so if a white guy from Africa moves to the US and becomes a Citizen...

[OutHouse]

can he call himself African-American?

after all he is African, and there are a whole lot of white people who have lived there for countless generations...

 

[nageov3t]

wasn't there a lawsuit about this a couple years ago? some girl was denied a scholarship or something on the basis of not being an african-american, despite the fact that she was from africa and moved to america but happened to be white.

 

[SearchMaster]

yes

 

[waggy]

Originally posted by: loki8481
wasn't there a lawsuit about this a couple years ago? some girl was denied a scholarship or something on the basis of not being an african-american, despite the fact that she was from africa and moved to america but happened to be white.

yeah i seem to remember something about that. wonder what happened.

 

[Pepsi90919]

dave matthews

 

[KillyKillall]

Yes, they are still African-American. I had a teacher in this situation once.

 

[mrjminer]

The only people truly permitted to call themselves African-American are those who have citizenship in both a country in African and a country in, I suppose, any country within either of the Americas.

Everyone else is just looking for a handout or too stupid to realize that they are either one or the other, dependent upon their citizenship.

 

[OutHouse]

Originally posted by: loki8481
wasn't there a lawsuit about this a couple years ago? some girl was denied a scholarship or something on the basis of not being an african-american, despite the fact that she was from africa and moved to america but happened to be white.

hummm didnt hear about that. very interesting.

 

[theprodigalrebel]

Well, the first definition on Google says...

A US citizen having origins in any of the Black racial groups of Africa.

 

[mercanucaribe]

The "African" in the term "African-American" is an ETHNICITY. It's not about the continent where you were born. A Caribbean born black person who moves to the US is considered an African-American. A white person born on the African continent who moves to America is still a European-American. I was born in Oman because my dad was working there at the time. I am NOT Middle Eastern.
If you insist on being asinine, you better start convincing America born people of every race to consider themselves American-American and complain when that isn't a category on forms.

 

[KillyKillall]

Originally posted by: theprodigalrebel
Well, the first definition on Google says...

A US citizen having origins in any of the Black racial groups of Africa.

Not too good at reading past the point you're looking for eh? The next definition says:

"A person of African ancestry who is also a citizen of the USA, historic countries of origin include present-day Ghana, Angola, Congo, Senegal, Nigeria, and Gambia."

 

[91TTZ]

Originally posted by: theprodigalrebel
Well, the first definition on Google says...

A US citizen having origins in any of the Black racial groups of Africa.

That's a stupid definition. How can someone be Egyptian and NOT be African? They're not black, but they're African.

 

[OutHouse]

Originally posted by: 91TTZ

Originally posted by: theprodigalrebel
Well, the first definition on Google says...

A US citizen having origins in any of the Black racial groups of Africa.

That's a stupid definition. How can someone be Egyptian and NOT be African? They're not black, but they're African.

libya?

 

[91TTZ]

Originally posted by: mercanucaribe
A Caribbean born black person who moves to the US is considered an African-American. .

I disagree with that. I used to work with a guy who was from Jamaica, and he didn't like it when overly PC people called him "African American". He said, "I'm Jamaican, I'm not African".

 

[mugs]

This stuff never gets old.

 

[theprodigalrebel]

KillyKilall, I know, I read them all. I was suggesting that the defn. I quoted is probably the one the scholarship program (mentioned in the first reply) went by.

 

[OutHouse]

Originally posted by: 91TTZ

Originally posted by: mercanucaribe
A Caribbean born black person who moves to the US is considered an African-American. .

I disagree with that. I used to work with a guy who was from Jamaica, and he didn't like it when overly PC people called him "African American". He said, "I'm Jamaican, I'm not African".

i agree with 91ttz, if you ever want to piss off a Jamacian call him African.

 

[theprodigalrebel]

Originally posted by: Citrix
i agree with 91ttz, if you ever want to piss off a Jamacian call him African.

Ali G: I love Africa and all its people. Especially Bob Marley.

 

[mercanucaribe]

Originally posted by: 91TTZ

Originally posted by: mercanucaribe
A Caribbean born black person who moves to the US is considered an African-American. .

I disagree with that. I used to work with a guy who was from Jamaica, and he didn't like it when overly PC people called him "African American". He said, "I'm Jamaican, I'm not African".

He's just as African-American as any other black person descended from slaves brought to America from Africa

 

[yowolabi]

It's pretty clear that what the definitions are trying to achieve is to find out your race, and that African-American is meant to be a synonym for Black, not to actually point to what continent you came from. That's why Black people who've never set foot in Africa are still labeled African American, and white people are not, no matter what country they came from.

The alternatives to African-American on those forms are White, Hispanic, Etc... not European American. Anyone familiar with either logic or history would know that the term African-American is used simply as a synonym for Black skin. It's kind of pointless to debate about technicalities when the purpose of the categorization is clear.

 

[OutHouse]

Originally posted by: yowolabi
It's pretty clear that what the definitions are trying to achieve is to find out your race, and that African-American is meant to be a synonym for Black, not to actually point to what continent you came from. That's why Black people who've never set foot in Africa are still labeled African American, and white people are not, no matter what country they came from.

The alternatives to African-American on those forms are White, Hispanic, Etc... not European American. Anyone familiar with either logic or history would know that the term African-American is used simply as a synonym for Black skin. It's kind of pointless to debate about technicalities when the purpose of the categorization is clear.

asking questions are never pointless.

 

[quentinterintino]

Yes, you would - I know some guys from South Africa (white guys) so they are, by definition, african american. that's why i get pissed off about the whole pc issue. You're not african-american, you're a black dude from detriot! Just like I'm not "European-American" since my family is from the UK... I'm a white guy.

 

[91TTZ]

Originally posted by: yowolabi
It's pretty clear that what the definitions are trying to achieve is to find out your race, and that African-American is meant to be a synonym for Black, not to actually point to what continent you came from. That's why Black people who've never set foot in Africa are still labeled African American, and white people are not, no matter what country they came from.

The alternatives to African-American on those forms are White, Hispanic, Etc... not European American. Anyone familiar with either logic or history would know that the term African-American is used simply as a synonym for Black skin. It's kind of pointless to debate about technicalities when the purpose of the categorization is clear.

As long as the form says "African American" instead of "black", a white person of African descent can legally check off that they're "African American". What are you going to do, sue them? All they'd have to do is prove that they really are from Africa.

 

[MrDingleDangle]

Originally posted by: Pepsi90919
dave matthews

he was born in New York though...only after his father died did he move to africa i believe

 

[OutHouse]

^