I've noticed that people always call black people "african americans" even if their family has been in America for multiple generations (though I have seen more black people saying to just say black people now instead) but white people are just "white people" and not "european americans" even if they have recent ancestors who were immigrants from europe. Why?
Edit: I'm not saying that anyone should or shouldn't be called African American or European American.
Edit: Typo
I called a Jamaican person African American once because I didn’t know the difference and he got really pissed off about it.
So I just say black now even though school spent a lot of years telling me that was wrong.
Great example of why that term is outdated
I had a friend in college (in the US) whose family was from Trinidad but immigrated to Canada. People would call him African American and he'd be like, "I'm neither African nor American!"
I served in the US Army with a white South African dude who emigrated to the US. We all liked to call him an "African American", and he loved being referred to as such. Mostly because it's technically correct in that guy's case, and it also points out the absurdity of that term.
Charlize Theron is also “African American”
So is Elon Musk. 🤣🤣🤣
And Dave Matthews
and my friend Greg.
Honorable mention for Greg! 🍻
And my axe!
Old Gregg?
gregtech???
I new a guy in high-school whose parents came here for work from south africa and on all his job applications he'd always check African American. He thought it was a funny ice breaker in interviews and said was a test if the boss had a sense of humor.
Indeed. A dear (White) friend of mine was born in the DRC, so she is, technically, African American. 😄 Also knew another White woman that was born in Niger and French is her first language.
African Americans refers to a specific type of Black person, the descendants of slaves that were brought to the United States.
My parents are Liberian and me and my brothers were born here, I’m not African American. Same thing for the child of Haitian parents or Jamaican parents, we aren’t descended from the slaves brought to America. Respectfully were Liberian American, Haitian American and Jamaican American.
For the most part, the descendants of American slaves can’t trace their country of origin because of slavery. Hence the term African American.
We don’t use European American because most Europeans would go by the country of origin, like Italian American. And European descended Americans are usually just called White or American
He's a Trini to d bone🇹🇹🇹🇹🇹🇹 lol but it is annoying to be called African American when I'm neither African nor American
That would frustrate the hell out of me, oh man.
As a tangent: I once had one of my old friends call a group of black people "colored" people.
I don't think she did it out of spite or racism, and was just super misinformed. I politely corrected her, mentioning that we haven't used that descriptor since like, 1972.
Except for the NAACP?
I guess? I had realized they were still called that, huh.
But Trinidad is in America? Just because it's south America doesn't mean it's not America right? Or is/was African American a term only for black people from the US?
I'm sorry if this is ignorant I'm not from America and don't really know these details.
Edit: I understand now because Canada is also on the American continent so American in this context is definitely from the US. Man why couldn't the US use a different term for their people.
In English, the term "American" without qualifiers means "from/of the United States of America". References to the regions/continents are qualified as "North America", "South America" or "Central America", with references to the region as a whole being "the Americas". I know this doesn't make sense, but various historical factors resulted in the terminology developing that way.
One could use the term incorrectly and insist that it's right, but language is based on consensus, not logic, and the consensus is already established.
why couldn't the US use a different term for their people.
The US is the only country with "America" in its name, it's mostly that. There's not another demonym that works.
I feel like it’s not even outdated, just incorrect as there have always been black people that are neither African nor American
A girl I know referred to a man from France as "the African American french guy" 😂
Someone yelled at me once trying to shame me for calling a black person black instead of African American. I did ask her then what would she call someone from Jamaica or Haiti. She acted like *I* was being an asshole, lol. She was a narcissist though, so...
Too bad narcissism doesn’t endow intelligence. Dumb narcissists are the most annoying things in the world.
Right behind untrained chihuahuas.
She thinks she is super smart too. But also she types on a keyboard using two fingers, can't spell, and can't do math.
When one tries to find happiness only in themselves, usually it means there is no-one in the world for them to get it from. Humans are desperate things.
There’s nothing wrong with “black”.
It's fascinating because Black or White are cool.
But if you call someone Brown, Red, or Yellow that's not.
When I was an intern, one of the designers on our team got the other two interns confused. I said, "Lucas is the Brown one".
She looked shocked, which was funny because I'm also Brown... and she was Black.
That's funny because where I'm from it's common for South Asian people to identify as and be referred to by others as Brown, so I guess it's a regional thing if it's considered offensive. But calling someone Red or Yellow would definitely still be considered offensive.
I don't think brown is offensive
I want to reclaim Yellow gosh dang it. I'm not Asian, I have never lived in Asia. My skin colour is yellow.
Uh, have you been checked for jaundice?
my sister had it, but yeah she's good now.
Just like Europeans aren't snow white, and Africans are pure black, we are a slight golden tone.
My cousin is half Jamaican on his dad’s side but his dad’s mom is half Egyptian and half Korean and his dad’s dad is Jamaican Cuban. But then on his mom’s side (which is how we’re related) we are Norwegian, English, and Polish.
So if you call him Asian it’s true, if you call him African it’s true, if you call him American it’s true, if you call him European it’s true, if you call him Latino it’s true! If you call him black it’s true and if you call him white it’s true. He is literally everything lmaoo
Origin: Earth. Ultimate Earthling.
