[bohtieque]

My family is beginning to ask some simple questions before the adoption of our child, and I want to make sure they and I have the best information possible. This is simple stuff that I hope you can give me your views on. I'm listing the labels (I sure wish we didn't NEED to use them, but if I have to, I might as well use them appropriately):

African American: Formal term that can be used in almost all situations. I've been using this one with my colleagues, mostly. It seems like this is a label used to show some respect?

Black: Informal, to be used in more casual situations most often. Truthfully, I feel comfortable with this label--but mostly because I'd rather be called white than Caucasian. I've been sticking more with AA, though, because I know it's widely accepted.

Black American: I've seen this one pop up, but I haven't really heard it--is there a movement to use this one in place of African American? It seems like it would be more fitting, since many people who seem to fit under the AA label don't trace their ancestry back to Africa. I kind of like this one, but I don't know when to use it.

What do you think?

Julie

[alwaysus]

Most often I use the term black. I asked around to a bunch of my (black) friends, and 100% of them preferred the term black. One friend told me, that her husband was NOT african American, as he is NOT an american. I heard one poster use the term African Canadian and it got me to thinking about the " American" part of AA. When I am posting about Elijahs race, I do use AA/CC, just because its easier to type.

[bohtieque]

Thanks, Lana--you've confirmed my feelings on this. I know several people who are biracial, but they identify with the Native American culture much more than the AA one, so asking them wasn't really going to get me any farther.

The question really has been sitting in my head for a long time. I've had a lot of whites act offended when I used the word "Black," so I was getting a little confused--of course, I can't count them as experts

[arkasha]

Originally Posted by bohtieque

I've had a lot of whites act offended when I used the word "Black,"

My son's (white) pediatrician scolded me when I referred to my son as black. I just told her that my BLACK friends prefer the term BLACK. And my son is not African American, he's Ethiopian.

Also, I have heard that many American black people do not like it when (recent) African immigrants are referred to as AA because, to many American black people, AA is not just a desciption of skin color or ancestral heritage, it is also a delineator of shared slave heritage.

Arkasha

[ggman]

We use black too. We don't have our (Haitian) son home yet, but when we refer to race, we use black. We too have asked black friends who say this is what they prefer. (And in our case our child will not be AA, he is Haitian.)

[ahimsa]

I think that as CCs we are taught that African American is the most "polically correct". However, all my black friends use the term black, so I do too. I taught my kids both so they would know both. At 3 and 4 they were confused by black because they had just learned their colors and their skin is brown. So, I used AA. It also opened up discussions about Africa and what that means. Now that they are less focused on the literal colors of skin, we are teaching them the terms "black" and "white" from a racial standpoint.

[bohtieque]

I think it's interesting that people who don't really have any specific experience feel they must impose their opinions on us (i.e. the pediatrician and many, many of the CC people I know). I've always felt more comfortable with "black" because that's what the people I did know used.

I'd have loved to ask a few of my students--the people I spend the most time with --but I don't know. I don't know exactly how to say this, but I this this will be the best I can do. I don't want them to have the burden of being my teacher in some of this--I don't want them to be forced into the role of being a representative of their culture. Some of them might enjoy that role, but it's practically impossible to tell until after you start asking questions.

Thanks, ahisma, ggman and arkasha!

[jessc098]

We use (with family/friends) "black" as well. When people ask why not "African American" we say we have no idea of her ethinic background/heritage/nationality. She was adopted domestically.


Her skin/hair/bone structure look more carribbean than "African" and what we learned from reading "I'm Chocolate You're Vanilla" is that "black" is a more inclusive term, though some "African Americans" dont like it--perhaps becuase they identify more with an African heritage. When people ask my daughter what she is, she says "DUH!! A little girl, can't you tell?"

Jessica

[bellazmama]

Hi there!

At age four, Bella says that she and our Black friends are brown and that we (her mommy & daddy) are pink. This is also the way our friends' kids talk about us. Calling a brown person "Black" is an artificial racial construct that little kids don't understand unless they are taught to do so.

"I'm Chocolate, You're Vanilla" is an excellent source as is "Does Anybody Else Look Like Me?"

Sarah

[Dmommab]

My son, Zack, who is 3 always says he is chocolate. I used to call him Zacky-milk (don't know where or when that started! LOL) but now I often call him chocolate milk.