“The Black Antarctica-Russian”
He speaks Italian and identifies as a 14 year-old Hungarian sailor
Let’s do a quick test, and see what comes to mind when I say the PC term “African-American.” Was it one of the millions of whites born and raised on the continent of Africa (many 4th or 5th generation)? I’m gonna guess and say no. Chances are you picture a black man or woman.
The term African-American was supposed to represent the blacks that were brutally uprooted from their homeland and brought against their will to the U.S. as slaves. This gave them some identity and remembrance of their homeland. However, with the immigration increase among blacks from countries other than Africa, and the multiple generations that have past, why are some of us still saying African-American? It is thrown around these days as though “black” is a derogatory word.
I see this with my beautiful Hispanic daughter. In Texas, there is a tendency to call all Hispanics “Mexican.” Even though my daughters mothers, mothers, mother was born/raised right here in Texas and she has never seen the country of Mexico. Much of the black population today have nothing but distance history if any to an entire continent. We call Whites “white”, Hispanics we call hispanic, and so on. Why do we insist on labeling an entire race and defining them by a piece of land, a nation of origin?
What would they call a man born, raised and living in Russia, who has the skin color associated with what we have called black, descended from the continent of Antarctica who speaks Italian. What is the race of former heavy boxing champion of the World – Lenox Lewis? We would not call the British man an African-American (unless we were looking to be knocked out).
First, let’s set aside for a moment that we are all in fact one race, the race of God. Let’s put that aside for the sake of identifying people based on their appearance, which sadly is what we are asked to do quite often (another way to separate us). So much of Africa is blended today. If these people were to immigrate to the U.S., would we refer to them as African-Americans?
Interestingly, a quick Google search of this topic will leave you with more questions than answers. It’s shocking that no one has seriously raised this question before. About half of the black population prefers the term black, it identifies them and when asked about national origin, we can all throw in which continent we came from with pride.
This designation not only takes away from God and His race…but it is divisive among this great country of America. It’s almost seems like a term to separate them as not true Americans. I am part Cajun, many of my ancestors are from France via Canada. I have never referred to myself as French American, nor would I ever. I am a Christian American descended from France, I speak English and my skin pigmentation is caucasian or white. The point is, If your goal is to identify they race of someone’s skin, it is impossible to determine that by asking them where they used to live.
If I asked one of my military brothers, HEY, what race are you, they wouldn’t say Delaware. These days it is important to recognize these PC words and truly research why we use these terms, what divisiveness it could cause and who benefits from this divisiveness?
Written by Don Stevens, III
Photos of Lennox Lewis are from Sports Illustrated and El Confidencial,
Lennox Lewis, former heavyweight champion of the world.
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