I love how schools taught us that it was a terrible thing to and describe people as, despite it being the most neutral term (and in most cases prefered)
Now that's just some classic white people shit
Vanity Fair called Idris Elba “African American”. He was born in Hackney.
As an Aussie living in Europe, I find it really hard to understand why you would call a Jamaican an African american?
I lived my earlier years in a place where i didn’t know any black people, but i learned in elementary school that the “proper term” was “African American” and that “black” was outdated like “colored”.
I just took that as true and never questioned it until my teenage years when this event occurred. This was all before the internet became a household thing, so it’s not like I could just ask Reddit back then.
At the risk of being that guy, isn’t Jamaica in North America?
I can’t speak for Jamaica but that one particular guy sure didn’t like it
Technically, it is, but it's in the Caribbean. They're 500 miles away from mainland North America and would need a passport to travel off the islands. That doesn't really make someone feel included in a region.
I don't think anyone really considers them part of North America from a casual standpoint.
I had a Black professor mention exactly this topic - the fact that we say "African American," "Asian American," etc., but not "European American" implies that a European American is the "default" and others are lesser than.
Not to mention "African American" technically includes Elon Musk.
I had a Black professor mention exactly this topic - the fact that we say "African American,"
It's important to understand that the term "African American" originated because most of the Black People in the US were descended from slaves, and thus had no way of knowing their cultural roots (because, y'know, their culture was forcibly stripped from them by slavers and slave owners).
Obviously, this situation has changed thanks to things like the increase in immigration leading to more Black People in the US who weren't descended from slavery, but it's still important to understand why the term "African American" originally existed.
Isn't it more that, historically, European Americans knew where their ancestors came from, but African Americans didn't? Until genetic testing came along, at least.
European Americans could thus be more specific by using qualifiers such as Irish American or Italian-American etc. Whereas an African American wouldn't have been able to verify if they had Ghanaian or Nigerian ancestors until much more recently.
Does not having the term European American mean that others are “lesser than”? I’m wondering because if I ever came across someone who described themselves as “European American”, I’d probably think maybe they’re the kind of person who unironically says things like “We created the Roman Empire” and fantasizes about blood eagling their enemies
Well, who hasn't briefly entertained the thought of pulling someone's lungs out.
Valid point, but I fail to see how not being the "default" implies "less than."
I think the idea could be summarized as an unspoken implication of "We can just be called Americans, but they need to be called something else."
It means that a white person is just a standard/typical American, but anyone else is either “African” or “Asian” American which is hilarious, because Asian black or white we’re all immigrants. Only native Americans are true natives.
As a black person that has been to Africa and with ancestors from Africa, black fits more. The culture is just so incredibly different that's it can be hard to identify fully with them
I think that's the point of the term though, in that you know your ancestors are from Africa but you're not sure which part of Africa. The term isn't saying you are part of any individual African culture, it's stating that you have a shared culture with other Black Americans whose African ancestors were affected by the slave trade. Not that you share a direct culture of today's African countries.
From a NYT article in 1989 when the term was becoming popularized:
A movement led by the Rev. Jesse Jackson to call blacks African-Americans has met with both rousing approval and deep-seated skepticism in a debate that is coming to symbolize the role and history of blacks in this country.
The term, used for years in intellectual circles, is gaining currency among many other blacks, who say its use is a sign that they are accepting their difficult past and resolving a long ambivalence toward Africa.
The term has already shown up in the newest grade-school textbooks, been adopted by several black-run radio stations and newspapers around the country and appeared in the titles of popular books and in the conversations of many blacks as they warm to the idea and speak of visiting Africa one day.
For many, the issue is already settled, not only in their minds but in their hearts. ''Whenever I go to Africa,'' said Roger Wilkins, a senior fellow at the Institute for Policy Studies, ''I feel like a person with a legitimate place to stand on this earth. This is the name for all the feelings I've had all these years.''
Mr. Wilkins's feelings are not shared by all. Skeptics, many of them older blacks who have lived through previous name changes, are resisting the move. Some say they do not identify with Africa and resent prominent blacks telling them what to be called. Others fear that the debate over a new name draws attention away from problems like unemployment and drug abuse.
Leaders of the movement to change the language say it was concern about those problems and growing involvement in the fight to end racial separation in South Africa that led to the search for a clearer group identity.
They say they want to shift the definition of the group from the racial description black to a cultural and ethnic identity that ties the group to its continent of origin and fosters dignity and self-esteem.
''This is deeper than just name recognition,'' said Mr. Jackson who, along with others, called for the change at a news conference in late December. ''Black tells you about skin color and what side of town you live on. African-American evokes discussion of the world.''
That’s how I am, I prefer to be called black and not African American.
This right here. My dad is from Liberia and my mom is Cherokee/Choctaw. I look more black than anything but I was raised in an African immigrant community. I will tell you that SOME American black people will treat you different for being African. Growing up I was met with straight bigotry by some (being called “African booty scratcher”, etc.)
America treats ethnicity/race topics very incorrectly, just as incorrectly as they teach the history of slavery.
