Black people come in a variety of skin colors, from dark brown to light brown — the key word here being “brown”. Yes. Despite the fact that we are called “black” our skin is actually brown. Even the darkest of “black” skin is an ebony tone. Similarly, our hair texture varies from the very tightly kinked to the very loosely waved. To put it plainly there is great subtlety and genetic diversity to people of African descent. Given this, I often wonder how we came to be crammed into one box and labeled “black”.
I’m not sure of the origination of the term. The word “negro” — used in reference to black Americans prior to the Civil Rights movement — is Spanish for black. Is this how people of African descent chose to refer to themselves prior to slavery/colonialism? Was the term “black” self-imposed. I couldn’t find the answer to that question… but a large part of me really doubts it.
I sometimes feel that the term “black” serves as a contrast to other ‘peoples’… a lower peg on the color scale. It is a natural counter to the term “white” (another questionable label, since no person is actually white.) Because of the terminology, “black” and “white” people are often perceived as cultural and physical opposites. Genetically, of course, this is TOTALLY not true… but the power of wording makes it culturally true for many people.
Being in a community of natural women has made me feel that “brown” (or any term that isn’t “black”, lol) is a better descriptor — just as “kinky”, “curly”, “coily” and “wavy” are far better descriptors of our hair than the term “nappy”.
Within black culture we have come up with our own ways to describe our color variance, like “yellow bone” and “redbone” and (in Jamaica, where I grew up) “coolie” and “browning”… but I’ve often heard these terms used in derogatory fashion or as a slur against darker-skinned women (pointing out what they are not.)
So perhaps the whole “naming system” when it comes to black people needs to be overhauled.
What do you think? Do you ever wonder about the term “black”? Does it make you uncomfortable in any way? Does it matter to you at all?
94 Responses
Black is such a broad term which is why I don’t use that term. Indians, Pakistanis, Bangladeshians, Scilians, Brazillians, African Americans, Latinos, West Indians, Hawaiians all can have dark “black” skin. However, it doesn’t identify them culturally.
If we think of humanity as a wide range of colours, sizes, shapes, hair textures, it’s a marvel to behold. It is our penchant for ‘tribalistic” thinking which causes us to see “others” and not see everyone as part of our own people. Europeans have really made a mess of this world with the racist institutions created a millennia ago and which are perpetuated to the present. I hate it. I do find some comfort in seeing beauty everywhere, in every person, in every hue.
How or better yet Why ? did “Europeans create racist institutions” . Give us a European perspective of their nature …
Coulie actually means worker and refers to the East Indians that were brought in to work. So then the word became associated with East Indian people. I know this as my mothers side of the family is East Indian from guyana ??.
“Colored” is offensive nowadays, but I feel that “colored” describes me more than “black”. Other than that, I wish we could just go by nationality like white people. American, British, Jamaican, whatever. White people don’t have to describe themselves by race first.
Stop feeling defensive about what “Color” you are . everyone that can see you know first hand …
So…..let’s see if I got this straight. If I call myself black then I hate myself and am denying my heritage as someone of African decent. If I call myself African American then I hate myself and am denying the glaring un deniability of my inherent blackness and am cutting myself off from everyone else black, also I’m also claiming a heritage I’m too far away from to claim. If I call myself just American, I just hate myself period. There’s no possibility that I’m sick of being a color. Or sick of being referred to by a term where a whole continent I’ve never been to is put first before the country I was actually born and live in. I not allowed to be proud of being black/African American or whatever term I’ve decided to define myself as (a freedom no one who looked like this was allowed to have so many years ago). Everything is me hating myself because no matter what I call myself, I’m not white and in this society that’s pretty depressing. I think true freedom is not defined in a single rigid identity but the space and freedom to define yourself as you see fit and not be torn down for it. Awhile ago my identity and life would be defined as whatever the nearest white person felt it should be. I’d like a society where I as I see me is equal to every black person, every African American person, every American African person, and every American white, black or otherwise. And where I can easily refuse to let any of these people tell me what I best be calling myself. But that’s just me.
I hate long and drawn out explanation to anything like “What am I . I am a man . That says it all and it’s hangin to …
It was always my understanding that the Portuguese began calling Africans “Negro”, because this is the Portuguese word for the color black (I believe it is the Spanish word for black, as well. My husband is Romanian, and he taught me the Romanian word for black, which is “Negru”…the similarities show the Latin origin. He says the Romanian word to describe a Black lady is “Negrese” :). Who knows, maybe the first Africans they encountered were literally black in color. There’s nothing wrong with this: all shades of “Black” are beautiful. It absolutely does not matter to me if those of African descent are called “Colored” (which actually would probably be the most appropriate, since we literally come in all colors), Negro, or Black. Lately, although I was born and raised in America (and the same with my ancestors, as far back as I can tell), I have referred to myself as African. I feel this says it all 🙂
During the 1950’s we were referred by polite whites as Negros. After MLK and the civil rights moment we decided we didnt like the word Negro so decided we wanted to be call black. After the whole roots and exploration of how genetic diverse we are African American was picked. We picked AFRICAN AMERICAN because we are not sure EXACTLY where in Africa we come from. FOR INSTANT Irish come from Ireland hence the Irish American, AFRICAN AMERICANS are not people who moved to Ameria from African, THEY would be Nigerian American, South African American, etc. The Term AFRICAN American refers to the descendants of slaves.
I’m still confused . You cleared up nothing …
WTF is wrong with the color black? No one’s really actually white either. GMAB, this call me Anything but black attitude kills me.
It doesn’t make me feel uncomfortable as the term “black” in reference to a person of African or mixed race descent will not go away for many years to come. As a woman of mixed culture (I do not consider my ethnicity on my Hispanic side a “race”) I’ve been referred to as ‘redbone’ in a derogatory term as well as ‘black’.
