re: Do you say "Black" or "African American"?

quote:

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So all those people calling themselves "Irish American" and Italian American" and "Asian American" fricking stupid unless they immigrate themselves?

Frankly I don't have a dog in this hunt. People can call themselves what they want.

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This.

When I first became aware of the origin of the "X" in Malcolm X as a teenager, it left a lasting impression.

A large proportion of this country's black population exists here because ancestors were ripped as freemen from their homeland, and forced into slavery. At that point by and large, their history, genealogy, and heritage were ripped from them as well. All most have left of it, is a knowledge of the continent from which their progenitors originated.
That's it.

Would someone honestly begrudge that sliver of heritage as well?

No, all Africans are not black; so one can make the case that African does not pertain to race, if need be. But all blacks are African, insofar as origin. Therefore, blacks are certainly African American, if they desire the reference.