Are African Americans really African Americans?

Discussion in 'SHH Community Forum' started by Gamma Ray, Feb 22, 2006.

  1. Gamma Ray Registered

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    I know that black people's great grandparents came to the US from Africa originally, but does that really make them African Americans? Where does the chain end? If I have anscestry in Africa, does that make me African American? :confused:
     
  2. lazur Registered

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    ::Sees this huge open can of worms and runs away screaming::
     
  3. DarthRekal Dodger Blue

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    good question..whites arent EUROOEAN americans....hispanics arent..latin americans.... asians are usually distinguished by originating country....japan.taiwan.china:confused:
     
  4. The Comedian Registered

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    Anybody of any ancestry can acknowledge themselves as (country of origin)-Americans
     
  5. Kipobe Registered

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    Let's think about this question carefully, and then let's not think about it anymore.

    "Are African-Americans really African-Americans?"

    Well, if they're African-American... then yes, they are African-Americans.

    If you mean African-American as a term that's supposed to cover all black people blanketly, then obviously "no".

    k the end bye
     
  6. Daisy Gone

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    Africa is a continent.
     
  7. bored One Sexy Lemur

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    Technically, yes, they are. Whether the African ancestry matters after a few hundred years or not is up to debate, and isn't something I care to get into.
     
  8. Kable24 Member of the NRA

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    About as much as me being Irish-American or German-American.
     
  9. My vengeance Guest

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    Ah,hell no,I'm not getting into this one.:(
     
  10. Gamma Ray Registered

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    What's wrong with the question? It's legit and I'm not trying to start anything...
     
  11. My vengeance Guest

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    Some might consider the question extremely stupid,some might agree 100%,some might be offended,you never know what may happen in a thread that regards race,even if you are not trying to start anything.
     
  12. GoldenAgeHero Registered

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    im kinda offended by this question, surprised itsstill, even after a mod came in here and posted.
     
  13. blind_fury Registered

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    African American is a fancy word for black. If your not black then you're not African American.
     
  14. Slipknot Registered

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    Why the hell are you offended?
     
  15. Gamma Ray Registered

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    So a white man born in Africa who now lives in America is not an African American? :confused:
     
  16. My vengeance Guest

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    See what I mean by offended for no reason?
     
  17. Slipknot Registered

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    Most white Africans are of European descent though. If you are born in say... South Africa then you are most likely English if you are white. So it's kind of weird in that way. So... if they moved to the U.S. then I guess they would be English African Americans. :confused:
     
  18. I_AM_SHADOW Registered

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    "There is no room in this country for hyphenated Americanism...The one absolutely certain way of bringing this nation to ruin, of preventing all possibility of its continuing to be a nation at all, would be to permit it to become a tangle of squabbling nationalities." -Theodore Roosevelt
     
  19. blind_fury Registered

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    Charlize Theron was born in South Africa. But she will never be African American. Why? Because her blood is European even though she was located in Africa during birth.
     
  20. PLAS Registered

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    I think it's a euphemism, maybe the black community thinks that the term "black" might come out as demeaning, which I have no idea why
    but who knows, people call pets "animal companions" and deaf people "hearing impared", it's not like there's a difference, but sensibilities are sensibilities
     
  21. Boba_Fett_123 Registered

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    If someone is from Africa and now lives in America, that person is an African-American, regardless of their skin color. African-American is NOT a blanket politically-correct term that applies to all black people. A black person from Jamaica, for example, is NOT African-American. It is NOT politically incorrect to say "black", any more so than it is to say "white". I don't run around calling myself Eukrainian-American, y'know.

    Hope that fully answers the question.
     
  22. Hades Guest

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    Shilo, when I was young
    I used to call your name
    When no one else would come
    Shilo, you always came
    Come today
    :(
     
  23. PLAS Registered

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    and what's wrong about calling a white person white? or a black person black? a lot of you would call me latino, and that doesn't make me less mexican

    just like calling someone african american won't make them less black

    is it a heritage thing?
     
  24. War Lord Registered

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    Most North American Blacks cannot really be considered African-American because about the only thing they have in common with their African counterparts is their skin colour. Each of their respective histories have gone their separate ways.

    Althought my ancestral roots can be traced to Scotland and France and Native, I share no history with any of them.
     
  25. PLAS Registered

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    so, you're not Scotish-French-Canadian?
     

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