The Word African American Needs To Go!!! – CNN iReport.
CNN PRODUCER NOTE GoGreen58 shot this video, with his friend Dwight, in his dorm room at the University of South Carolina, Beaufort, yesterday. He discusses how being called ‘African-American‘ makes him feel ‘Half American’. ‘I’m not from Africa, so I’m not African-American!’ He thinks it is unfair that black Americans are called African-American, but white Americans are not referred to by their ancestral heritage. ‘If you are going to call me an African-American, white people need to be called European American or Irish American,’ he says. ‘White people don’t want to be referred to where their ancestors may have come from, so why should black people? We are all Americans and we all pay American taxes… If you’re born in America, you’re an American.’ He says although his ancestors came from Africa, he does not relate to the people or its culture like he does to America and its culture. ‘If I went to Africa…they’re not going to give me a hand clap of praise for I guess “Returning to the Mother Land“. They are going to treat me as an American with money,’ he says ‘I would die for America, not Africa. I’m wanting to move forward toward a more united nation and stop the separation. All I know is my future kids won’t be African-Americans, but they will be 110% American.’
- ssesha, CNN iReport producer
Share if you Care
Related articles
- Names Count, Young Brothers (afrikanking.wordpress.com)
- African American or Black? (africanamericanlitcsu.wordpress.com)
- A Misqualified Identity? (1blacksnowflake.wordpress.com)
- What Does It Really Take to Be African? (clutchmagonline.com)
This is a highly controversial topic which has many young people in Africa fired up too. It very interesting that the above viewpoint is exactly the same one shared by many young African born people whose issue is not that black Americans should not claim their African ancestry, but that the term ‘African-American’ has been morphed into a racial category (which it is not since these double barrel describes nationalities), and that they have lived in American long enough to stake their claim as Americans and thus have a right (if not obligation) to carve out their own black American identity. Africans seem to wonder why an entire nation of black Americans would shy away from proudly waving the black American culture (i.e.lifestyle, dress, behavior, beliefs, etc) in preference of an identity many have no clue about (check out an African viewpoint on this: http://1blacksnowflake.wordpress.com/2012/04/17/a-misqualified-identity/ ). As a black African (in fact, simply as an African), this discussion is very informative and worth having in my efforts to understand and learn. Good piece.