I've noticed that most ABers use African-American rather than Black. Why? And is there any country where it is alright to refer to people of African or Caribbean descent as Blacks?

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• Yeah, after "Black History Month" you have to feel that black is appropriate.

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  by Sheriff Raff -Answerhag on April 7th, 2007

• Agreed, I'm just waiting for White history month, but thats a debate for another time. lol

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  by Kgsult on April 7th, 2007

• Every month is White History Month. It's taught to all of us in our schools. Whites need no more recogintion than they already have.

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  by Aristocles on April 10th, 2007

• ummmm, I was never taught that in school. Being taught American History is one thing, But "Whites" don't have a Month dedicated to them

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  by Kgsult on April 10th, 2007

• In school we learn about how whites formed the government, created inventions, composed classical music, wrote novels, created works of art... need I go on? Obviously all of this is very important, but to say that there also needs to be a month to yet again recognize these achievments is absurd.

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  by Aristocles on April 11th, 2007

• What I'm getting at is there is no months dedicated to "whites" I could care less what you learned in school, I learned about all different races that affected American History. And to say that White or any other races don't "deserve" a month dedicated to them only "blacks" do is what's absurd. Just sounds racist to me. But as I said in the beginning of these comments, this is a debate for another time. I'm not getting into a race argument with someone that is only centered on one race. I think blacks deserve a month to themselves, but if that's the case so should every other race in the U.S.

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  by Kgsult on April 11th, 2007

• What did you learn about the other races in school? And did you know that many other races have their own "history" months? And if there were a White History Month, then what would be its focus, other than that which is already taught in school? (If you still feel that this debate is for another time, then disregard this post.)

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  by Aristocles on April 11th, 2007

• Thank you Aristocles i was about to write the same thing then i seen your post :) I am glad someone look of there calendar at home, Nice to know all the trees have not died in vain:)

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  by Bee4 on June 22nd, 2009

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• Yeah, we do too. It's just weird to see African-American so carefully, almost phobically written, as if saying anything else could be considered offensive.

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  by Anonymous on April 7th, 2007

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•   “Negro” is the most correct term, actually, in exactly the same sense that “Caucasian” is the most proper term for the “white” race.  Nothing outdated about it.  The only good reason to avoid it is that if said sloppily, it can come out sounding like “nigger” which is quite universally considered to be an offensive term.  Other than that, the only reason to avoid it is to be Politically Correct, but I consider Political Correctness to be a very bad reason for anything.

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  by Anonymous on April 7th, 2007

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• Well I don't want to be called 'caucasian'... I'm white. If you want to be insulting to me you can call me 'ginger' since I have red hair. If you are darker skinned, you are black. I'm not going to use the term African American. I don't even live in America for a start. The black people here certainly aren't African-American!
  
  Here, if you have typical European colouring with fair-ish skin you are white. If you have dark skin and probably African descent, you are black.
  
  And 'Asian' can be slightly offensive in England.
  
  I am white and no one in the UK would try to label me as Caucasian (since in its proper usage that term refers to far, far more racial types than those of just European descent, including South Asians etc). I am happy to be called white - yes, it is an apporximation, since my skin is obviously more pink than white, but it will do. And black is fine as a term - yes, it is an approximation, but so what?

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  by Irisibis on June 22nd, 2009

• I understand all of that... Sheesh... Can I ever just answer a simple question without someone barking at me? :(

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  by Aaron wears a COAT of Fantasy on June 22nd, 2009

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• African-American are just one part of their race, not the whole, so to use that as the umbrella term makes as much sense as calling whites European-Americans.

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  by Sid on June 22nd, 2009

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• I am totally in agreement with you. I am a born South African, but my grandfather immigrated here from Scotland. What does that make me?

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  by Aries RSA on June 22nd, 2009

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• I agree with you.
  
  I am of Irish-Scottish descent and grew up in England. If I tried calling myself Irish-English the Irish people I know would think I was mad, because I am not Irish. People have moved around the planet for millenia, either through voluntary or forced immigration. In the end though you may feel in interest in the place where people of your racial type originally come from, you are from the country you were born in. There are a lot of recent African immigrants where I live, and they I suspect would not see black Americans as African! Besides which, when you see most black Americans and compare them to African peoples, you can see that black Americans have a very mixed heritage that is not pure African. I am by no means racist, but I feel I always have to step carefully around the issue because I don't want to offend anyone. And there is always someone that accuses you of being racist when you aren't being at all, just to score points...

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  by Irisibis on June 22nd, 2009

• I totally understand what you mean. I think the difference between the U.K and the U.S (where people refer to their ancestors history as their own) is that it's a nation of immigrants. Only Mexicans and Native Americans can say that they are true natives and North Americans to the country. I, myself go by Black, but my father is Native-American and African and my mother is Black, White, and Native-American. Most Blacks I know realize that they aren't African-American and call themselves Black, esp. when they get around the real thing. haha.

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  by thewallfly on June 23rd, 2009

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