Shall We Call Ourselves 'African American'?

Shall We Call Ourselves 'African American'?
Thursday, 11 November 2010 01:09

Joseph A. Bailey, II, M.D.

Advocates for the term "African American" (with or with a hyphen) are the most vocal and object in the strongest terms and reasons as to why the term "Black American" is not proper for "What Shall We Call Ourselves?"

First, they say it is disrespectful and disempowering to label the cultural identity of any person by use of a single homogenous color, particularly if this label is historically connected with negative, social and cultural connotations. To uphold the color coding system of ethnicity maintains an offensive hierarchical system of a perceived cultural supremacy and dominance.

Second, historically, the miscellaneous use of the label ‘Black’ reflects its contemporary use as a means to denote a specific socio-cultural and political context.

Third, "Black" is recognized as a colloquial term fashioned as a reactionary concept to derogatory racial epithets in the 1960’s. Fourth, just as "colored" and "negro" were acceptable terms of reference in their time, 'black' must also be recognized for the socially loaded term that it is--i.e. being linked to the words negro, negre, nigra and the highly offensive "N"-word.

Shall We Call Ourselves 'African American'?.