Black or African-American, it really doesn’t matter What's in a name? Apparently quite a lot, when it comes to matters of race. Today, in popular culture and journalistic discourse, the terms black and African-American are often used interchangeably, and neither has established a leg up over the other as the more progressive linguistic choice. But there are some people prefer to be called by only either one or another, and John H. McWhorter is an example for that. The title of his ineffective essay “Why I’m Black, not African American” has clearly pointed out his desire to show his true identity. But, his essay doesn’t persuasive me, to be called “African-American” is better than to be called “Black”. According to McWhorter, the term “African-American” is too negative and not represents who they really are, it is also said to set them (people who were ‘mistaken’ as African-American) far apart from their root …show more content…
(McWhorter 328). He also has pointed out the different between African immigrants who now live in American and those who were born in America but have slave ancestors. He argued that Black American, especially him, preferred to be called “Black with a capital B” (328), because it represent their true identity and it doesn’t remind them about their sad history, like the term “African American” did. This seems nonsense since the word “African” clearly just shows where their motherland is, where their ancestors were born. It should remind them of the blood running in their body, and their precious culture, etc. He shouldn’t be focus on just history. McWhorter were a little too sensitive. It really doesn’t matter about what society call you, Black or African-American. On the other hand, McWhorter has presented himself as a credible author (327), by citing variable sources such as mention about Plessy v. Ferguson and Bull Connor (329) and structured his argument by giving textured demonstrations and living proofs. I am thrilled that McWhorter really has a point in his own point of view. But as an Asian, to be called “yellow” is just somewhat awkward and offensive. For what I’m saying, people shouldn’t be called base on their skin color. To some people that are biracial, “Black” is such a false authority to make. McWhorter also makes a convincing argument when leading the readers to James Brown’s quote: “Say it loud, I’m Black and I’m proud”, then stated “Say it loud, I’m African American and I’m proud”(329).
But it just doesn’t enough; because using “Black” or “African American” is depend on each person, on when or where they feel to say it, or simply saying “Black” is because it is shorter and more concise. “African American” may sound a little bit loftier, but let’s imagine “an African American and an African American” then say a Black and a Black”. Besides, when meeting somebody who comes from Africa for the first time, we are more comfortable to use “African-American”, to show more respect and to prevent offensive comments. And secondly, we don’t really care about your history or who your ancestor was, when treating people all the same despite of their history is more important. To Erika Hall, a professor at Emory University, for white Americans, the term "black" contents the negative associations and lower perception of ability than
"African-American." For additional, using African-American is more general because there also is Nigerian-America, Black America. You are freely to call yourself Black or African American and be proud of it, but don’t make it such a big deal when others call you “African American”, that term is not insulting at all.
Nick Jans suggests that McCandless was either mentally ill or suicidal, however, this does not seem to be the case. Jans observations gives very good points, but they are not in the correct perspective. McCandless did not die because he disrespected the very land he purported to love.
Cotton Mather and John Woolman were two men who had very passionate ideas for the slaves. “Negro Christianized” written by Cotton Mather was an appeal to the slave owners to convert their slaves to Christianity. He primarily focuses on the idea that slaveholders should treat the slaves with dignity and respect along with converting them to Christianity. In John Woolman’s work “Some Considerations On Keeping of Negroes,” he talks about how slavery was detrimental to the slaves and the slave holder. He illustrated through his own conduct the principles of compassion and good will that formed the central message of his itinerant ministry. Which one is more compelling one might ask, to me I think that John Woolman’s work was more compelling because he received the revelation that we must start with our children first in order to abolish slavery. Mather idea of slavery was genuine, but he lacked the overall revelation of how the slaves should’ve been treated.
Throughout history in the United States, what it means to be a black person has taken on different meanings. This is a result of forced the segregation that occurred during the post slavery era. Whites wanted to keep the Caucasian race “pure” and in order to do so, anyone that had one drop of black blood in them was considered black. This is very different from the way today’s society identifies black people. Presently, a black person is more likely to be identified by the color of their skin or their phenotype instead of their genotype.
One of Beverly Tatum's major topics of discussion is racial identity. Racial identity is the meaning each of us has constructed or is constructing about what it means to be a white person or a person of color in a race-conscious society. (Tatum, pp Xvii) She talks about how many parents hesitate to talk to their children about racism because of embarrassment and the awkwardness of the subject. I agree with her when she says that parents don't want to talk about racism when they don't see a problem. They don't want to create fear or racism where none may exist. It is touchy subject because if not gone about right, you can perhaps steer someone the wrong way. Another theory she has on racial identity is that other people are the mirror in which we see ourselves. (tatum pp18) 'The parts of our identity that do capture our attention are those that other people notice, and that reflects back to us.'; (Tatum pp21) What she means by this is that what other people tell us we are like is what we believe. If you are told you are stupid enough you might start to question your intelligence. When people are searching for their identity normally the questions 'who am I now?'; 'Who was I before?'; and 'who will I become'; are the first that come to mind. When a person starts to answer these questions their answers will influence their beliefs, type of work, where they may live, partners, as well as morals. She also mentions an experiment where she asked her students to describe themselves in sixty seconds. Most used descriptive words like friendly, shy, intelligent, but students of color usually state there racial or ethnic group, while white students rarely, if ever mention that they are white. Women usually mention that they are female while males usually don't think to say that they are males. The same situation appeared to take place when the topic of religious beliefs came up. The Jewish students mentioned being Je...