In my opinion however race does not exist, it’s simply a man made ideology that has survived thousands of years. Every single one of us are 99% identical and only a mere 1% makes up our skin tone, hair texture, eye color, etc. At one point in time we all came from the same exact place, I don’t mean to sound like I’m preaching but that’s exactly what it is plain and simple. I mean, during Apartheid mixed, Africans, and white people were told what their race and ethnicity were based merely upon physical features. To me black/white/tan what have you are merely just descriptions of skin tones based on the eye of the beholder that for some reason have becoming part of the norm in describing features within our society. In my ultimate opinion race does not exist, it’s merely a man-made concoction, what does exist in my opinion however is culture.
I refer to myself as a Caribbean ethnic mixture, not as yellow, brown, or black. In high school my nick name was “yellow” and in my daily life I’m referred to as a coolie or redbone, it never bothered me because that’s simply not what I considered myself.
+1
Well I am a pretty brown skin girl. I am also a very very proud AFRICAN AMERICAN decent of slaves, maters and not sure who the Asian was but them too.
Actually Africans referred to themselves as black before we were colonized. For example, Egypt used to be called ‘Kemet’ before it was taken over by other countries. Kemet is translated to ‘Land of Blacks’. I have no problem with being labeled as a Black person, because historically, that’s how we referred to ourselves.
That’s actually a common misconception. KMT referred to the environment not the people. If you can read old hieroglyph there is a character that indicates such. 🙂
I don’t want to be labeled as Black as a color or African American… because realistically every American is an African American because we all descended from Africa. I prefer being called copper-brown if you had to label my color and Human if you had to list out my “race”. We are all mixtures from the same gene pool man. I identify with the African slave as my forefather but I don’t feel right claiming Africa in my ethnicity because my family’s diaspora has spread so far and wide for so long in the Caribbean and other places.
Hello Raven
I took the harvard test, and the results don’t mean that’s what you think…the pictures flash bby really fast, it’s easy to get confused…and to the person who said most african-americans have little to no trace of “african” left…that’s a lie.
Even europeans and even indians can be traced back to africa so please get your facts straight, that made me laugh, lol
There is nothing wrong with the term black and I wonder why some are questioning its use. What exactly do you want black people to call themselves? The term brown is no better than black. I’m not quite understanding the purpose of this article.
Black was a result of what Europeans called us. There is no history of Africans actually calling themselves black. The Europeans coined these terms “black and white” because to them white was pure and black was dirty. This Is as plainly as I can put it 🙂
Or because we looked as black as the earth and they as white/ pale as sheets???? Not necessarily clean and dirty but just referring to color??? It doesn’t matter, it’s only derogatory if you think its offensive. We are all beautiful, color is just color.
You’ve got to be kidding me! girl you need to pick up a history book. Before we were called black, we were negroes/colored, terms bestowed on us by white people. James Brown set the trend and started with the “Say It Loud, I am Black and I am Proud.” From then on we started to call ourselves Black. It was a source of pride, which extended from our hair to our culture, and the many struggles we faced! We then continued with the term Black through the Black Power movement and the Black Panthers to signify unity, black love, and self love. Get it together!!!
Nyeira said that there was no history of Africans calling themselves black before the Whites chose to call them this way… I’m pretty sure that African people did not call them this way, why would they ? They were more defining themselves as members of this or that tribe.
We can agree to disagree. Again, the African slaves were stripped of their language and their identity. They were not called black, as African slaves, many slave owners referred to them in the most derogatory terms.
It makes me highly uncomfortable and irritable when the label of ‘black’ is used. There is power in a name and black just isn’t an apt description of who we are. Black in its contextual sense is a word synonymous with everything bad in the english language – black friday, black cat, black magic; even angel food cake (white) vs. devil’s food cake (black). Roping an entire group of society to that same name can only also conjure negative images.
Apart from that, you aptly pointed out the polarity of black and white in describing the two ethnicities (I dont like using the word race as there is truly only one race – the human race) but back on point, no other ethnicity describes themself with a colour. I’ve never heard any Asian describing themself as ‘red’ or ‘yellow’. The terms black and white keep us as polar opposites and in seemingly stark contrast.
Also, defining an entire ethnicity with one word, a superimposed word might I add, means that it’s definition is fluid and can be defined by the powers that be (which as we all know is rarely our own). Essentially it takes away the richness of who we are and flattens us to one dimension the ‘colour’ or our skin? Our self image just isn’t ours.
I’ve always wondered why I never hear other brothers and sisters defining themselves as Afro-Caribbean (I’m from Barbados) instead we choose to dumb-down our rich and diverse cultural history to adopt a very narrow description of who we are.
One person’s idea of black can vary so greatly to another. It’s an abstract word and therefore lends itself to much interpretation. I am more than a colour. We all are.
I think the problem is racism and bigotry which tells little Black girls that they are worthless, ugly, and usless, so by the time they grow up to be Black women, we have a serious self-hatred problem on our hands. Stop this cultural mutilation of Black girls and they will cease to grow up into Black women who hate themselves.
Black girls & women, YOU ARE BEAUTIFUL!
I refer to myself as black when it comes to race because the term African American is so broad to me. That would mean that all of the individuals of African descent via the slave trade in North South and Central America are all African Americans. Which would be fine if we were all culturally similar but we are not. I don’t have a close relationship with my dad but his family is from Guyana. He does not talk to me about it. My grandmother on his side died before I was old enough to have questions about Guyana. So I know nothing.
It sucks because my living grandmother does not really talk about what it was like for the families of black share croppers and I have so little knowledge about Guyana. I feel like a person that wants to know about her family but they all act like they are ashamed or just don’t care. But we are all descendants of African slaves. And if we don’t tell our stories, those that did not live it will and we cannot trust that they can give accurate descriptions of what it was really like for our people.
