African American or Black American - Which Term is Accurate?
Back to Africa - I Think Not
The problem with the using the word "black" to describe people of African descent is that is not strictly accurate. African people, are brown skinned - although there are some ethnic groups, such as Ghanaians and Sudanese, who have extremely dark skin that could be described as black.
For years I used the term black to describe myself and other Africans, until an old girlfriend of mine, who was white, pointed something out. She said that she found the term "black" offensive. I said, well how would you describe people who originate from Africa, and she said African or African American.
The problem with calling black Americans (my preference), African Americans is culturally they are not African. Black Americans watch American football, celebrate July 4th and Thanksgiving, and take part in rituals such as homecoming and the prom. That makes them American first and foremost. These cultural traits define black Americans, as much as the traits that make me an ethnic Yoruba person, of British and Nigerian extraction.
In my travels around the world I have encountered many Africans in the Diaspora - Caribbeans, black Latinos, black Americans and black Britons. I have even encountered second generation European Africans with Swedish, German, French and Portuguese names. I used to think in Pan-African terms, believing in the idea that if we had the same skin color we would have a certain kinship. That's a noble idea but it's simply not true, if you compare a Nigerian raised in Lagos and a black American raised in Mississippi they will probably have more differences than similarities.
After visiting Zaire, (now known as the Congo) Muhammad Ali said that he was glad that his great-granddaddy caught the boat out of there. Black Americans often have a fuzzy view of Africa, partially due to the myopic American media. They seem to either view Africa, as a black Shangri-La, where they will be welcomed with open arms, or like something out a Tarzan movie. Few black Americans are aware of the depth of the economic, social and political problems racking the continent. A recent New York Times article about black Americans tracing their roots back to Ghana estimates that more Africans have left the continent in the last 15 years than during the slave trade. This time it is a voluntary emigration in search of better economic opportunities.
In reality, Africans and African Americans are not brothers, we are distant cousins. We were once part of the same family, but so much time has passed by that those family ties are threadbare. The development of black American culture, which is a combination of parts of African and Western European culture, has created a new tribe.
This situation often reminds me of a story I did when I worked as a reporter in Oklahoma. I interviewed a man who was the descendant of Scottish immigrants. He told me the town of Glencoe, Okla. was founded by a Scottish clan, who had been forcibly exiled by their kinsmen. As generations went by this exiled clan prospered. And in the late 20th century a clan member traced his roots back to Scotland and used his resources to restore the ancestral home. When he found his distant relatives, who had fallen on hard times, they asked him why he was so proud of his Scottish heritage when life was so miserable for them.
One of the biggest differences in the attitudes of black Americans and African immigrants is their view of America. Many black Americans tend to look at America and see its history of racial oppression and social inequality. Africans who have left behind countries with chaotic governments and few opportunities tend to look at America as a place where they can succeed. As always the truth lies somewhere in the middle, black immigrants learn very quickly that you can succeed in America, but if you have brown skin, you may have to work harder and face more obstacles. After all this is 2006 and we still have not elected a president who was not a white, male Christian.
I would hope that as we move further into the 21st century black Americans could be the guiding light for Africans in the Diaspora. Many black people around the world still look to black Americans for fashion, entertainment and political activism. My paternal grandfather, who was a cook for British colonial workers in Nigeria, decided to educate his children after reading about the exploits of W. E. B. Dubois and Frederick Douglas. The fight to end the apartheid regime in South Africa was modeled after the American Civil Rights movement. Also, rap music has become the voice of the underclass around the world, from the ghettoes of Paris to the favelas of Brazil.
Black Americans and Africans can work together, but like a child meeting a long lost father for the first time, we are going to have to take baby steps. Putting the family back together will not happen overnight.
Manny Otiko is a freelance writer based in Southern California. He also the creator of the comic strip "Ghetto Fabulous." www.gfabtoons.com
Published by G.A. Afolabi
GA Afolabi is a freelance writer based in Southern California. View profile
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14 Comments
Post a CommentI think the problem with the world today is that people love to categorize and put rules on everything...to a fault. I try not don't use catchall phrases like "African American" or "Black American" I have dark skin and was born in America. When someone calls me African American I always correct them. When they ask me what I am, I say something like: "I'm American. My father was from Egypt and my mother was from Louisiana, USA. My mothers parents were both from Nigeria and that's as far as I have traced back on her side and I know very little about my father's background." It's more of a mouthful, but i think it paints a much more accurate picture. I think America (and the rest of the world) needs to get it's head out of the sand and stop trying to organize people like library books.