White is a legitimate sham. It means what color they are. Puerto Ricans tell you that they're something else, they came from somewhere else, but they're here now. Negro doesn't tell you anything" (16). In Toni Morrison's Song of Solomon, which describes the tribulations faced by an African American family attempting to define and find themselves, names have great implications.
Harvard Law Professor Randall Kennedy’s book Nigger: The Strange Career of a Troublesome Word is at the center of debate because of its controversy. It addresses questions among a diverse audience of students and scholars of all racial and ethnic backgrounds in its quest to discover how and why the word should or should not be used in modern day America.
Everyone is raised within a culture with a set of customs and morals handed down by those generations before them. Most individual’s view and experience identity in different ways. During history, different ethnic groups have struggled with finding their place within society. In the mid-nineteen hundreds, African Americans faced a great deal of political and social discrimination based on the tone of their skin. After the Civil Rights Movement, many African Americans no longer wanted to be identified by their African American lifestyle, so they began to practice African culture by taking on African hairdos, African-influenced clothing, and adopting African names. By turning away from their roots, many African Americans embraced a culture that was not inherited, thus putting behind the unique and significant characteristics of their own inherited culture. Therefore, in an African American society, a search for self identity is a pervasive theme.
In today’s age, African-Americans are still viewed as the lower race. There are entire ghettos associated with housing only African-American individuals and cities are divided among racial lines. For example, our hometown of Chicago, the north serves as residence to the “whites” while the south end of the city home to “blacks”. There is a wide-spread belief that African-Americans are not as smart as the rest of the population, are in some way related to a criminal background, and/or do not care about their betterment in any way and are lazy. This is because, Mills argues, racial realists associate racial characteristics to the “peculiar” history of that race. This makes argument makes logical sense given the oppressive history of African-Americans in
African American history plays a huge role in history today. From decades of research we can see the process that this culture went through and how they were depressed and deculturalized. In school, we take the time to learn about African American History but, we fail to see the aspects that African Americans had to overcome to be where they are today. We also fail to view life in their shoes and fundamentally understand the hardships and processes that they went through. African Americans were treated so terribly and poor in the last century and, they still are today. As a subordinate race to the American White race, African Americans were not treated equal, fair, human, or right under any circumstances. Being in the subordinate position African Americans are controlled by the higher white group in everything that they do.
Next is John Henrik Clark, who refers to African America Studies as Africana Studies because he believes that Black tells you how you look, not who you are. He goes on to state that he calls African American Studies “a dilemma at the crossroads of history” (Clark 32). This is because European people knew history well enough to distort it and use it, as well as political weapons such as the gun and bible, to control the world. This is the reason why a look at African culture will show what Africana Studies are about or should be about. Africana Studies should embrace the Africans all around the world, in places like Africa, North and South America, the Caribbean Islands even those in Asia and the Pacific Islands. Clarke states that Africa is
“The history of the American Negro is the history of this strife, – this longing to attain self-consciousness, manhood, to merge his double self into a better and truer self. In this merging he wishes neither of the older selves to be lost. He would not Africanize America, for America has too much to teach the world and Africa. He would not bleach his Negro soul in a flood of white Americanism, for he knows that Negro blood has a message f...
Through the decades, there have been different types of social issues that affect many people. “The personal is political” was a popular feminist cry originating from civil rights movements of the 1960s, called attention to daily lives in order to see greater social issues on our society. This quote can relate back to many social issues that still occur till this day that many people are opposed of. One of the major social issues that still exist today, for example, is discrimination against colored people. In Javon Johnson’s poem, “Cuz He’s Black,” he discusses how discrimination affects many people, especially little kids because they are growing up fearing people who are supposed to protect us. Johnson effectively uses similes, dialogue
The novel “The Autobiography of an ex-colored man,” by James Johnson presents a major social issue of racial categorization that is present in today’s society. From a selected passage in the novel, the narrator is in Macon, Georgia seeking to depart to New York. During this time, the narrator is explaining his contemplation about which race, white or black, he will classify himself as for the rest of his life. Through his experiences, he is pushed away from classifying himself as a black male. This passage connects to the general scope of the novel as the narrator is continuously combating his racial position in society, as he is an individual of mixed races. Johnson’s language, use of imagery and metaphor, and emphasis on categorization portrays
For too long, I too thought like this. I had a hard time identifying with African-Americans and was too easy to judge them for their lack of effort or their lack of collective success. It was not until I started reading books like the Autobiography of Malcolm X and the Autobiography of Angela Davis that I finally began to see the bigger picture and started to get in tune with the very meaning of African-Americanism. It was then that I finally understood what a systematic effort to undermine the very identity of African-Americans could do to black folk in America.
To prevent these discriminations’ from transpiring again we need to stop people’s prejudices of African Americans. Prejudice can be defined as biologically similar people who hold strong beliefs that cause them to discriminate another object (Pearson). Prejudices start from the home in which the child and raised in and continually grows until that child reaches adulthood, and then the cycle continues and is passed on from generation to generation. To stop the cycle of prejudice and go on toward the goal of equality, we can eliminate the stereotypes that destroy others perceptions of African Americans, by making it known we are all one race- the human race. African Americans should not be defined by their complexion but rather the good they have brought to the world. Letting it be known that we are all equal and should be treated in that respect.