I think Black does not describe our color as much as it describes the unknown. What I hope is that as we embrace our features, our hair textures, the uniqueness of our culture that we pass down the information to our children and grandchildren. I don’t want our culture, our uniqueness to fade into oblivion. Our connection to Africa may have been taken from us but we can keep what we have built here and make it better and make it ours. I think that is the only way we can heal and be a proud people.
And we must never forget how our people got here or let others forget. I really wish we celebrated Juneteenth like we celebrate 4th of July. We really should embrace the days important to our freedom because if not for those days we wouldn’t be online having discussions about black or brown.
Is anybody with me on that?
These are just my personal beliefs and what I plan to instill in my own children.
and yea, I took the test again yesterday and had no bias between either group…
@ Christina– no. I’m happy for you and you should be proud. Unfortunately for me it was not the same.
@aiych- I completed the test. Result- Moderate automatic preference for black people. Does that make me racist?
Well at least I’m not self hater.
@ Nell,
It’s unfortunate that you interpreted my tone as mocking, but I wouldn’t visit this blog and bother to post anything if that were my spirit. Also, I think the length of your response illustrates my point exactly. Remember, I would not comment if I did not care.
We are the bastard children of the Americas. We don’t have a name.
to add on to what others have been hinting around…
i think the preference some of us have for the word “black” as opposed to “African American” is that it creates a bridge between every black person on the African continent and in the diaspora. on some level, most black americans know very little about Africa and its various cultures, thus making the term “African” (even when hyphenated with “American”) somewhat inaccurate. but the term BLACK describes me, having never stepped on the African continent, a Zulu steeped in the history of his or her people, a Brazilian who speaks Portuguese and has never stepped on the African continent and those living in Europe and Asia. and considering the fact that most black and brown countries have some history of colonialism, it is a high probability that we have experienced the same situations (discriminations and prejudices) based on our skin color.
separating myself into this “brown” category isolates me from a deep ebony colored brother in South Africa fighting against remnants of the Apartheid. but our struggles are so similar that a term needs to exist to describe me, who knows very little about Zulu and other South African tribes with this South African that has never been to the United States. and to me, that is the term “Black”. not “brown”, not “redbone”, not “part caucasian, part sub-saharan African, part Native American”, not “African-American”, but BLACK.
Can I just give you some personal insight, not just what I feel I should think or what I feel is the correct way to think, but what has actually happened? It’s not a history lesson or an attempt to bolster the black is beautiful idea. Too bad if anyone is offended.
Have any of you taken that implicit Harvard test? I took it a few months ago, thinking that I was “proud” of my blackness and comfortable in my skin. I had taken black history courses, courses in Africana and black American art at my University, I was a natural, yadda yadda. I wasn’t some raving black power advocate but I “loved” my skin, my label as a black person, my race.
Then I took the Harvard test, and it revealed that I had a bias against blacks and a preference for light skin and white people, as did a large majority of people who took the test. This bias was revealed IN SPITE of the fact that many testers, myself included, stated (before taking the test) that they had no racial/skin bias. I realized my scars are too deep for just knowledge and enlightenment to heal. The funny thing is, I was raised middle class, successful parents and was always at the top of my class. I felt I had no reason to have some kind of inferiority complex or self-loathing. But I remember once I was working on a class project with some classmates in high school, 2 white, one middle eastern, and they said to me something along these lines “You know, you’re not like other black people. You’re pretty, nice, you’re not loud, or ghetto and stuff”. They then went on to say something about the “dark and ashy” blacks and told me that it was good I wasn’t like them. I even joined them in their bashing of these “inferior black people” According to them, I was a good black person and had reason to be proud. And I was proud of their assessment.
Just telling you the truth and where I came from because I do not doubt that many blacks have had some kind of similar experiences and few actually want to talk about it…
In college I changed, became more informed about race relations and felt rage that I had earlier been duped into believing that black was low. I started to socialize more with other blacks, get involved in black students orgs, etc. But by then the word ‘black’ was already tainted for me, even though my parents had always tried to instill in me a sense of pride and security. I also made the mistake of believing that some epiphany and enlightenment would change the way events–such as the high school incident I had described–had damaged my psyche. And this was just one of the more memorable events, who know what subliminal messages I had endured over my life. Most black people who do learn about black history or race relations do not do so until they are adults. Schools don’t usually teach these kinds of things and parents can only tell you so much about race unless they are themselves familiar with black history. Oftentimes they would rather protect you than inform you.
You may think you know yourself, but tests that tap into the subconscious will reveal more than you may want them to. I’ve heard so many people say that black is beautiful, or I’m black and proud. Are you really proud? Do you really think black is beautiful? You can spit facts, logic, and truths, but all of that is all on a conscious level that you can control. You may not actively hate yourself and dwell on self hate because it is painful. But deep down, deeper than you really know, you may feel self hate that comes with the label of being black.
I’m just telling you what these psychological tests reveal and what has happened, and many of you may not be comfortable with it. You’ll just have to see for yourself.
Here’s the URL, I would encourage you to take the test. You may have no bias and kudos to you, but odds are you won’t be so lucky…: https://implicit.harvard.edu/implicit/demo/selectatest.html
I agree with what someone said above. That black people have been having an identity crisis since slavery and that is oh so true. I’m co-signing Julie M’s comments, and I agree. Personally, I refer to myself as black because it’s true, and why should I be ashamed? I am a black woman. Because frankly, I most certainly will not accept the ‘n-word’, or ‘colored’. I always felt wierd about “african american’ as well, although it is acceptable, I am not directly from Africa, and have no african culture. Only what I know of from history books, travel, and or meeting people from other countries. But I have heard white folks say the word ‘black’ with disdain sometimes, and yes, it stings/hurts because you know to (white people) it has a negative aura. But again, I am black, and I will not apologize to anyone for it. I refuse to go around trying to convince people I am mixed with this or that, or saying I am of this culture, “not black”. Because frankly, again, when white people look at us, especially if they are racist, they don’t care where your from, or what your mixed with, your a ‘n-word’ to them ok? I have been called a NIGGER to my face as a youngster, and I will NEVER forget it. Furthermore, I am proud of my naps, kinks, coils whatever you call them, and it makes me further proud to be a BLACK woman. Instead of creamy-crack’n and dyeing my hair to try and fashion it into fooling myself thinking I can look like a white woman. When in reality, no matter how you ‘lye’ to yourself, they will never accept you as anything but….black.