It's ironic, and a shame, because many African immigrants look down on African Americans and treat them differently. It's not uncommon to hear African immigrants who come to America and don't want their kids to marry African Americans because they are seen as not good enough. To have the goal to move back to whatever African country they came from because America "isn't a place to a raise a good 'x culture' family". That they hate being associated with African Americans because they are "ghetto" and their cultures people aren't "ghetto".
Both situations happen unfortunately and the communities aren't as pleasant at all times to each other as people would assume.
When I worked at the airport I made friends with a African man named lucky and he told me he hated black people. Because they are too loud an ghetto. It was jarring and I couldn't help but to laugh because he was a very dark man. But him and a few other African people I have met really do/ did have that belief.
The standard now is to call black people, black people. There are so many POC that have no relation to Africa, so it makes more sense.
In my experince some africans dont accept us african amercans as decendets of the african heritage. Some good, some really mean. I personally do perfer being called black. Im american. My family as far as we can trace it back is about 250/300 years old. So i am american thru and thru, and dont identify with africa. Just dont call me N-word unless we close.
Didn’t Raven Simone recently say in an interview that she doesn’t identify as ‘African American’ and just identifies as ‘American’ and people lost their shit over it claiming racism.
Edit: it happened in 2014 but I saw the clip resurface recently
I've been roasted by every black friend I've had any time I've ever fucked up and said African American. Ymmv of course.
We were taught in the 90s and 2000s that "black" was pajorative and therefore it was more respectful to call black folks "African Americans"
Naturally, black people were not involved in this decision
I’m not American but I’m half-African and wouldn’t it just be potentially confusing? Like if a Nigerian woman immigrates to the US. She isn’t “American”, she’s just a Nigerian black woman living there. Or Black Canadians. It feels really presumptuous.
Well, she would be Nigerian American. She and her ancestors were not affected by the African slave trade and forced to be in America, so African American would not be the term for her. But Nigerian American would be since she knows exactly which African country she is from and she doesn't share the history of African Americans.
Elon Musk is truly African American.
Lmao
The two "black" families were close with: one is Sri Lankan, the other is Mongolian. So that's Asia, not Africa...
Yeah it sounds like a phrase made up by white people
I particularly dislike the fact it sounds like a caveat. White people are “American”, but black people are “African American” rather than just “American”?
The caveated phrasing makes it sound like they aren’t “proper” Americans but rather immigrants who’ve just arrived and haven’t integrated yet
It maybe makes sense to caveat first-generation immigrants, maybe second generation where there’s still a lot of culture from the first generation…. But after a few generations the caveat isn’t necessary, they were born and raised American
Same.
" I grew up in Kansas, General. I'm about as American as it gets. " Famous quote from a movie. Should apply to anyone regardless of the color of the skin.
lot of Black people in the US feel that the word "African American" doesn't really fit them
Me! I'm not African. I'm black, and I'm American.
Its just so confusing because they call everyone black of african american when its not true, because not all people are from america, or neither from africa.
Thanks for capitalizing the b in black. Most folks don’t know you’re supposed to capitalize the b in black when you’re referring to people or culture.
Definitely! It's the culture. On top of that, it's been the journalistic standard (according to AP) ever since 2020, I believe.
Also, it doesn't necessarily have to mean a POC. Remember, technically Elon Musk is African-American
To be fair, a lot of Black people in the US feel that the word "African American" doesn't really fit them.
"A lot" in this sentence is 17%, the same number who prefer to be called African Americans. The majority, 58%, say it doesn't matter, either term is fine.
Among that 58%, a slight preference for "black" emerges if you insist that they have to choose one, but it's slight, only 52% to 44%.
I’m Asian American. I can count the number of generations to trace my ancestors back to Asia. It’s one generation. How many generations does an African American need to go back to trace their ancestors in Africa?
African American in this context doesn’t mean the same thing, it refers to the culture of the people who descended from African slaves. Their ancestors all came from different parts of Africa, but because they were stripped of their cultural identities when they were brought to America, they developed a new shared culture in America that has been passed down to the black people of America today, those people are called African American
This makes sense. When someone mentions "African American culture" talking in this sense I definitely don't think that they should say "Black culture" exactly. But if I were describing any black folks outside of that context just referencing their skin color then I'd just say they were black and not refer to them by their culture unless it was context appropriate, if that makes sense.
Just to add to your comment. I'm African American, but my culture isn't exactly similar to all other Black Americans.
For example, my Nigerian American friends, who are Black, have a different shared upbringing compared to my African American friends when it comes to schooling. My AA friends families pushed them to do well in school but the expectation was that they graduate and maybe go to college. My Nigerian American friends all had families that pushed them to not just pass, but be the top of their classes. It wasn't enough to graduate, they needed to take honor classes and grow up to be in high paying fields.
Even food. Their families cooked them traditional Nigerian food as often as they could, while my AA friends had standard American food along with soul food and Caribbean food instead at home.
Another major thing is who they can (well should) marry. They need to marry other Nigerians or at least another African person, but to marry a Black American seemed to be looked down upon. They can date whoever they want but when they are serious about settling down, it needs to be an African person.
We all share in the Black American experience and some subcultures between that, but the culture of African Americans and other Black Americans aren't nearly similar where you can say that all Black Americans share the same culture, as they don't.
Not sure why this isn't top comment as you've definitively answered OP's question.
