ lumping?..It's not like when people look at white people, they're like "hey! there goes that Ukranian" (unless they know the individual)..
or, hey! there goes that Viet (they'll prolly identify the person as "Asian"..or if they're ignorant, "Chinese"..
or "yo, the dude was Hispanic"
...I know that within this country, U won't catch me saying "there goes that American!!"...
Africa = Continent..lol
personally, I don't mind being called "African-American" cuz my parents are African. I don't mind black either. (If it's a problem to be identified as "black", we can't call white people "white"...though, I always wondered as a kid, why I wasn't regarded as "brown")
Hmm, for other people of African descent - but not CLOSE African descent - I think black fits best when generalizing (if you don't know the individual's nationality)