@JulieM,
I am with you! The subtext of self-hate is incredible. You don’t see Asian Americans saying they’re just Americans or yellow-skinned Californians. But we want to be anything but what we are.
I am acculturated as a Black American. I am a United States citizen. But I can go anywhere on the planet and be perceived as being of African extraction first!
And that is perfectly great to me.
DeeDeeFresh,
I find this specious and ridiculous: “I am not trying to sound negative and tried to quote what I have read. It is said that the modern African American almost has no traces of African because it has been mixed with other races which create the modern black American. Ofcourse the “African” gene is usually predominant thus the facial trades and features are passed on more than those of European.”
Tell that to the hundreds, if not thousands, of American Blacks who’ve chosen to have their DNA tested through racial admixture analysis. We are only a few centuries removed from the Continent and, for some of us, it’s less than that. The idea that our Africanness has been raped away is insane!
I am 79 percent African (Sub-Saharan), 15 percent European, 5 percent Native American and 1 percent East Asian. I have the genetic codes from the lab that conducted the test as proof. Research suggests that most Black Americans are around 20 percent, on average, European – hardly an indication of our African DNA being purged.
wow!…thanks for this articles BGLH…it usually just shows from most comments that the so called natural haired women are not so enlightened after all!….as the same insecurities that plagued them as relaxed women still plague them…with all the post on the African continent and how it has been highly misrepresented you still see the same insecurities that made us all want to dissociate ourselves from the African continent still prevalent in peoples quick jump of “i’m not African” who said you were? You can view yourself as an American or whatever you choose…the truth is your History is different from every other American…you were the only one enslaved and stripped of your culture! So you can call yourself anything but until you get rid of your ignorance…you are still the lowest of the barrel in the race spectrum wherever you go!…And for those “brown” Americans who think they are just Americans….lol… got to go to other parts of the world and you will quickly see that the way they treat white Americans is not the way they treat you…
I definitely like being called Black or Brown or African. All of the above are perfectly fine.
Technically White people really aren’t white either. Most have pinkish, brownish or yellowish undertones. Asian people are not yellow at all yet one of my friends does refer to herself as the Yellow pound (UK thing).
I think there is a valid point about the word black being used as an insult. We all recognize it when we hear it. However, for me it is a great compliment. I still remember my dad entertaining us as kids with the James Brown song, ‘I’m Black and I’m Proud.’
I don’t mind the term “black.” There are people in various parts of the world (not just Africa) who have skin so dark that it appears to be black and to me that’s incredibly alluring. Obviously there is negative symbolism attached to the color black and state of being dark, but there are also very beautiful ways of imagining those terms. So, sure go ahead and call yourself “brown” (you have the right to self-identify), but doing so won’t place you on parity with the white standard unless the “othering” of and underlying stereotypes about people of African descent change. You can look to Latin American cultures for a good illustration of this point.
and @ deedeefresh: I’m confused. I didn’t realize that the African gene was eradicated when mixed with other genes. Isn’t an African gene mixed with an Indigenous gene and an European gene, still an African gene? Isn’t calling the combination an “African American” gene, just another way of saying the African, Indigenous, and European genes are mixed?
I don’t mind being called Black. Its not the name that harms us, its the attitude and hate behind it. If we change our attitudes about color the name won’t need to change.
@Dolores
i would definitely have to disagree with the point that we spend “a LOT of time licking our wounds”. many of us (black americans) have yet to even notice that there are pools of blood at our feet, much less that we actually have wounds and where they’re located on our bodies. the level of education about black history, slavery, the slave trade, jim crow, and the behemoth of African cultures is and has been at a stagnant, disturbingly minimal level that is almost pointless to even acknowledge. we don’t even know we’re hurt and that we as a community are suffering on a daily basis. so….how it is that you think we talk about it “a LOT” is beyond me. don’t be fooled by the 30 or so individuals in this thread (who seem to know about and see the significance in discussing the issues)-the majority of the black community knows very little about issues like the ones we’re currently discussing, much less has the opinion (or energy)to spend their time….”complaining” as it looks like you’re insinuating.
to the contrary, i don’t think we spend ENOUGH time talking about these issues. take a quick survey of the websites, forums, and blogs geared towards the black community and you’ll see a very small number discussing issues like these, while the majority are busy discussing whether Kat Stacks’ breasts are real or whether Rihanna is pregnant by Jay-Z. if we were discussing things like this, there probably would be less of an issue of calling ourselves black, african or anything else you want to coin yourself.
what leads to hurt feelings is ignorance, a lack of understanding (and/or an indifference towards understanding) and many other external things like poverty. although, i’m not really sure who you’re assuming will have hurt feelings. blacks, whites, and everyone else will somewhere down the line have hurt feelings because that is the reality of living in a racialized society (living in a country whose basis for almost anything of worth at one point in time relied solely on one’s “race”).
i would agree that “black” is arbitrary as the entire concept of race is. many scientists as well as philosophers have shown that the concept of race is void of any foundation…materially. however, these are scientists, not sociologists and anthropologists. and living in a society (a post-colonial society) that was once deeply entrenched in race and race relations and racism, it is nonsense to deny that “black” is a state of being almost as if it were a part of one’s DNA. people ARE discriminated against everyday based on the fact that they are categorized as “black”. women are assumed to fit into certain (negative) dichotomies because they are labeled as “black”. men and women are stereotyped and live realities based on the fact that they identify as “Chicano” (etc.). pointing out the lack of evidence to support the idea of “race” does nothing to aid in the realities that people of color face everyday.
and to your first comment…yes, we do come up with a new name every 30 or so years. it’s called an identity crisis. i don’t know if this is something new to you….but black people are having and have been having an identity crisis since the slave trade. don’t mock it as if these are just trends of the time. they’re attempts to define ourselves while we are in the process of discovering ourselves. it is a sign of a higher level of consciousness with every name change as well as overall progression.
