I'm a white lesbian.



Where is the other option.

No

Nope.

No but going from that other thread i posted in , "African-American" is a nationality and not a race right ? Or is it both? Am confused

I said yes anyway.

African American is an ethnicity, but people use it interchangeably to describe Black Americans as a race.

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Yes, I'm an African American.

I personally prefer the terms White/Black/Hispanic/Asian, but that's just me. I understand some people have the need to feel "exotic" or "foreign" for some reason.

Like when a person that was born here says they're Cuban, Greek, Haitian, etc

I'm from Brazil and I'm American.



edit: my old Nicole avi

Idg why this is a problem though? Some people like identifying with their heritage, even if they aren't originally from there. It's the same reason why a lot of black people are saddened by the fact that they don't actually know where their family originated from.

I always thought the term African American was problematic though, mainly for the reasons listed in here. Especially this one

To go further, no, I don't think African American should only be used for first generation descendants of sub-Saharan Africans. I am a descendant of African slaves -- my ethnicity, culture was shaped by a combination what was brought over from all that was passed down from my African ancestors and created by my American enslaved and freed ancestors in place of the things that were stripped from them. African American encapsulates all of that ancestry and heritage in one term -- it is appropriate. Many Black American people that want to shed the "African" part from our ethnicity want to distance themselves from their heritage and assimilate as much as possible to a White norm. I'm proud of my heritage.

But in other cases it simply goes back down to people not understanding the differences between race vs ethnicity vs nationality vs ancestry/heritage. African American is not a race or nationality but an ethnicity.

An African immigrant would never refer to themselves as "African American", because the history of black America is different from their own. Which is why they use the names of their native countries to describe themselves.

Racially black people of various nationalities are "black", but the culture and history between them is different. Which is why they use terms like "African American", Afro Brasilian, Nigerian American, etc.

But most African Americans don't even use the term. You ask the average black person their race, and they'll usually just say "black".

Oh please this is such bullsh*t. Just because I don't claim Africa doesn't mean I'm self-hating. My whole family originates from Haiti, if anything I identify myself as an American-Haitian. I have absolutely no ties to Africa probably for hundreds of years. Using the term African American is incredibly dumb and confusing to refer to every single black person. Everyone has ties to Africa, including white people. Black people might have 'closer ties' in years but who cares. No one is hating Africa, and no one is trying to assimilate to being white. Why not call every white person a European-American then? Using African-American makes it sound like we aren't truly Americans

I said "many"; not all or even most -- no need to get defensive if you feel like that doesn't apply to you. There are a lot of Black Americans that have serious complexes about their ancestry and want to distance themselves from that. I am a descendant of African slaves -- things they brought over and held on to even after being enslaved and having their native languages and cultures stripped from them after being stolen from their home lands. Being physically removed from Africa doesn't negate the influence many African cultures had in the development of the culture of African Americans. African American is absolutely an appropriate term for my ethnicity and it doesn't make me any less American than a White American.

Again, this just stems back to people not understanding the differences between race vs ethnicity vs nationality and where it's appropriate to use the terms.

My race is Black. My nationality is American. My ethnicity is African American. None of those things negate the other.

I prefer the term Black American. And it's not because I want to shed away any of my ancestry. It's just because I am American and so are my ancestors for many generations. I have come to the conclusion that my family is mostly like from Nigeria, but that's way too many generations removed and I don't even know what ethnicity we are. So that connection is severed. I still love Africa but my connection is with my experience as being black in America and with black American culture. I identify with that.

I don't see the problem with the term "African American." If someone wants to celebrate their heritage, why knock them? It's very common with Italian and Native Americans too, it's not just a black thing.

That's exactly why I dislike when people do it

It's almost unfair to label all black people as African American while so many other ethnic groups are able to identify exactly what heritage they're from. I guess it just annoys me.

The statement you made.
Shouldn't apply to anyone unless they themselves are from Africa, or their parents/grandparents are from Africa. If they have no traceable relative to Africa, there's no reason to claim an African heritage, doesn't mean they are ashamed or assimilating. Black people can claim the term African American all they want, but its not a correct term for a lot of current black Americans.

When I talk to black friends I will say what's that black guy’s name.... If I have no other way to identify that person in question. If I said what's that African Americans name they would probably slap me.