What's in a Name: Who Is an African American?
By Raymond Arroyo
June 26, 2008
Raymond Arroyo is the chief
diversity officer of Aetna, one of DiversityInc's 25 Noteworthy Companies. This
column was first published on Aetna's intranet
and is one of a series on names. DiversityInc will publish the next one, on
Hispanics and Latinos, next week.
One of the goals of this series is
to clarify and provide a historical context regarding diversity-related
terminology commonly used in American culture today. By being clearer about
using the "right words," this series aims to encourage employees to have candid
conversations with one another, regardless of their differences, to promote an
environment of openness and trust.
Any discussions about the terms used
to describe African Americans as a group must begin by understanding the
historical context within the United States in which these terms
were used. It is a history that encompasses more than 300 years, when Blacks
were brought to the United
States against their will. During the
subsequent three centuries, many terms were used to describe African Americans
as a group in the United
States.
During the 1950s and 1960s, common
terms "negro" and "colored" were used, often disparagingly. Today, these two
terms are unacceptable and are almost never heard, with the exception of old
books and movies.
Many of the baby boomer generation
(born between 1946 and 1964) and silent generation (born before 1946) may still
remember the posting of signs that read "Whites Only" and "Colored Only," used
to segregate one group from another. Thus, it is not surprising that terms like
"negro" and "Colored" can still carry a negative emotional connotation for many
African Americans (and other Americans) living during the era of
segregation.
The emergence of the current terms
"Black" and "African American" came about as a result of the Civil Rights
Movement of the 1960s through the 1980s, when Blacks had a desire to formulate
group reference terms that they could embrace. The wide popular acceptance of
both terms shows the value of that approach.
Contemporarily, the most common and
generally accepted terms are "African American" and "Black," even for the
growing number of biracial individuals who have only one African-American parent
(consider Barack Obama, Halle Berry or Mariah Carey, for
example).
Another important point is that
members of the African Diaspora--the exodus of large numbers of people from
Africa to places around the globe--who reside in the United States
have originated from many parts of the world. Using one term to describe an
entire group can be tricky and is sometimes met with disagreement. Terms such as
Caribbean American, Haitian American or Jamaican American are viewed as more
descriptive names by certain segments of the population. Finally, there are also
Blacks who are not American citizens, so the term African American may not be
the appropriate term for them.
Bottom line: People should be
comfortable using either "African American" or "Black" in their conversations
and in writing, if race is being discussed or has any relevance to the
conversation. In making a formal reference, the term "African American" is more
commonly used. In informal references, either "Black" or "African American" is
appropriate, and both are generally accepted by most people.
Reader's Comments For This Article
Posted: Thursday, Jul 02, 2009
What's in a Name: Who Is an African American?
The adaptation I use today is African in America. My choice.
Charles Mcgee
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Posted: Thursday, Jul 17, 2008
What's in a Name: Who Is an African American?
Respect people enough to identify them as they choose to be identified. But there is always a hidden political agenda in identity. It facilitates the misrepresentation of research data and allows for biased analysis and reporting. That being said... When the hyphenated ethnic labeling first began in the 60s the first part was the continent/country of ethnic origin and the second was the continent/country of residence. As time has progressed the terminology has taken on a life of its own. For the multitude of African descendants brought to America against their will, knowledge of the countries of their ancestry is unknown and therefore they take the terminology which indicates the general location of their Motherland, Africa. However, this labeling, for many was a category not originated by their own decision. After it was decided, people were forced in many cases to select it because other categories were not represented on forms or other media. All this to me is divisive. What unites us as a group is the term BLACK. We are Black in Africa, the Americas, Europe, Asia, wherever. The question for us as Blacks is whether our origin and Blackness is more important than specific ethnic groupings or nationalism designations. Many can no longer identify as Yoruba, Fulani, Wolof, etc... because our family lines are now mixed and we no longer have the culture or the languages of our ancestors. But we do have our Blackness; that which unites us as a people. I am Black and my people are Black people throughout the world regardless of their ethnic origin or their place of residence. That's my preference and my world view.
C Smith-Brown
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Posted: Monday, Jul 14, 2008
What's in a Name: Who Is an African American?
I perfer being called an American. For racial breakdown Black is okay. It's obvious that I'm Black because of my skin color, so I don't get hung up when not being referred to as being Black American. We should focus on more important things such as self respect, education.
Herman Lockett
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Posted: Thursday, Jul 10, 2008
What's in a Name: Who Is an African American?
I prefer the term "Black American" but African American does not offend me. When a person born in Africa moves to America he/she becomes an African-American. The hyphen dictates the difference.
Joey Coleman
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Posted: Wednesday, Jul 09, 2008
What's in a Name: Who Is an African American?
I believe that many of the complaints about the articles, What's in a Name, be it about Blacks, Latinos or older Americans are uncalled for. Diversity Inc. is about education and inclusion and these articles are an attempt to provide general readers with language that will not offend most people. While many of us have studied these issues, I suspect that many Diversity Inc. readers are simply trying to do what diversity leaders have suggested --which is to educate ourselves, rather than asking others to educate us. This is why the idea of asking individuals what they want to be called can often be offensive--often coming out as what are you? Many of us may also find ourselves in the position of having to describe racial, ethnic or other groups without the ability to ask all members of the group we are describing. The information provided in the What's in a Name articles provide some history on which these terms are based. A part of that history is that leadership groups, within these communities, have chosen to use the language the articles suggest. The complaints simply lead readers, who were happy to receive information on appropriate language, to believe that no matter what language they use, it will be wrong. This is not the case. I am technically Afro- or African-Caribbean. I am comfortable with the terms Black and African American. The term Black may be considered more inclusive as not all people of African decent in the U.S. are actually Americans by birth or citizenship. I accept the terms Black and African American as parts of who I am. Still, I recognize that as a person from the Caribbean, my family culture more closely resembles others from that region of the world, including parts of Central and South America, than it does the family culture of many Blacks whose families have much longer histories in the United States. Yet, we share a common history of being brought to the Americas and today's common struggle for equity. As the article stated, I feel that both terms--Black and African American--are respectful and will not offend most people when used. I thank Mr. Arroyo for writing the articles; Diversity Inc. for providing a place where we can educate ourselves on many different topics of diversity; and the readers who are taking the time to educate themselves, so that they won't offend others. That is a start to a lot more work that we all need to do.
Arthurine Walker
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