Hyphenated Americans

[Jamaal510]

[IMG][/IMG]

[NYC_SKP]

1. Recommended. (nt)

[Shrike47]

2. I think it's up to the individual.

If you identify yourself as 'American', I'm not going to question you.

[Skittles]

3. true

I doubt if I was a murder suspect they'd be looking for a "Norwegian-American" gal

[JustAnotherGen]

7. Love this

Know why? It goes to how people say they want to live in a color blind society. impossible - sooner or later physical descriptions must come into play. It will also determine ones treatment (whether victim or accused) in the criminal justice system.

[dipsydoodle]

4. I'd never had cause that give that much thought being UK.

We don't do similar in the UK. Regardless of parenthood or ancestry if someone is born in England for example they are English. I've never heard of Martin Bashir or Labi Siffre for example being referred to as otherwise

I wiki'd the subject out of curiosity and in this instance it seems to distinguish between use of Afro or African as to whether or not hyphenated

African Americans, also referred to as Black Americans or Afro-Americans, are citizens or residents of the United States who have total or partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/African_American

[JustAnotherGen]

6. Not done in the rest of world

Traveled extensively - in other parts of the world we are looked at as Americans. But here - she is correct. Read her book - The Bluest Eye. Extremely intense but explains how the dominant culture here set up the system of marginalization and us as the "other".

[onpatrol98]

12. I read this book in college.

I should read it again. I read it in an honors lit class. But, that's been so long ago.

[JustAnotherGen]

5. Only Toni!

[Half-Century Man]

8. The last time I responded a phone survey

when they asked my race, I answered "human". There was a long pause.....
I'm now considering "European-American"

The latest the theory I'm aware of states; Homo Sapien Sapien moved into Europe between 80,000 and 40,000 years ago and met Homo Neanderthalus. After picking up some Neanderthal genes, Homo Sapiens lived in Europe until today. So, splitting the arrival estimate in half (60,000) and using 20 years as a term of generation (60,000/20=3000). Would it be too weird to claim I'm a three thousandth generation African American?

[CFLDem]

9. Wait

So now the term 'African American' is not PC anymore?

But I agree with the sentiment- let's overcome racism by not placing a judgement value on it in everyday situations.

Judging people by their actions is much simpler. 👍

[JustAnotherGen]

11. In an ideal world - yes

But that's not the reality . . . Not the one I live in.

[LittleBlue]

10. AA seems less used nowadays

It became the PC thing to say in the 90s but since then it seems to have fallen away in favor of "black", especially since the rise of social media. I wonder how much the use of AA was influenced by whites because it seems most blacks I've read/heard prefer "black".

[onpatrol98]

13. I stopped using it in college.

The term never felt quite right for me. Then in college, I had an American friend who had a baby by an African. Well...that kid was DEFINITELY African American.

Then, I remember someone asking John Kerry's wife something about African Americans. She made some crack about the fact that she was an African American, too. Well, of course she is, but her attitude was kind of stinky about it. The question was clearly in reference to black people living in America.

Finally, an African student told me that you are, whatever you say you are when you're overseas and you're in trouble. He doubted that we'd say we're African American...just American. It seemed silly to him to suggest otherwise.

So...at this point, I've given up.