Sometimes it's more comfortable to misunderstand.
Truth but even now there are many other Black people that are not from that line. Hence Jamaican's. I once called a friend of mine Mexican. I was quickly corrected as Puerto Rican. Point is, it only matters to the individual you are speaking to.
Among my many Black friends and acquaintances over the years, One lady advised me not call another man "boy". I didn't understand why. I was commenting the "Man" as "He was one hard working boy". So she advised not to call him "Boy". We talked on and I asked why. She explained that in her younger years when Black we're not treated fairly in this country that the term boy was used often as a derogatory short of just saying the racist word. I was dumb to this.
So it really depends on who you are talking to. We come from many cultures us Earthlings. Just because I'm white doesn't rectify my heritage. I have Cherokee blood but you would never know it unless it's summer. I'm not so white then. Lol.
Well, it's understood in America that Black does not mean African American. All African Americans are Black, but not all Black people are African American. You're right, there are many other Black people that are not from that line, but the name isn't for those people.
As you said, it depends on who you are talking too. Can't make any assumptions without context of who the person is and their heritage.
adding to this: because of erasure of their culture & identities, most descendants of slaves don’t know where they came from in africa.
we don’t say ‘european american’ because americans with european ancestry often know and specify the country/countries they’re from.
Exactly! That’s why Charlize Theron and Elon Musk aren’t African Americans. It’s exclusively a term for Black Americans.
Plus, people tend to just say Black now.
This answer is so succinct it made me face palm all the clumsy answers like “um actually they don’t like being called AA” huh I wonder why being snatched from your homeland and put somewhere else and then bullied makes a person wary of that title
Most “European Americans” are able to narrow their ancestry down to specific countries. “African Americans” were robbed of that knowledge for the most part. Not only that, but their ancestors weren’t in charge of Africa’s borders for a long time due to colonization
Is that true? The European Americans knowing their ancestry part I mean. I don't think I know that many people who are obviously from a specific country. Most have generic last names and lack things like red hair to distinguish them. I mean if they have a region specific name or features sure, but it just doesn't seem to matter to most people. I brought this up with some people the last time I heard this claim and only a couple actually seemed to know. And they were into genealogy, so it made sense. I could narrow mine down with a blood test, but I really just don't care which country some ancestor of mine came from. I think the Millers, Bakers, and Smiths of the world are likely similar.
In my experience, even the Millers and Smiths of the world usually know exactly what their great great grandparents did for work, what European country they came from, how many kids they had etc. Even knowing information from a few generations back is a luxury a lot of black people in America don’t have as a direct result of slavery.
Maybe that's a generation or regional thing then. It's definitely not common where I am, at least among the people I'm comfortable talking about that with. A couple did, but unless they have names like, say, Lorenzo or Dietrich for meaningless examples then they mostly didn't know or care. This goes from teens to millennials. First or second generation Americans? Sure, there's still a strong cultural history there. For everyone else? Not so much. Maybe their parents knew. Maybe my social group is weird. But I can't help but feel that it's a bit of a myth that most white Americans have a strong sense of their European country of origin.
But they still have their passed down last names. There are plenty of black folk who simply took on new names (think Freeman or even just the name of the Slave owner) that they passed down completely erasing their history.
It's not just knowing where your ancestors stemmed from, it's also the fact that you were affected by the African slave trade and forced to be in America. Your history is not the same as a White American whose ancestors immigrated to America and can find their ancestors country of origin. African Americans can't do the same because there is no such records as slaves didn't need to be tracked in such a way.
Most Asian Americans are able to narrow their ancestry down to specific countries; the term "Asian American" is nevertheless very common.
Quick story from a white guy
When I was on active duty, I referred to a sailor as a black man in front of an officer (an African American woman).
She ended up pulling me aside to explain to me that my behavior was considered racist. I responded, "I respectfully disagree." I did my best to explain that I happened to know that this individual was born and raised in Philadelphia and I did not know of where his ancestors were from so I did not feel that it was fitting to assume that he would prefer me assuming his family is from Africa. I agreed that I would refer to her as an African American since she expressly told me that was her preference, but would not make assumptions with other people with similar skin color.
She ended up routing it up to our CO (it was a small command). The CMC ended up talking to me about it (also black). She ended up laughing and told me that she agreed, but it would be better to avoid the issue altogether if possible.
One of the guys that I went through boot camp with once told me that he sometimes felt offended when people just assumed people were African American. He was born in Africa and found it hard to understand the blanket terminology applied to anyone with dark enough skin.
I can't say that I understand completely, as I lack the melanin to live through the experience as a black American, but he helped me understand how it might be a little silly to make assumptions about someone's lineage by the color of their skin.
Edit: spelling + grammar
In a similar vein British celebrities frequently get very annoyed at US interviewers when mistakenly referred to as African American.
The historical precedent for the term "African American" was "to give descendants of American slaves and other American blacks who lived through the slavery era a heritage and a cultural base."
As a demonym, it can refer to both one's nationality and recent ancestry. A person is an "African American" if they are born in the United States (nationality) and can trace their roots to the west African diaspora of the transatlantic slave trade (recent ancestry).