SOME PEOPLE USE THE TERM CARRIBEAN AS IF IT IS DIFFERENT OR SEPERATE FROM BLACK PEOPLE. ITS NOT. JUST LIKE GERMAN, ITALIAN, OR FRENCH CAN STILL MAKE YOU WHITE OR CAUCASION, OR EUROPEAN.
CARRIBEAN AND HISPANIC IS NOT A RACE. LETS GET THAT STRAIGHT PEOPLE.
TO ME IT SEEMS LIKE NO ONE WANTS TO BE BLACK OR AFRICAN. EVERYONE WANTS TO TALK ABOUT WHAT THEY ARE MIXED WITH. DAMN, WHITE PEOPLE DONT GO AROUND SAYING I AM PART INDIAN, ITALIAN, GERMAN ETC.. THEY JUST SAY THAT THEY ARE CAUCASION OR WHITE. SO WHY DO WE ALWAYS WANT TO BE PART THIS AND PART THAT. CANT SOMEONE JUST SAY I AM BLACK OR I AM AFRICAN!
BLACK IS JUST A TERM USED TO DESCRIBE PEOPLE OF AFRICAN DECENT. IT DOESNT BOTHER ME BECAUSE I THINK BLACK IS BEAUTIFUL. JUST LIKE SOME PEOPLE REFER TO CAUCASIONS AS WHITE, EVEN THOUGH THEIR SKIN COLOR IS NOT REALLY WHITE. ALSO, I AM SICK AND TIRED OF THIS WHOLE MIX THING. STOP IDENTIFYING YOURSELF AS WEST INDIAN OR WHATEVER. YOUR BLACK! DONT IDENTIFY YOURSELF AS A CULTURE. WHAT IS YOUR RACE? RACE MEANING AFRICAN. JUST LIKE I AM PART PUERTO RICAN BUT THAT IS NOT A RACE SO I IDENTIFY WITH THE AFRICAN RACE. I AM AFRICAN AMERICAN AND PROUD TO BE IT AND THE WORD “BLACK” IS BEAUTIFUL TO ME!
@ Dolores- I agree with you. Especially your first post.
@Anon I am not trying to sound negative and tried to quote what I have read. It is said that the modern African American almost has no traces of African because it has been mixed with other races which create the modern black American. Ofcourse the “African” gene is usually predominant thus the facial trades and features are passed on more than those of European.
I have also found a interesting text on Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/African_American#The_term_.22African_American.22
Also in the book “Made in America” author Bill Bryson writes:”Finally, a word needs to be said about descriptive terms for black people. NEgro is Spanish and POrtuguese for “black”, and first noted in English in 1555. Nigger appeared in 1587 and WAS NOT at first a pejorative term but simply a variant pornunciation of Negro. Sambo, a Nigerian word meaning “second son”, was not originally pejorative either. Blacks were generally calld blacks (or, more politely, coloureds) until the 1880s when negro became the preferred term. It wasn’t usually capitalized until the 1930s….”
I prefer African American because I am of African Decent. I don’t have to step foot in Africa to be allowed to claim my roots. My sister is marrying a Korean who has never seen Korea, yet he calls himself Korean, not Yellow or Yellow American. And I don’t care what Indian or Irish or whatever big momma ‘nem said we were mixed with, when you look at me, you see an African. However, at the end of the day, Black or African American, whatever we decide to call ourselves, we need to to do it with pride. That’s what’s lacking in our community today and I really don’t know if we’ll ever have it; pride in who we are, that is. Some of us will attain it, but some are so hell-bent on being as close to European as possible, that the whole notion of having a drop of African blood is a curse to them. Slavery and colonialism has done a number on us. Here we are, centuries down the road, and we still don’t know who we are.
I totally agree with Dolores. I was just having this discussion today with a friend and how we say black or african-american, and how so many of us don’t agree with what we want to be called or identified as. This is a really good discussion.
For me it defines my social and political condition, not my actual skin colour. Society MAKES me black, as well as it makes my friend white, although it does not reflect the real colour white. It is all about the old story of colonialism, human`s worth and privileges categorized according to black, brown, not so dark brown, light brown, white,bla bla bla. I am aware of the fact that i am not white, so as long as I define myself as a black woman, I am able to NOT ignore the ongoing racism today.
People get very hung up on labelling… I have no problem with being referred to as “Black.” Sure, my skin may be brown, but then again, if we got specific, my skin is a little red, and a bit more yellow, and mostly brown. I don’t feel the necessity to get specific like that, and thus have no problem with the racial category. Granted, I also feel that race is a contrived social construct anyway, and telling someone I’m “Black” tells them nothing about me. In being within the category of Black, I could be Caribbean, I could be Hispanic, I could be some of anything, so all it really tells someone is the box that people put my skin color in. I usually describe myself as African-American moreso than Black, but neither one troubles me.
I also don’t mind the usage of the term Black because I feel that lighter skin tones still (history’s not quite in the past) get more love in the Black community than darker skin tones, so I want “black” to not be something distasteful (I still hear darker skinned kids getting teased and being called “Blackie” as if there is something wrong with their skin), but I want it to be something revered in our community. All skin should be loved, yellow, black, brown, and in between 🙂
This reminds me of when I was a young girl, One day I was walking towards my daycare centre with one of the guardians, and very nice “white” lady. And I asked her, why do people call me black? Don’t they see that I am brown, My mommy is white, my daddy is almost black, and just like when you mix your paints it turns brown, like me!
