I don’t necessarily agree with all that I hear or see on TV but there seems to be a recent controversy thanks, once again to Glenn Beck. Well, Glenn Beck has hit the nail on the head this time.
As a woman of color there are a few things that shock me. I am a believer in freedom of speech. There are no moral requirements to this freedom. I am an intelligent black woman and the word nigger is one that does not apply to me. Nigger, bitch, whore, slut; none of these word are a description of who I am as a person. There are several other words that do not pertain to me as the person that I am.
Both of my parents and me are American citizens. We were born in the United States of America, yet on governmental forms when asked to identify our heritage we, along with others, are forced to check African-American. Why? Is it because black people come only from Africa? Well, it stands to reason that all humanity begun in Africa. So once again it begs the question why African-American? Well under this premise, why is it that the same governmental form also lists Caucasian as a selection? Shouldn’t that box then be changed to European-American? And if the person filling out this form is from Africa but not black, i.e. Charlize Theron, do they also check African-American because that is their actual heritage? I already know the answer to this question; of course it’s a resounding “no”. I am offended by the term African-American. It doesn’t apply to me, an American that is black just as an American that is white. I know in most circumstances I don’t have a say about someone calling me African-American.
What I do know is that the term African-American is a politically correct racial slur and should be eliminated from forms. I get upset whenever I have to check that horrible box on a form. I always get a smile on my face when a form has black on it. I prefer to check a box that says black because I am not an African American I just assume check the box that says nigger.
As a woman of color there are a few things that shock me. I am a believer in freedom of speech. There are no moral requirements to this freedom. I am an intelligent black woman and the word nigger is one that does not apply to me. Nigger, bitch, whore, slut; none of these word are a description of who I am as a person. There are several other words that do not pertain to me as the person that I am.
Both of my parents and me are American citizens. We were born in the United States of America, yet on governmental forms when asked to identify our heritage we, along with others, are forced to check African-American. Why? Is it because black people come only from Africa? Well, it stands to reason that all humanity begun in Africa. So once again it begs the question why African-American? Well under this premise, why is it that the same governmental form also lists Caucasian as a selection? Shouldn’t that box then be changed to European-American? And if the person filling out this form is from Africa but not black, i.e. Charlize Theron, do they also check African-American because that is their actual heritage? I already know the answer to this question; of course it’s a resounding “no”. I am offended by the term African-American. It doesn’t apply to me, an American that is black just as an American that is white. I know in most circumstances I don’t have a say about someone calling me African-American.
What I do know is that the term African-American is a politically correct racial slur and should be eliminated from forms. I get upset whenever I have to check that horrible box on a form. I always get a smile on my face when a form has black on it. I prefer to check a box that says black because I am not an African American I just assume check the box that says nigger.
Very thought provoking Sybil. I'm new to "Keep it Sybil" so forgive my comments if they are off-base. There's a white African-American suing a NJ med school over this very same thing. A fellow student was offended by him identifying himself for what he was... a white African-American. The issue you raise is similar to the hoo-ha surrounding Harry Reid's comments ... complexion is an issue omitted from race dialogue. And it need not be. I love being an African-American. As you eluded to, we should all be African-something. For me, the title links me to creation. To a place where the skins of people look like me. (not all, but some) Whose hair looks like mine. (again, not all but some) I'm going to pursue a Ph.D in International Business and focus my life-work on Africa. We all derived from there, and yet we make concious efforts to detach ourselves, i.e. opting to be called Nigger before being African-American which er um... You admitted that you are an African by God's design and American by virture of your parent's locale, so if black isn't an option for the tiny little boxes, feel no qualms about choosing AA irrespective of other people's reason for checking or not checking the box. I also call myself black. For all the big reasons, but also because AA is 7 syllables, black is 1. In these kind of discussions, it's shorter to use black. :) I think it was good that you went "there." A good writer provokes thought... good or bad... agreement or disagreement... and you accomplished that. Looking forward to more ...
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