The term African-American.

[Leningrad Union]

It's dumb. Someone who is a descendant of slaves from hundreds of years ago is an "African-American" and when my family came here VERY, VERY recently I'm just "white".

[Geilinor]

But generally whites know where in Europe their ancestors came from and either call themselves that IE Italian-American or just White American. Blacks generally don't know the exact tribe their ancestors came from since the coastal African tribes and Portuguese didn't really care when they were enslaving them. So they have to either call themselves African-American or Black American. Or both they can just call themselves American.

I only find people calling themselves Italian-American, for example, when they have ancestors thats recently come from Italy. But after 400 years?

I can only help but laugh at your lack of historical knowledge. The vast majority of Italian immigration to the United States occurred in the 19th and early 20th centuries. There was a very small number of Italian-Americans in colonial America, but nothing significant.

[The Liberated Territories]

He's African. He's from Africa, unless he was actually born in the Netherlands.

Culturally he is Afrikaans. So I could see the term "Afrikaner-American" taking precedence over "African-American" but that doesn't make the second one false.

I'm from AMerica and I'm part Scottish and part Puerto Rican.

So what are you culturally? A blend?

You'll have to make up a new term, then. Although I think I am culturally more American than any ancestry I come from, hence my preference for that label.

[Great Zavi]

I only find people calling themselves Italian-American, for example, when they have ancestors thats recently come from Italy. But after 400 years?

What do you propose we call Americans with genes originating in Africa? We need to call them something for the census, after all.

Black?

[Lunatic Goofballs]

I'm from AMerica and I'm part Scottish and part Puerto Rican.

So what are you culturally? A blend?

You'll have to make up a new term, then. Although I think I am culturally more American than any ancestry I come from, hence my preference for that label.

I'm a clown.

[Leningrad Union]

So what are you culturally? A blend?

You'll have to make up a new term, then. Although I think I am culturally more American than any ancestry I come from, hence my preference for that label.

I'm a clown.

European-American

[Great Zavi]

I only find people calling themselves Italian-American, for example, when they have ancestors thats recently come from Italy. But after 400 years?

I can only help but laugh at your lack of historical knowledge. The vast majority of Italian immigration to the United States occurred in the 19th and early 20th centuries. There was a very small number of Italian-Americans in colonial America, but nothing significant.

Remember what I said about the 3 generations?

[Cetacea]

Some people consider ancestral heritage important to be as important as National identty which is legitamate

although there is the continued problem of media still identify black skinned persons as being distinct, I recall a athletics winner who was identified by the commentator as a Black American runner and wondering to myself why her blackness was important to either her running or her representing the US. There is still a dominant perception of 'Normal' within a given society that is reflected in the need to identify ethnic distinctiveness from the 'Norm' and that needs to be challenged.

and isn't someone from Mexico an American-American?:)

and is Obama legitimately an African-American?

[Geilinor]

I can only help but laugh at your lack of historical knowledge. The vast majority of Italian immigration to the United States occurred in the 19th and early 20th centuries. There was a very small number of Italian-Americans in colonial America, but nothing significant.

Remember what I said about the 3 generations?

So why do you keep bringing up "400 years"?

[Siaos]

What do you propose we call Americans with genes originating in Africa? We need to call them something for the census, after all.

Black?

Okay, but what about other ethnicities like Asians? We can't call them yellow since it's a racial slur. And by your logic they shouldn't be called Asian-American or break them up into Chinese-Americans and Indian-Americans and Japanese-Americans because many of them have broken off from their original culture for the most part and have joined the mainstream American culture.

[Forsher]

Okay people of NationStates, here's a point I would like to bring up for discussion. Recently I've been thinking, why are African-Americans called such a name and not just Americans?

They're called Americans when you're speaking about the people of the US collectively. However, within America it is usually not so useful to make discussions about everyone because different parts of US society face different issues. As a result, US society is split up into various groups along a variety of lines... sex, income and ethnicity are the most common. Other countries do this too but the ethnicities they use are different... to reflect their differing demographics. I'm not American so I'm not so aware of the common categories but another one is Hispanic.

What is the need for that prefix? (The people who were unwillingly brought through the slave trade, just to clarify) I read a different thread and it said once you've been in America after 3 generations the prefix of where ever you're from (Mexican-American, Chinese-American, etc) is no longer used and your just American.

That's probably not true. A Chinese-American is an American of Chinese descent and/or origin. As the generations go on there is likely more cross-cultural contact, which is how people can have multiple ethnicities.

So why, are African- Americans still called such when they've been here for 400 years? And why are White people not called European-American, or German-American etc? Its just another way to separate them from the rest and makes it easier to outcast them. Do these people, after 400 years of separation and a lack of resources to re-connect to Africa, really have any connection to the continent ( which is in it self very culturally diverse) at all? What's your take on this, NSG?