She looked at me and said “i know sweety, don’t worry about such things, you know who you are, and no matter what they call you, you are beautifull. Now I think I was around 9 at the time, maybe younger, but it always stuck to me, because, sometimes, the majority of people are just wrong, and aslong as YOU know who you are, you’re good! So this was my own experience as a bi-racial girl, and ofcourse my fight with the “black” label was not over by then, but now I seem to be pretty much able to take on her advice.
I don’t have a problem with the word black, as long as it used when the person is talking in english.
Let me explain, I am french, and many white people in France use the english word, because they feel it’s an insult to say “noir/noire”. And to me it’s stupid and useless.
I see myself as a curvy chocolate skinned woman. But black as a generic word will do
@ Nell: “once black people get to point at which we LOVE the darkest of the dark, the kinkiest of the kink and the most exaggerated version of anything telltale “African”, is when we will become free from the colonized mindset. and free to call ourselves whatever we want”
Applauds.
@Anon: #
@ deedeefresh:” I’m absolutely mystified by the hypothesis that you quoted. Interesting how black Americans have almost no African blood and nonetheless come out looking strangely… well, African.
hmmm…”
Applauds again
#
maybe it is just me but it isn’t that serious. The term black doesn’t offend me and this is coming from someone who is highly yellow and damn near white under certain lights so I don’t get the problem. Personally, I think the term black American is much better than African American, I know my roots come from Africa but black American seems more accurate.
“Black” was coined by us back during the Civil Rights Movement & Black Panther days – hence, “Black & Proud”, “Black & Beautiful”. The pictures of actual black hands balled into a fist became popular at that time, symbolizing our bond as a people & love for being Black.
Yeah, I don’t like the term ‘black’. Or ‘white’ for that matter. Nothing on me is black and nothing on white people is ‘white’. Even albinos aren’t white. But whatever I guess. At the end of the day the ‘majority’ will still categorize us as black *shrug*
what aspect of the black community DOESN’T need to be overhauled?
i’m slightly cautious to arguments that propose the use of something other than “black” when describing the African and African diasporic community. black Americans have just begun to get comfortable with calling ourselves “Africans” or “African Americans”. and i think the hesitation many black people have to using the word “black” may just be another form of trying to dissociate with being African; Negro.
once black people get to point at which we LOVE the darkest of the dark, the kinkiest of the kink and the most exaggerated version of anything telltale “African”, is when we will become free from the colonized mindset. and free to call ourselves whatever we want.
i read a book a while back about the race relations in Puerto Rico and, like you said of Jamaica, they have all these words for black- words that translated mean “black with curly hair”, “black but pretty”, “black but sophisticated”, “black and Taino”, “having black features but light-skinned”, etc. and it’s ridiculous, really. it is nothing more than an attempt to be anything but BLACK; wanting nothing to do with…Africa, really. terms like “red bone” are basically terms that say “i’m really really close to white, but not white”; associating with white in some fashion so as to appear in the same esteem we hold whites (better, smarter, prettier, etc. even in Africa, in places like Somalia where Arabs conquered the land for some time ago and married in with blacks. theres Somalis as dark as the darkest model on that picture you presented, with 4C hair calling themselves “Persians”. why? because Persians/Arabs still hold a higher level of status in some communities than Black Africans. just like in the United States and the rest of the Americas (or colonized world), we want to associate and call ourselves anything slightly resembling white or European, yet still (STILL) run from anything having to do with black; Africa; Negro, etc. it’s sad, really.
and not that i’m trying to say thats what this post is, i was just offering up what i think most arguments like these are in reality. i think once black people can accept themselves fully is when we can start to branch out into terms that aren’t so singular with our labels. but that is definitely no time in the near future.
THANK YOU FOR THIS POST! Many BGLH readers jumped down my throat when I referred to us women as beautiful brown skinned women in the Afro Latina Post. There were a good variety of readers that stated that I was being negligent of my roots because I said that I was brown skinned instead of black skinned…Huh? But my skin is brown. The color complex is such a huge deal and for no aparent reason because like you said…no one is BLACK…but this post was great nonetheless.
@ deedeefresh: I’m absolutely mystified by the hypothesis that you quoted. Interesting how black Americans have almost no African blood and nonetheless come out looking strangely… well, African.
hmmm…
I’m with Dolores!
Well said AJ!
This is just my opinion:
African-American should be designated for people born in Africa and are now American citizens. I am not African-American. I was born in Florida.
People who have an immediate relative(parent, grandparent) that is something other than black is mixed. My mom and her parents are black and my dad and his parents are black. I’m not mixed.
I didn’t see this mentioned but I don’t believe that black people and spanish people are the same. Yes, we are both minorities but so are koreans.
I consider myself black. As a culture we should all be proud to have whatever shade of black that we have. I absolutely HATE when people say things like “Don’t stay outside too long, you’ll get black.” Grrrr, I hate that! Why should I care if I get darker? I’m black. I’m supposed to be darker.
Again this is MY opinion but I hope I didn’t offend anyone. If so, school me so I don’t do it again 🙂
I am a BLACK woman.
In my opinion, I believe that most of the people who don’t want to be called “black” are those who don’t want to be associated with HOW DARK their skin is. Which is why they turn to calling themselves “mocha”, “caramel”, etc.
Words like “black”, “white”, and “yellow” have never been accurate when it comes to actual (technical) shades of people. The only thing that they try to tell is what a persons ethnic background may be (europe, africa, asia).
As the word becomes more GLOBAL I think that using “colors” to determine what a person may be is going to go out the window. Why?
Because there are Indians (as in from India) and Latinos who both claim the word “brown”… which is very confusing if we are trying to determine race, ethnicity, nationality, culture, etc.
