[Feather]

Originally posted by KΔΥ.ΒΣΣ

I say brown. I find the term "black" completely reductive of my butter pecan complexion.

I've heard the term brown used plenty of times, but that's usually for "Tamil" people here.

[crumprKID]

Black isn't an 'unprofessional' term.

[Drais.]

Originally posted by Feather

I thought it was apparent I was joking when I used that gif.

It seemed like you were really being serious up until then. I was like ch this can't be real.

[BadBitch]

I hate being called African American because i'm not from Africa and i find it offensive. Even though the majority of my ancestors may come from Africa it's ignorant to base my race on color. Many Black people are still mixed with other things due to migration here & the civil right era. Which is why i think Blacks & Africans shouldn't mushed into the same category. Just like how the Spaniards all have French ancestry but you don't see them being mushed into the same category or labeled as French.

[inspiration4]

Originally posted by satellites™

Originally posted by Doc

!!!
As if being born in the States gets rid of the fact that you are Caucasoid, Negroid, or Mongoloid.

You're both confusing race and culture, and neither of you realize it

[Praise Mariallah]

Originally posted by Cap10Planet

Wouldn't you have to be black AND American to be referred to as "African American"? Not all blacks are "African American."

No.

But, the term African-American is really dumb anyway. Isn't Charlize Theron African American? She was born in Africa, moved to America and has dual citizenship, therefore she would technically be African-American.

Really not here for hyphenated titles, you're either American or you're not.

[Feather]

Originally posted by Anti.Emotional

Yeah. Black people aren't literally black and white people aren't white. Katie's post was a bit of a messT

The thing is, people like me, Katie, and others... Yes, the terms we use may sound foolish, ignorant, or whatever you guys may call it... But we're saying it for good intentions. We're not trying to offend anyone.

But like I said earlier, a lot of members here are blacks (see, that just sounded weird ) and since you guys gave clearly stated you aren't offended with the term "black", that kind of reassures me that it's not an offensive term.

[Cap10Planet]

Black is not a skin color; it's a race. Same with white.

Your complexion is something.

[LolMinaj]

Originally posted by Chivas

African-American doesn't make sense. There's nothing African about black people born in the States. They're simply American. Do you go around calling white people European-Americans?

Right.

I seldom use "black", "white", etc. to describe someone and African American is not in my vocabulary at all.

[DrunkNHotBoyz]

I gotta quote this one again...

Originally posted by Katie

I say "person with black colored skin." I just cannot refer to a PERSON as "black" or "white" or any color. People aren't colors Their skin can be colors, but they can't.

Can somebody SLAP Katie?



NVM. I'll do it...




Girl, come here...

[Midnight]

Ay dios mio.

I don't feel like typing.

[jomarr]

I don't think the term black isn't offensive and the term white too. We are now in 2012.. People are more open minded about these topics..

[Doc]

Originally posted by inspiration4

To answer your question, yes and no. It depends on the person and their relationship to their claimed parent ancestry. For example, someone who grew up in little Italy in ny city, speaking Italian, and raised in a family heavily steeped in Italian culture, I see no problem referring to them as Italian American.

On the other hand, there's people like Jessica Alba who are descendants of foreigners (Mexican, in her case) where the culture and customs have been lost and the person or persons completely assimilated in "american" culture. In that case it would be ignorant to refer to them as "Mexican American", as you would only be doing so based on their phenotype, and we all know that Mexico is a country, not a "look".

Needless to say, black Americans today are completely removed from any African culture and therefore it's ignorant to imply any connection, hence black being the obvious choice of description.

Considering all of this has happened in the span of just a few hundred years, I'm going to have to disagree with you.

If your family traces back to Italy, then no matter where you are in America, what you eat in America, how you dress in America, etc, you are still Italian-American. Most likely, your family immigrated to the states a hundred years ago at most, give or take some years. It's not right to drop your connection like that, as if it doesn't exist.

What's different is the fact that all people are descended from the first humans who were from Africa. That was thousands of years ago, and therefore, it makes sense for that connection to be lost. But a hundred+ years? In the grand scheme of things, that ain't nothing but a minute or two.

[KitKat]

Originally posted by Anti.Emotional

Yeah. Black people aren't literally black and white people aren't white. Katie's post was a bit of a messT

It was. tomorrow im calling the teacher that told me that and getting answers.

[Drais.]

Originally posted by Feather

The thing is, people like me, Katie, and others... Yes, the terms we use may sound foolish, ignorant, or whatever you guys may call it... But we're saying it for good intentions. We're not trying to offend anyone.

But like I said earlier, a lot of members here are blacks (see, that just sounded weird ) and since you guys gave clearly stated you aren't offended with the term "black", that kind of reassures me that it's not an offensive term.

You should just say black niece. Or coloured

[KB.]

Originally posted by Feather

I've heard the term brown used plenty of times, but that's usually for "Tamil" people here.

lol I'm playing. I say black. I've never cared for the term African-American. I'm not African. My descendants may be, but why aren't whites called Euro-Americans? I mean get it together. Interestingly enough, I watched a documentary showing that "African-American's" applications are more likely to get overlooked in the job field. We really should check other unless our names are a dead give away. If that's the case, blame your parents.

[inspiration4]

Originally posted by Cap10Planet

Black is not a skin color; it's a race. Same with white.

Your complexion is something.

Not only is it not a skin color, it's not a culture. Atrl can be a scary place.

[Katy V.!]

I say "Black"

I find more offensive things like "African"-"Coloured".

[bringhimdowndown]

I say black. It's kind of like gay vs homosexual. Who wants to be called a homosexual, such an awkward and clinical term.

[inspiration4]

Originally posted by Doc

Considering all of this has happened in the span of just a few hundred years, I'm going to have to disagree with you.

If your family traces back to Italy, then no matter where you are in America, what you eat in America, how you dress in America, etc, you are still Italian-American. Most likely, your family immigrated to the states a hundred years ago at most, give or take some years. It's not right to drop your connection like that, as if it doesn't exist.

What's different is the fact that all people are descended from the first humans who were from Africa. That was thousands of years ago, and therefore, it makes sense for that connection to be lost. But a hundred+ years? In the grand scheme of things, that ain't nothing but a minute or two.

Ok, I'll make this easy. You tell me what Black people in America have in common with black people in Africa, besides appearance (if that).

Food? NO
Music? NO
Dress? NO

So... what exactly are the cultural similarities between black Americans and Africans again that justifies the ignorant "African American" term, in reference to black Americans?