That's why recent Nigerian immigrants in the U.S. are often referred to as "Nigerian Americans." Many Ethiopians and Somalis living in the U.S. often don't identify as "culturally black" (in the mainstream American sense), or even as "African American."
Cmon, Americans endlessly tell you they’re Italian-American, Irish-american, Dutch, German, yadda yadda.
Here it's only if they only recently moved here or we are specifically speaking about ancestry. Lots of us have no clear specific ancestry in Europe. Also, Africa isn't a country.
most black Americans don't know their country of origin. Cause slavery.
Seriously... I'm native American. I was born in America. I'm not anything other than American.
Because being white is the default race in America.
We denote the persons ancestral origin and then hyphenated "American" to all non white people.
Chinese-American, Mexican-American, Pakistani-American, you name it, but if their ancestors originated from a white looking country, then they are just white.
The only white people who are specified by the specific country they come from are first generation and likely still have an accent that separates them from the other whites in America. If someone has Irish ancestry but their family has lived in America for the last 3 generations, that person is just white. If you are speaking to someone from Ireland who has lived in America for a long time but still has an Irish Accent, they'd likely be referred to as Irish or Irish-American. But if their children were born in America and didn't carry their parents accents, they'd be referred to as white.
Before anybody panic and think I'm saying it's a good thing that white people are considered the default race, I'm not. I'm a black and mexican person. I'm just pointing out what I see.
Correct. Even after physically leaving Europe, people couldn’t escape Euro-centrism. So, the only people who get labels are non-Europeans because being of European descent is seen as the default.
That’s not at all how it worked there were many white people that were looked down on Irish, Italian, Jews and so on. Hell it’s still true with Hispanic/latino people are just white but from Spanish origin
I'm biracial and half my family is white and the other half is Native American. The white side of my family has several generations that were born in the mid-western/southern area of the United States so unless someone in that family did a deep genealogy dig, nobody knows where in Europe they specifically come from. The only accent my mom's side of the family have is the mid-west American accent. They consider themselves just white as a result.
I consider myself Native American because I have brown skin and look Native American. Culturally, I say I'm white though because I was raised by my white mid-western grandmother and any Native culture has been eliminated through colonialism and generations of abuse.
Majority is the default mathematically. It's not even something that demands subjective judgement. If you snorkel and 80% of the fish are silver, and you have to describe one to someone you say "I saw a fish." If 13% of fish are blue fish, it might be more informative to describe it as a "blue fish" given its novelty against a backdrop of predominantly silver fish.
It still has some use in studies as it helps you separate those descended from slaves, and thus suffer from the legacy of that with many in poverty from more recent groups such as Nigerian-Americans who are one of the highest earning immigrant groups that also frequently are near the top for college graduation rates.
African American was chosen as the politically correct term, at least at one point.
My partner is black and that's his preferred term.
The most ridiculous thing I ever heard was a BBC broadcaster talking about black people in the UK who referred to them as African American
I've never once heard anyone from Britain refer to themselves as African American, while I have seen several British people get pretty annoyed when Americans refer to them as such.
Isn't it just because for a lot of them they dont know their actual roots? So they just point to their continent of origin. Meanwhile, most "european americans" can trace where their ancestors emigrated from.
So if they know where they are from they should call themselves German-American, Frech-American, etc. right? But they call themselves just white. That's what OP is asking.
people already do this, we all know those "Irish-Americans" who were born in Alabama lol
The number of "italian" Americans I know is many and they proudly state their heritage. They do not just call themselves white.
lol yea lot of them call themselves that.
It's because people from European descent tend to identify with a specific country because they know where their ancestors came from. Irish, Italian, German, Polish, etc.
Many Black folks don't know which country in Africa their ancestors came from, so they can't say they're Nigerian American or Kenyan American etc.
Is this just an American issue? Do Europeans just refer to themselves from wherever country they live at the moment? I’m from Mexico and we have very white skinned and black skinned people but we just call ourselves Mexican, regardless of where are ancestors are from. I have Spanish ancestry but I don’t call myself Spanish Mexican. My friend has African ancestry but doesn’t call himself African Mexican. We all just call ourselves Mexican
In the UK it’s much more common to just say black, African British isn’t a thing. My black friends would give me a weird look if I ever said that.
This is a result of oppression that Blacks experienced that other groups coming to the USA did not experience.
African Americans had their ancestry wiped clean during the oppression of slavery. So there is no ability for these peoples to go back and identify their tribe, nation, or other ancestral information. Compare this to those who descended from Italian, Greek, Irish, or other populations, who suffered discrimination, but they still had the ability to know their families, and know which 'old country' was theirs.
I think American works in both cases.
There is a group of people who are descendants of slaves or who look enough like descendants of slaves and who endure and have endured long running severe and systemic discrimination. Lately they’ve been called African Americans but the terms change over time. You can’t read too much into the exact term of the day
Wait until you realise how stupid the racial use of "Latino" in the US is...
I work in a school. Walked into the teacher’s lounge and there were two white women in there discussing the lack of teachers. They saw me and asked “you have the new African American teachers with you, right?”. I’m a bit cheeky, so I reply with “idk if they are African but they are black women.” They got very uncomfortable and stayed quiet.
I walked back to my class and I told my coworkers the story. They both laughed and laughed. Because neither of them liked being called African American. They prefer black.
