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mzteris

(16,232 posts)
Sat Feb 11, 2012, 12:26 PM Feb 2012

Some Blacks Insist: 'I'm Not African-American'

-- The labels used to describe Americans of African descent mark the movement of a people from the slave house to the White House. Today, many are resisting this progression by holding on to a name from the past: "black."

For this group – some descended from U.S. slaves, some immigrants with a separate history – "African-American" is not the sign of progress hailed when the term was popularized in the late 1980s. Instead, it's a misleading connection to a distant culture.

The debate has waxed and waned since African-American went mainstream, and gained new significance after the son of a black Kenyan and a white American moved into the White House. President Barack Obama's identity has been contested from all sides, renewing questions that have followed millions of darker Americans:

What are you? Where are you from? And how do you fit into this country?

--MORE--

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/02/05/black-or-african-american_n_1255679.html?ref=fb&src=sp&comm_ref=false#sb=1441333,b=facebook


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seabeyond

(110,159 posts)
2. about a decade ago, talking to a much older woman i had known for a long time,
Sat Feb 11, 2012, 12:35 PM
Feb 2012

her being a texan, me being the liberal young white woman from calif... i said something about african american and she made it very clear to me, she was not from africa, she is from america. was not an african american, and did not want to own that title. i asked, what..... she gave me a real duh moment and said, black.

i use black. she means something to me, and i will take her word. since using black, even though i was very uncomfortable with it at first, i have not had one person address me as using the wrong descript.

so, black it is for me. for this area i am living in, anyway.

brewens

(13,396 posts)
3. I'm approximately half Irish and half Norweigen. My ancestors got here after most
Sat Feb 11, 2012, 12:56 PM
Feb 2012

of the black peoples ancestors. I definately don't have any strong ties to my ancestral homeland or their cultures. Not any more than any other American. I don't even go out on St. Patricks Day.

I understand out family was traditionally Catholic, but thanks to my grandfather leaving home at 13 and marrying a protestant girl, my branch of the family isn't.

I'm not real big on tradition. Learn from history and do what's right and makes sense now. A lot of our traditions were made up by people that didn't even know to wash their hands after they took a crap.

onpatrol98

(1,989 posts)
4. We've had this conversation.
Sat Feb 11, 2012, 02:49 PM
Feb 2012

I think we had this conversation about a month ago. Perhaps two months ago. Either African American or black works for me. I refer to myself as black. I have an American friend who had a child by an African. To me that child is truly African American, and I think that's really cool. It feels somewhat like I'm diluting the term when I use it for myself. Almost as if I'm less than authentic. Because to me, he just seems so special.

I plan on finding out more about my heritage, though. Perhaps I'll feel more strongly about the term if I can find out where in Africa my family originated. Maybe I'll feel more worthy of the term. I felt fine about it, until he was born. Or, at least, I hadn't thought much about it. I felt like a fraud afterwards. Kind of like...why should I identify myself as an African American? I know so little about Africa. But, if I learn more, I think I'll feel better.

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