Blackinformant.com – African-American culture, news commentary, politics

This is another one of those discussions that will not go away anytime soon.

Pepper Miller of Advertising Age writes:

The 2000 Census, for the first time, encouraged people to self-select their race. This fueled more conscious discussions about where people fit in and how they preferred to be addressed.

The hip-hop culture’s mandate to “keep it real” helped reintroduce Black as a positive expression of intimacy and familiarity, as opposed to the negative baggage it once carried before and during the civil rights movement.

Growth among both African and Caribbean immigrants who preferred Black as the term for being included in America’s cultural fabric also contributed to the shift back to Black, as most tended to object to the African-American label.

These dynamics have also caused this issue to be more ambiguous than ever. For example, no matter how eloquent and insightful a speaker I might have been, at the end of many presentations the one question that is usually asked by white audience members (most often in private) is: “How do African Americans want to be addressed – Black or African American? (more…)

This reminds me of story when a White co-worker some time ago was telling me a story about something that happened in her life. Like many of us who tell stories, we want our listeners to get a visualization of the characters and events that we are describing. Well, I could tell that one of the people in her story was Black but she was just so hesitant to say so (and by the fact that she was using her hands as a fill in every time she would say “He was, you know…”. When I said “Black” she must have turned every color of the rainbow. Realizing that I had momentary complete control over the oppressor, I then told her that I was highly offended by her usage of the term “Black” and that I would file a complaint with the Rainbow Coalition. As she continued to change colors accompanied with nervous laughter, I then told her that I was just kidding. We all shared a good laugh over it.

Seriously, I think the title of this post says it all for me. Other than that, I sleep very good at night.