It’s a case by case topic. I have noticed that older people prefer African American, while younger folk prefer black.
I’ve been told countless times that it’s better to say black Americans because African Americans negates the fact that black people have been in this country just as long as white people
The terms “Irish American”, “Italian American” and “German American” are fairly common. It makes more sense to be specific about the part of Europe you are talking about, rather than just saying “European American”. However, the reason that black people use the blanket term “African American” (despite the fact that Africa is a huge continent with many different ethnicities) is precisely because most African Americans are unaware of their specific African heritage. This is particularly true for those who descend from African slaves.
I do, I’m awkward like that :)
Swedish take: we never ever say African-Swede. It's darkskinned or black, the former seemingly being used more.
We can call people Swede-Iranian or Swede-Afghani, bit that's more recently, in my opinion. And mostly to 2nd and 3rd generations immigrants. Mostly, we'd just say "born in another country" or "immigrant"; but just up to the point that they've successfully integrated in the Swedish society (speaks Swedish, go to Swedish schools/jobs etc) then they're Swedes or if they prefer eg Swede-Iranian.
Because in the past that’s what polite people were told to say if they didn’t want to be offensive.
Terms change with each passing generation.
My Pops used to say it’s cus we didn’t fuck with America like that, America didn’t fuck with us and it was a way to remember who you were. It was along the lines of you were black in the womb before you even hit American soil. I think now it’s interchangeable, I don’t mind African American or Black because they both describe me enough
Black Americans were stripped of their cultural heritage and ethnicities by the bondage of slavery. “African-American” is just one of the many, many terms that’s been used to identify their specific post-slavery cultural identity.
Some of those terms are derogatory now but maybe weren’t at the time, some were always derogatory, and others have just lost fashion.
“African American” has largely fallen out of favor because it’s frequently less correct than just saying “black”.
I've most often said black, and not in that hushed tone racists use not to out themselves usually accompanied with a hateful facial expression. I think the hyphen was to show inclusion in America but it's going to take a shit load more than a hyphen. Less talking more action.
I've always thought the hyphen indicated a 2nd class citizen. I'll call you what ever you want me to, but you're going to have to tell me because I'll just say black, just like you would say white. Not a damn thing wrong with it as far as I'm concerned. You may have a different opinion.
The short answer is simply that the people in the USA who identify as Black (not you, Rachel Dolezal, sit down) are descended of people who were brutalized, murdered, and kidnapped for the be purposes of being sold into slavery as human industrial tools, live-in servants, and otherwise farming equipment (still human beings, just subjected to inhumane treatment, being treated as things instead of people) while knowing that, at a bare minimum, their ancestry coalesces into a demographic of people who are one time lived in Africa before unspeakable evils were carried out against them. There would be more country/nationality/ethnicity specific identities had the knowledge of their own family/cultural/ethnic history not been unjustly erased by genocidal monsters(see: colonizers)
Being from Africa and finding themselves in the USA is one aspect of their history that they know for certain because white* Europeans
*the concept of “whiteness” as a racial category was actually created later as a means of class solidarity among wealthy landowning and often human being-enslaving so-called “elites”
The long answer involves a lot of reading about colonialism, imperialism, and the history of the trans-Atlantic slave trade
I hope this helps
If the political correct people would allow us we could reclaim the words white, yellow, black, red which perfectly describes one aspect of peoples appearance. But that will not happen any time soon.
“ADOS” (American Descendants of Slavery) or FBA (Foundational Black American).
It seems like a coincidence to be honest, something without much thought or care. Most white people are fine with white, where as black people have more complex feelings about their race and therefore use both interchangeably depending on their views. Most black Americans are fine with just being called black, but only certain groups of people don’t like being called African-American.
African-American comes from a place of wanting to connect the black slave-descended population of America to a cultural identity. White Americans were just expected to assimilate into “regular” British-American culture. There are some places where white immigrants were so crowded that they do have their own term. In New England you find Italian-Americans and Irish-Americans who are more closely related to immigrant origins and have more cultural ties to it. Famously the midwest used to have a lot of German speakers until WWI when English was established as a part of public education across America.
I am Asian-American. I genuinely feel weird just calling myself Asian since that’s a very broad and unhelpful category that’s not even accurate since I’ve never been to Asia. I’m okay with being called Chinese-American since I’m American but have a lot of Chinese people in my life who greatly influenced me. But I’m not Chinese, and am kind of offended when I’m called “Chinese” because I’ve had people question my Americanness in the past. I can’t speak for black people, I’m just basing this on things I’ve read and heard, but many black people want to have two cultures. They want to be Americans, they’re as loyal to America as most Americans are, but because of their particular history they also want people to acknowledge that African-American culture exists and is worthy of respect. White Americans just don’t seem to have the same issue, I might be wrong but I haven’t seen much evidence of it in recent history. There were times in history where white Catholics faced discrimination and issues, but it’s a relatively short period of time that didn’t have the same drama and impact as other minorities. Though, it’s important that we remember it happened.
People call themself "european" exclusively to say "I'm not american" in US dominated places. I've never said or heard it IRL.
Blacks, or "African Americans" can only claim the continent. Europeans can claim their country of origin.