I agree with the article completely. The term "African American" is vague and often the person claiming to be African American is 3rd or 4th generation American without any ties to Africa or remote knowledge of Africa and it's history and culture. I think Black American, is also a limited term. Why can't American citizens just call themselves American with a primarily (fill in the blank) ancestry when referring to their culture/ancestry???
I agree. I am a Black-American, not African-American. With a father from Jamaica and my mothers parents from Barbados and St.Croix, I have a hard time calling myself African, and leaving out my Caribbean roots. Also, I know nothing about Africa, have never been there, and probably won;t ever go there. The term is ignorant and it takes away from the culture of real African Americans, who can actually name what country in Africa they are from. Yeah I know WAY BACK WHEN my people came from Africa, but I am American born, and my family is from the Caribbean, so I find no need to call all black people African American. It is soo ignorant to call all Black people African American. Stupid Americans will look at a Black person from England and call them African American... Makes NO Sense
The terms 'Black' and 'African-American'
are NOT synonymous; they do NOT refer
to the same groups; and they should NOT
be used as if they are interchangeable.
The 'Black Americans' (BAs) are a 'RACE'
group of the 'Volitional Immigrants' who
are of FULL or MOSTLY 'Black' lineage.
The 'African-Americans' (AAs) are an
'ETHNIC' group of people composed of
'The 'descendants-of-the-survivors' of
the chattel slavery system that took
place on the 'continental' USA in the
antebellum era of the nation's history'
and most are of a 'Tri-Racial' lineage.
They are two (2) entirely different groups
of people; with entirely different histories;
and are composed of people who have
different ancestries, lineages & bloodlines.
.
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=Al5eeK2CFwcv4rD5U5qzvEfty6IX?qid=20070527201834AAIhzhM&show=7#profile-info-CiC2JY9Maa
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=AiebDu.tSshJzQ0wS5fMp7jty6IX?qid=20070623205206AANUzPN&sho
Duh, JonShmaltz, you already are consider European American.
I guess I should start demanding that people call me European-American. It's only fair.
I felt this article was very articulate and well done. I have a few friends that are black, and one (that is litterly an African American,) immigrant from Central Africa. He laughs hysterically at this whole "African American" politically correct refuse, being spouted by some incredibly gullible blacks. I'm a proud German, Irish, and certified, card carrying Cherokee Indian.
But I call myself an AMERICAN, because that is what I am. If you notice, the liberal Democrats are the ones who are screaming we should all be color blind and except each other as equals. But in the same breath, they say blacks are African- Americans. Doesn't this single one nationality out as more special then the other? Aren't we all apart of this great nation called the UNITED STATES of AMERICA? Who really is the color blind here?
continuing... There is only one America but because it leads sometimes to a confusion with United States of America they came up with this alteration for the continent's name. Please let's be historically responsible every time we pass information or spread the word. We can't allow fashion, common wrong usage or trendy words to distort reality. Xavier.
Thank you for this information. It is very accurate, except for the term "latinos" you have used. Explanation: whenever we use the word latino or latinos we are refering to everything related to the latin countries. People in USA tend to use the word latino when they are talking about people from the rest of America (excluding Canada and USA) which is wrong. Even second generations of latinamericans within USA they believe there are only one sort of latinos and that they are themselves. Wrong again. A latino could be spanish, italian, romanian, french, chilean, argentinian, brazilian, Cuban, etc... So a black latino is no more than a black person born in one of these countries, and not only from South America. Here it is useful to understand that there are Latin europeans as well as Latin americans. Is it clearer now? Also in the non-anglosaxon world, the world Americas has truly no meaning. There is only one America but because it leads sometimes to a confusion with United States of A
Excellent article. I recently wrote this to someone: I have 3 friends, one calls himself black, one calls himself African/American and the other calls himself Jamaican/American because he is not African. I call them Dennis, Jeff and Dupree. Dupree did not seem to know that Jamaica was settled much the same way the USA was. The oldest form of human life is found in Africa and all human DNA can be traced there, so we are all desended from Africans, no matter what we call ourselves today.