We had negro, but well to do white people wanted to use a different word to show they were more accepting of this race of people they have to share their country with (I won't even get into why), so negro was out and black was the new term that was to show tolerance. Then black went by the wayside, it was no longer politically correct, it was an insensitive term. Alas, the birth of the African-American. Aren't we tolerant, no racism in this country anymore. Can somebody please explain to me what the difference between negro and African-American is? How is one so horrible while the other is accepted vernacular in everyday language in the United States? Both do exactly the same thing, they exclude an entire race of people, essentially calling them second class citizens.
What is a black person living in the United States? He is an African-American. What is an Asian person living in the United States? He is an Asian-American. What is an Hispanic person living in the United States? He is an Hispanic-American. What is a member of the Cherokee tribe living in the Unites States? He is an American-Indian. What is a white person living in the United States? He isn't a European-American, he is an American !!! We live in one of the most racially diverse countries on the planet, and yet the only group of people who get to call themselves Americans are the white citizens. This is progress? No, this is blowing smoke up people's back side to hope they will accept this new terminology as some sort of advancement in race relations in this country. Even though millions of black families have lived in the United States for generations, they still haven't earned the almighty heading of "American". Apparently, in order to be an American, you must be white.
As long as we keep these garbage phrases around that separate people by pointing out their differences instead of pointing out how we are similar, as a nation, we will not be anywhere close to the racially-tolerant country we profess ourselves to be. African-American is nothing more than putting a bow tie on a racist. He looks better, but underneath that neat little tie of his, he is the same person. African-American sure sounds better than some of the words which have been used in the past, but the underlying problem still exists. The term, in and of itself, screams separation. African-Americans, Asian-Americans, Hispanic-Americans and American-Indians are all sub categories under the heading, "American".
A white person can move here from South Africa and get his citizenship, and will forever be referred to as an American. A black person can move here form South Africa on the same plane as the white man, pass his citizenship test on the same day as the white man, and he will be forever referred to as an African-American. Am I the only person who sees a problem here ?? Two men, both came from Africa, both became citizens of the Unites States, and only one of them is called an American. The other must include the color of his skin in his official title, African-American. Shouldn't the white guy from South Africa be referred to as an African-American with European ancestors? The mere fact that a white person from South Africa living in the United States isn't called an African-American proves that Africa is completely meaningless in the phrase African-American. It's just a softer way of saying, hey, he's black. The hypocrisy is shocking. It's about time we start referring to black people living in the United States for what they truly are .... AMERICANS !!!!
Disagree with me and you are wrong, it's as simple as that.