African American generally refers to black people that are completely American and their families have been there for centuries. They usually don’t know their exact family heritage because slave traders weren’t too worried about tracking their ancestry. For recently immigrated (like past 3-4 generations) European Americans you often hear them referred to by their country such as Italian Americans
And historically white people were considered the “default” or the “normal” or even the “real Americans” so they didn’t have a seperate label (obviously that’s not morally ok but just explaining the history)
African American is a dumb term to refer to all black people that live in the US. Not all black people are African, and if you want to get down to the specifics, EVERY human being has African lineage as that's where we all originated.
I've seen people use "Caucasian" in reference to white Americans, which is wildly inaccurate
Just say "black people" Haiti exists. Yall woke dumbasses. Just treat people like people, it's not that hard, and if you're drawing any attention to race or sexuality, you're doing it wrong
Americans whose greatx6 grandfather came from Ireland will happily claim to have Irish heritage or be "irish-american"
Black people don't have that option, as there is no record of which part of Africa their ancestors were taken from, so they just say African-american
I personally think both are kind of cringe but that's the world we live in
I would think African-american refers to a specific subset of black people, not all black people. If people are using it that way, they're using it wrong IMO.
I don't think European-american has caught on as much but I don't see why it couldn't, as long as it's used correctly. It would refer to one's heritage / family history, not necessarily their race.
I've heard other uses of the "XYZ"-american lable, though - such as asian-american. Again, that's not a replacement for their race (which itself is a nebulous concept), it's referring to their heritage in the context of where they live now.
people always call blank people "african americans"
If anyone is more blank, skin-color-wise, it's us whites, I'm afraid, he he.
There are a significant portion(I'd like to say majority but I don't have the data available to say that confidently) of "African American" people who think that term is dumb and prefer to be called Black. Anecdotally literally all of my black friends prefer it but again I don't have the research. If someone does feel free to drop it
It's 17%, which is actually the same number as those who prefer to be called African American. The majority, 58%, don't care one way or the other. This is from Gallup's most recent polling on the subject. I can't link it because this subreddit hates links, but you'll find it if you just google Gallup African American black preferred term polling.
Among that 58% who say either is fine, a slight preference for "black" emerges if you insist that they have to choose one, but it's slight, only 52% to 44%.
prec
Because of slavery
Our census says "black british" for black people who are British. We don't invoke where they came from generationa ago.
The UK does actually. It takes into account both race and ethnicity, just different ones from America because it has different demographics.
Just for Black people, UK Census takes into account Black African, Black Caribbean and Black other. These are all ethnicities, just as African American is an ethnicity. The main races on the UK census is White, Black and Asian. They actually show that Roma, Gypsy and Arab as all being under White too.
just like some Mexican Americans they have been here longer than most White Americans
Fragility.
Because like many "african Americans" weve never been to Europe. I've got brown hair and a light complexion so my ancestors were either from the island that fucks sheep or the island that doesn't and it worksheet improve my life knowing which.
We say what "they" tell us to say. (And no, I don't know who "they" is, I just know that there is a "they".) There has been fairly consistent shift in terms of what label is acceptable, from Negro to Black to African-American to other things.
I have no problem shifting once it's clear that a particular label is considered offensive, and that applies beyond black and white. That's just part of treating people with respect, which I have no problem doing.
African American is more formal name referring to American black population here but casually, I just say someone is black if I'm describing them to someone. Black is broad enough to refer to dark skinned people from continents other than Africa. White is usually referring to European Americans but just like the term black, it's broad enough include light skinned populations from other continents.
I think in Academia, you see more European American phasing in the literature as well as African American and sometimes more specifically the region one is talking about.
It's also important to note that black people have been called a lot of derogatory stuff since they came over here as slaves so its best to ask what would they like to be described as. I've met some that are like.. "Girl, just call me black, no need to say African-American, that's too long and awkward to use in conversation with me."
I prefer to be called Native American but I have some family members that don't mind being called an Indian. In formal writing, I believe Indigenous or Native American is more appropriate in the States.
This shouldn’t be something to be afraid of asking. Are you worried black ppl will get offended or something lol
I think it's a phrase that, like so many others, is a well-intentioned attempt to include and recognize groups of people, one that will evolve into more appropriate/accurate inclusive terminology over time.
Blank people?
I live in West Michigan and I have a very dutch last name. People bring it up somewhat often.
Cause a bunch of racists didn't want to seem racist and pushed for calling them "African americans" rather than black and promptly started claiming those who don't call them African American are racist.
And yeah their lines can go back pretty quickly to the KKK, so have fun with that info. :)
I now imagine in my lands Netherland. I know u guys think so much of us and call us THE Netherlands. But its Nederland. Netherland. Weird country name though. Super weird. Anyways
Can't imagine saying Afro-Nederlander 🤣 that is really stating I don't see them as Dutch. And never said.
However we all as Hollywood watchers are very used to the term being there. So I get its not that heavily loaded to some. Even us from afar. It seemed also for a while that it was the norm. (How stupid it is that some like me can conclude a bit through movies. But we all ate affected by it to some point)
But separate from the us and thinking about it being used here. It's kinda clear that it's not a message of unity. It's very strange. The country has been build on all people.