No one in my family has been in Africa for over 200 years, so the term African-American makes no sense. We are mixed with everything, yet when you look at me you see a Black woman. I like the term Black. For me Black is maximum color. The best, the darkest skin, the lightest skin, the richest, and most vast array of color. In my own family we traverse the gamut of color from blue-eyed white to black-eyed pitch, but we call ourselves Black because Black is all colors together.
The term ‘Black’ to me refers more to one’s state of mind as oppose to the colour of your skin, it’s about consciousness. I don’t have a problem with the anyone refering to me as Black. All those negative connotations surrounding the word stated in the white mans dictionary are irrelevant as i turned them around years ago for more positive meanings. For example, a ‘black heart’ is a beautiful one but not what it says in the dictionaries. I don’t think Indians would be too happy if with started labeling ourselves as brown. You see there was a time in England when Asians and people of African descent came under the umbrella term ‘Black’, didn’t take them long to seperate themselves from us. The blogger mentions the term ‘coolie’, if she researches the origin of the word she would most definately find that it was derogatory, still is in my opinion. I also don’t get why people with a lighter complexion should be looked on any differently than someone with a darker complexion, hence terms like ‘red bone’. I totally agree with Javaan on black unifying us people but i also realise that not all of us think on this level.
I hear the term black in my mind as more of an ethnic background descriptor than a physical descriptor. I prefer it to African American, because as stated, many culturally or ethnically “black” folks are not from Africa and it makes no distinction between decedents of African peoples who have lived outside of Africa for centuries, and Africans in America(just as diverse as “white” people (european-americans? o_O). I’m so mixed I’d say I’m just as American as anyone else- not derivative of any other nation directly. I’d rather just be a black, American.
The only time I have a problem is when “black” is used as a term to mean “not white”. Then you end up with “normal” people who often don’t have a descriptor for their ethnicity, and then everyone else. Soon enough- mostly everyone in the US will be something else.
I respect the idea of self reflection. I also think that “We” spend a LOT of time licking our wounds about how we have been treated and how we are perceived. This often leads to hurt feelings(offense)that, I think, promotes an inferiority complex.
I was not just referring to the label “black” when I used the term arbitrary. I really think(and many scientists have also made this argument) that the concept of race itself is arbitrary. I won’t go into detail about that as it is off topic.
My father says that his family was using “black” to describe themselves before it was cool to do so. Back in his day (1940s-1950s) using “black” was considered an insult. Everybody on my father’s side is dark-skinned and all of his children turned out dark too.
Not too long ago I had an older white woman say in reference to me, “I don’t see black…I see beautiful.” I came right back at her with “The two are not mutually exclusive! There’s nothing wrong with me being black.”
There’s nothing wrong with “black.” What makes me uncomfortable is how in 2010 I’m seeing more and more young black people doing everything they can to distance themselves from what they’ve been brainwashed to believe are negative behaviors and beliefs that are supposedly inherent to being “black.” Being black, or calling yourself “black,” is nothing to be ashamed of, especially if you understand that no one race owns any positive or negative attribute exclusively.
How funny, the other day some people asked me what I preferred to be called because they said something about Africans, anyways I don’t really care to much I guess I would prefer African American but then I am not from Africa so I don’t know… I guess just call me American.
@Dolores… It’s not looking for a reason to be offended… it’s examining how the terminology we use affects the perception of ourselves. It might be arbitrary for some, but not for all.
I may have wondered about it in the distant past, but that’s too far back for me to reflect on right now.
I call myself and all people of any amount African descent (no matter how far back) Black. That’s my shorthand for African diaspora. That’s all it is to me in general.
I do believe the terms white and black were used to help set up the divisions and opposition between people to maintain colonial and slave social structures. In terms of me still using the term today, this social construct is a major part of my family’s past and present, so I still have no problem. I don’t believe in all the crap people tried to make a phenotype mean, but I am Black.
The only time I’m offended by the term is when I hear someone say it the wrong way. This is much the same as any other word. It’s hard to describe, but people who have issues with people of African descent (including Black people themselves) tend to say it with this harsh pronunciation, emphasis, and intonation. It’s spat out of their mouths in a way that they don’t usually use when they’re using our (more politically correct) specific ethnicities, ie. African American, Panamanian, Ghanaian, Jamaican, etc. That’s not to say they can’t make any of those terms drip with contempt either, but there’s something about the way they say Black.
I just considered the use of the term “black” to identify myself last week. My first thought that comes to mind when I look at most people I know who would be called black, African-American, West Indian, African, etc. is Brown. Even those with the darkest of hues don’t appear to have black skin. I wondered when the word began being used and why many of us accepted and/or preferred it. I prefer brown if we’re strictly going by the color spectrum of skin complexions. I love that brown people come in so many beautiful shades.
I am multiracial but fairly light and consider my skin tone more white than black. I do not have a problem with the terms African American and Caucasian because it shows the “origin” of the person rather than the color. I do tend to be in the middle though in certain parties… not being “black” enough or not being “white” enough, just forming my own little group, not really knowing where I fit in.
A little funny note on the side: When I was younger the possibilities were limited to African-American, Caucasion, Native American, Asian and Hispanic. As I didnt know better I usually marked Hispanic because I was more tan (^__^)
Actually not too long ago I read that the modern African American almost has no traces of African blood anymore and thus the term isnt quite correct. Ofcourse I am proud of my heritage being German and “African-American” mixed with many others.
But in the end isnt it just important to be AMERICAN and to judge people by their character?
The only problem I have with the term ‘black’is that it is such a generalisation of people. Often black (by people who arent) is used as some kind of description of culture. That annoys me the most, I am from Europe myself and this annoys me about American television all the time. Black is not a culture, just because I am black and so is someone from the say the West Indies, doesn’t mean we are the same or have anything in common at all…(Im originally from Cape Verde). It’s just a colour and even as that isnt really accurate. I guess people could say I have yellow, very light skin. But I usually refer to myself as black, but mostly cause it just means ‘not white’. But its indeed dumb, asians aren’t generally calles ‘yellows’.