***And why are North Africans considered white?****

African-American has always struck me as meaning an American of African-American descent and/or origin. Basically, that means that a black person born in, say, Kenya who then moves to the US is a Kenyan-American rather than an African-American (assuming they consider theirself American at all). But if they met someone who was an African-American and they had children, the resultant offspring would be part Kenyan-American and part African-American... Something like this anyway, my thinking's a bit rushed right now.

[Leningrad Union]

Some people consider ancestral heritage important to be as important as National identty which is legitamate

although there is the continued problem of media still identify black skinned persons as being distinct, I recall a athletics winner who was identified by the commentator as a Black American runner and wondering to myself why her blackness was important to either her running or her representing the US. There is still a dominant perception of 'Normal' within a given society that is reflected in the need to identify ethnic distinctiveness from the 'Norm' and that needs to be challenged.

and isn't someone from Mexico an American-American?:)

and is Obama legitimately an African-American?

He's Halfrican-American

[Great Zavi]

Okay people of NationStates, here's a point I would like to bring up for discussion. Recently I've been thinking, why are African-Americans called such a name and not just Americans? What is the need for that prefix? (The people who were unwillingly brought through the slave trade, just to clarify) I read a different thread and it said once you've been in America after 3 generations the prefix of where ever you're from (Mexican-American, Chinese-American, etc) is no longer used and your just American. So why, are African- Americans still called such when they've been here for 400 years? And why are White people not called European-American, or German-American etc? Its just another way to separate them from the rest and makes it easier to outcast them. Do these people, after 400 years of separation and a lack of resources to re-connect to Africa, really have any connection to the continent ( which is in it self very culturally diverse) at all? What's your take on this, NSG?

***And why are North Africans considered white?****

Because whites are immediately who you think of when someone says ''America.''

The African-American just emphasizes that it's not white. If you just say American, I would think you mean a white person...

Thats where the issue lies.

[Nazi Flower Power]

1.) Not necessarily.
2.) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_American

I dont see a point in your link.

Look at the title. The point is that the term "European-American" does exist.

Personally, I don't use it much, but then I don't use "Caucasian" either.

[Lunatic Goofballs]

I'm a clown.

European-American

Nope. Nope. Nope. Don't want to.

[Leningrad Union]

European-American

Nope. Nope. Nope. Don't want to.

Yes, ACCEPT THE TRUTH!

[Nazi Flower Power]

But generally whites know where in Europe their ancestors came from and either call themselves that IE Italian-American or just White American. Blacks generally don't know the exact tribe their ancestors came from since the coastal African tribes and Portuguese didn't really care when they were enslaving them. So they have to either call themselves African-American or Black American. Or both they can just call themselves American.

I only find people calling themselves Italian-American, for example, when they have ancestors thats recently come from Italy. But after 400 years?

I still use "Anglo-American" after 384 years.

[God Kefka]

Because whites are immediately who you think of when someone says ''America.''

The African-American just emphasizes that it's not white. If you just say American, I would think you mean a white person...

Thats where the issue lies.

why's it a problem though?

I'm sure when you say African, you immediately imagine a black person too.

The USA has always had a white majority culture, it just comes with the whole package, I mean look at the majority of Hollywood stars and presidents, whites I tell you...

[Hladgos]

I just call african americans 'black' because it's easier to say. I've never been told I offended someone by calling them black.

[Lunatic Goofballs]

Nope. Nope. Nope. Don't want to.

Yes, ACCEPT THE TRUTH!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1vxMGI5HaA4

[Siaos]

I only find people calling themselves Italian-American, for example, when they have ancestors thats recently come from Italy. But after 400 years?

I still use "Anglo-American" after 384 years.

The problem is, I would have to call myself Anglo-German-Irish-Italian-American.

[The Serbian Empire]

They do, however, have ancestral ties.

In that case, aren't we all African-american? This tie is 400 years removed.

The term for humanity as in ethnic groups didn't really emerge until countries appeared. That would be the days in the fertile crescent.

[Leningrad Union]

Yes, ACCEPT THE TRUTH!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1vxMGI5HaA4

We all know that the joker had various problems throughout his life, such as racial misidentity

[Lunatic Goofballs]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1vxMGI5HaA4

We all know that the joker had various problems throughout his life, such as racial misidentity

Yes. That's the problem we all remember the Joker best for; racial misidentity.

[Nazi Flower Power]

I still use "Anglo-American" after 384 years.

The problem is, I would have to call myself Anglo-German-Irish-Italian-American.

I'm part Irish, Scottish, Welsh, French, Dutch, Danish, Algonquin, and probably black and/or Chippewa. I still use Anglo-American because there is a lot of English in there and it is something that I identify with in a cultural sense.