It's a whole different beginning then situations we have here with racism. People who came like 40 years ago or so and never learned the language not integrating as religious conservatives being in a liberal country. Racism is never good. I just wanted to highlight how extra insulting the North Americans . Compared to the usual sucky racism. Not saying one type is worse. I wouldn't know.
Racism no matter if from slave ancestry is never good. But people. You as a radical left or centrist or right wing person. You are so so convinced they come for us(or our bathrooms) Or the right wing they are all full of hate and only want see others fall. And yall focus on immigrants. And convinced all science the last decad3 is a lie. Do u even know anything else now? Or just get angry what your personal tweeter tells u to worry about.
We needed a fucking software to start collecting data? We need ai to bring all data together and try to think of a solutio? We couldn't do it ourselves. Oh wait we still don't. We use ai to get rid of an itchy ass.
We are being attacked with information and dehumanising. It's easier to manage for a certain politician. Don't fall into the pattern. Surprise yourself. Life would be so boring if you only stay in the echo Chambers.
End of sudden lecture impulse. That went a total different direction.
Honestly, it’s to create a sense of otherness for black Americans. That’s why the term should just be dropped
Because black people used to be a term to degrade them as humans so a new term was needed.
Words have power and deeper meaning then we realize. It's like we have something called cursed words.
💫
The short answer is because there’s a distinction between an American who’s ancestry is African and an American who’s ancestry is dark skinned native Americans, which most were. Over time, the distinction has blurred but you have “blacks” (particularly in the south) calling Africans “African Americans” since the 18/19th century
And fact of the matter is maybe MAYBE .1 of one percent might have actually been born in Africa The rest are just Americans period. Just like all of us Irish English Scottish decent people born right here in good ole Murica
As a European-American (German and Scandinavian), I have wondered this myself.
When teaching history, I used both terms. In daily life, rarely used either. They're formal designators.
It's much better than saying "blacks" and "whites" or some of the worse terms people used to use.
They think it's rude to say black but it's actually the context that matters not the word
Edited ride to rude
There was a group of people in the 80s, led by Jesse Jackson, who announced that they would now like to be called African American as a way of honoring their land of ethnic heritage in similar ways that some white people do (Irish-Americans, Italian-Americans, etc). The problem is that not all black people went along with it. Many still refer to themselves and prefer to be referred to as black. But typically the people who prefer ‘black’ don’t get offended if you call them African American. But I think some people who prefer African American don’t like being called black. So the safest bet today is to just say African American.
We typically refer to white people as white people or Irish-American, Italian-American, Polish-American, etc. I think African- American is respectful and accurate. They have a heritage, Hitory and ancestry like most Americans who are not Native.
Isn't it obvious?
America or the us as a nation haz been founded by descendants of european ancestry
Immigrants for most of its history have been from europe and they were not only the majority of the population but also the representative in politics and other international events
Therefore it is only logical that white americans are perceived to be the default since the us was founded and represeneted by them
We do. At least smart people do.
As a European American, I'm offended with this terminology.
Personally, I prefer Black over “African-American.”
Most of us don’t have the privilege of tracing our genealogy back to the African continent. Those of us who can are very fortunate. I’m hoping we can all find our origins in full one day.
People can say “Italian-American” or “German-American” or “Japanese-American” because the roots can be traced back to those countries.
Because European descendants are the default Americans having founded the country.
I say European Americans.
It’s mostly just white people terrified of seeming racist. Most black people don’t use the term outside of academia.
I’m pretty sure we can say “black Americans” if they’re not a recent immigrant. Like we say “white”.
Idk.. I just call them Americans
there are european americans??
As a cracker I prefer Caucasian American /j
One of the reasons is because it's a way to designate being a descendant of American slavery as opposed to someone who just arrived from Nigeria or Jamaica or Haiti.
African Americans were born here, we are American.
For African Americans, it does make a difference since, just as Nigerian Americans are not African Americans, neither are African Americans, Jamaican Americans.
Because when Europeans immigrated to America, they able to retain their national origin and cultural identity. They often traveled with other people from the same country, and were able to choose (somewhat) where they went once they got here, and thus who they were with.
Meanwhile, the vast majority of Africans sent over to the Americas on slave ships were not able to do the same. Victims from different kingdoms and tribes were intentionally separated from their cohort and mixed together so that language barriers kept them from formulating escape plans. Once here, they had little to no choice over where they went or who they went with. Even families often couldn't stick together, let alone entire communities.
Because Jessie Jackson made it so, but all honesty it just depends on the person. I think it is a safer option, but not all black ppl in America are AA.
If you think about history it will explain it
We should be.
They don’t like it because it’s a reminder that they’re not indigenous to America. And that there is an indigenous American people. But they’re forgotten and cast aside as an after thought.
We...do.
Italian American, French American, etc.
It’s faster than saying ADOS, African descendants of slaves
Most African Americans don't know which country their slave ancestors were taken from, so they use that term as a catch-all. On the other hand, most White folk know where their ancestors came from - at least the country, if not also the village or city.
To be fair, a lot of Black people in the US feel that the word "African American" doesn't really fit them. I don't say it, I've been informed by the people around me that it's better to just say Black.