@Angela-I absolutely agree with you!
Black and Proud!
I don’t mind at all. I think being referred to a “black” is perfectly acceptable because it’s not who I am, it doesn’t define me. It is up to us as “people” to carve out our way in life and find our purpose. I feel that though these topics may create debate, they mainly act as a distraction from focusing on and fulfilling our greater purposes in life. peace
I don’t care for the term, black, as it’s not true at all. We are several shades of brown. It’s a misnomer, really.
As a fair-skinned woman that’s been called “high yellow”, “shawty red”, and “redbone” in her lifetime thus far, I felt objectified by those terms when males would describe me that way and a bit of scorn from women.
I identify myself as Black or African. I feel like Black is a unifying term because there are people of African descent on every continent (except Antarctica, but if this global warming thing works out, we’d probably go there to). African-American is ridiculous, too long, and you never hear people of other nationalities throwing a dash and American after their country/continent, unless it’s a newspaper, etc.
It seems as if every 30 years or so the names used to describe people of African descent change depending on what is politically correct at the moment. I think it’s silly to get bent out of shape over a title that is arbitrary to begin with. Let’s just pick a name, call it a day and quit looking for reasons to be offended.
Africa will always be the Motherland for us all, even if we never set a foot there…it is in our blood and never to be denied. Some may call us black which is obvious to those who view us as such, but realize our whole black family is made up of many hues and nationalities…to keep it simple, personally you can just call me “Sheila”!
I don’t mind the term Black. I feel that that can encompass all peoples in the African Diaspora. African American obviously cannot label all of us because, for many of you and myself included, do not have roots in America. I am West Indian. If I am being specific I will say I am Afro-Caribbean. Afro-Caribbean, Afro-American, Afro-European–The common denominator is still African. If you are trying to be short and lazy (Like most Americans like to be) then go ahead and use the term Black. Want to be a little more specific you can say I’m of African descent. Want to be more wordy, ask what where our families are from. You see all of this just gets so complicated. Black just sums up everything.(And Brown is usually used for those of Indian descent anyway)
honestly I’m very unphased by it. Although the term “black” isn’t politically corrent, neither is calling people “white” either. The only time I get bothered by the term black is when people are describing a situation and they feel the need to mention that the person in the scenario was black.
For example people will start off a story by saying “some black guy” instead of just saying “some guy”. I usually don’t ever hear people say “some asian guy” or “some white guy”, they usually only mention the race when the person is black. It’s particularly annoying when the situation has nothing to do with the persons race. but other then that, I don’t really care about the term “black” it’s a coloquial term that we use in modern english and there are a lot of those so… no biggie really.
aJ
How would calling ourselves brown be better than black? We are not a color, brown, black or yellow!
We are in such a state of confusion as a people! I don’t believe there will ever be a time when all of us are satisfied with our “label” which is why it keeps changing for us over the years.
Know who you are! When we get a clear understaning of who we are as individuals and as a people we won’t care what others decide they want to call us!
-and I’m not quite sure how black, a beautiful and pure color, can be seen as “lower”…
Black is pretty neutral to me, I don’t consider myself African-American, and typically use the descriptor West Indian; but you can’t tell I’m West Indian from looking at me so black is fine for people who need to put me in a category I suppose. I don’t know, you could slice this topic a million different ways and come up with a trillion different conclusions. However, it’s a good conversation to have because it erases some of the lines we use to box people in; our way of organizing and compartmentalizing people and things changes in a way that is more conducive to living in a diverse world.
Interesting topic. I think John Henrik Clarke said it best “black tells you what you look like, not who you are”. In other words, we are African people! Why should we be reduced to a color? This insidious legacy of American racism just won’t disappear. I think the term brown is even more problematic then black. To me brown just solidifies this literal reduction of a peoples nationhood (a term I am using here to evoke land, history and culture). Asians still understand this concept. I certainly hope they reject being reduced to the color yellow…how ridiculous. To this day, Africa remains neutered in the Americas…and we live as neutered people..ie our last names, our HAIR. I feel we should reject these “color” terms all together. Or at least put them in there rightful place…secondary to our nationhood (land, history and culture). We are not black or brown. We are African!
I don’t mind the term black; however, there are more important things than to be stuck on race. Be proud of who ya are! Many of us are all mixed with something, but we are really Africans.
We are always the first to say I’m mixed with indian, or west indian, whatever, so what, the world sees you as African descent. Be proud of it and move on…
Personally, I don’t care for the term “black” or “African-American” since both names can be misleading, and the word “black” can be seen as negative. I also don’t care for the term “white” or “Caucasian” since they are also misleading. True Caucasians are from Caucasus and most of them have a brown complexion… Obviously, our naming system in the U.S. needs some updating.
@ Alicia
That’s so interesting! As a West Indian woman, for all the names and descriptions people can provide, I most prefer ‘Black’. The truth is, I’m not African-American (no one in Africa would rightly claim me). I see your point, the umbrella terminology isn’t representative of all of the diversity in the so-called “coloured” community but, in the same vein in which I’d call a person ‘white’ without regard to him/her being of Italian or Irish decent, it makes sense for a complete stranger to call me ‘Black’ or when I’m feeling particularly difficult ‘Brown’…because who’s the colour Black?
i sometimes wonder about that, especially when my aunt refused to put black on the census because she says that she is brown *side eye* but I don’t give it much thought generally
http://www.socialitedreams.com/
I don’t like when people of other races call me “black”. From my own people I’m cool, but coming from, say, a white person, I don’t like it. I usually refer to myself as “West-Indian” though. We are such a mixture, I don’t think a blanket term such as “black” really describes us at all. I have white, indian, and African blood in me…how is that “black?”