Why are black people called African Americans when most of them have never even been to Africa?
by 
justme32 loves the weekends
ANSWERS: 18
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b/c theyre background is african
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I think it is because the majority of African Americans are the descendants of enslaved Africans transported via slave ships.
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any different sort of person other than the standard "white" has their own name. it would help a whole lot if we could just call everyone in America Americans. but that will never happen, everyone has to call others by their race. it's just like a country-wide high school.
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Because their decendants are from Africa.
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Supposedly it matches the pattern with others such as Irish-American, Polish-American, Italian-American etc. So it was intended as an inoffensive way of referring to them that matched the way others are referred to. But in practice, lik all such euphemisms it fails because it is moved up the list Barak Obama is African American first, Rudy Giuliani is Italian=American about 10th on the list.
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lol...too funny they are descendents can't spell it right sorry
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to distiguish them from Italian Americans who have never been to Italy.
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THE SAME REASON THEY CALL PEOPLE MEXICANS EVEN THOUGH HALF OF THEM HAVE NEVER BEEN TO MEXICO OR INDIANS INDIAN WHEN THEY'RE NOT ALL FROM INDIA! LOL
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I never understood it myself.. I've heard Africans say they think it's funny.. We really should find words that work better.. I've never liked the word Indian either because I never know who is being refered to (Indian or American aboriginals)..
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ya know its interesting. When you think about it most of the black people here are more American than most of us whiteys. My great grand parents came from Europe and that was in the 1900's most "African Americans" have lived in America for hundred of years...like i said, More American than most of us...:)
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Because there aren't a lot of great alternatives, when you think about it. Why call Black people Black, when most Black people are actually Brown (skinned)? How about we just refer to people by their names from now on. ;)
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I guess because some ass went to Africa and noticed they were black so then dicided to rename people...I am not Africian in no way shape or form so i do not accept that title...I am american if they are going to give me a title of just plain Human.....Good question...
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Stupidity and ignorance. It seems that only white people are full blooded Americans, everybody else has to have subnames, sub is the key word meaning below. African American, Native American, Asian American, etc. We all know America is the best country in the world, but adding a country in front of America downgrades that person. Which brings to my point, Which is more pure, full blooded, or something mixed in. Think about it
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I have often wondered this myself...maybe other peoples' answers will enlighten me..
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I'm a German American who has never been to Germany. I wouldn't really like to be called that as a usual distinction. Those kind of things, which ever is currently in style, should only be used if absolutely necessary. I'm at the point where I don't really know what to call a negro (the term I learned as a child and what Jackie Robinison was called). I'll probably get DR'ed for this, but I never know what is right and what is wrong and what I can say and what I can't. It bothers me that one group can use one designation and it's ok and another group uses it, it's an insult, etc. Why can't everyone agree to stick to one thing or to nothing at all?
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I don't know, I am an Irish-AmericanIndian-Scotish- American! DO NOT refer to me as white. If you must be politically correct, get it right! Puh-lease. And if what everyone says is correct, that all people originated in Africa, I am an Irish-AmericanIndian-Scotish- African American... HA! Comon people, get over yourselves. This kind of stuff is crazy. We are all just people...
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Well once upon a time,after the Jim crow era had ended, black people being such a diverse were unknown to the majority of white people. Thus, pompous, Afrocentric people elected themselves leaders and decided that the whole community wanted to be called African-American. So now, the media and many white people go out of their way to be politically correct out of fear that they are going to offend people who don't like the term in the first place but often prefer not to dispute it. In my opinion about seventy five percent disagree with the term. Many people prefer black, although many are of mixed race.
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They were descended from Africans.
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