African American — why the African doesn't like the term

Where were you born? Which country, state, city, or zip code did your parents hear your precious first cries? Wherever that country was, I dare say it is the country of your citizenship. Of course there are exceptions to the rule, such as, the travelers visiting another country for a period of time, or the missionaries living many years on the mission field, and maybe even the military family serving a few years in another country. With all these exceptions, they all plan on returning to their home country. However, you, the ordinary citizen, living day to day in the same country, trying to make the best of what life has dealt you, you are the citizen of the country you were born in.

In this country that you live in, what makes you different to your fellow citizens around you? It could be your religion, your culture, your education, or even, dare I say, the color of your skin. All these attributes may help define you as a person, but none of these declare your citizenship. A citizen is a native, or in some cases, a naturalized member of a state or nation. As a citizen you owe allegiance to the government and you are also entitled to its protection. When you walk through the security lines at an airport, you show them your passport. Looking at your passport, they may see that you are a citizen of Brazil, Spain, Nigeria, or the United States of America. That’s what you are; you are a citizen of the country of which your document states. You may be black, you may be white, or in countries like South Africa, you may be colored. You are however, a citizen of that country first.

History is very important because it is a timeline of which we can look at to improve our futures. However, civilization is not built by our nostalgia's and histories alone, but in our criticisms of identified drawbacks and letting them go. Some things are more useful in museums, stories, and history books. If society is to progress, some things must digress. One of those being the terminology “African American.”

Words are powerful, and words used to identify a group of people can sometimes be detrimental to society.

The African is African because they are born in the continent of Africa. The Australian, an Australian, because they are born in the continent and country of Australia. The South American, a South American, because they were born on the continent of South America. The American, an American, because they were born in America. Each of these countries or continents are wonderfully diverse. Each of them with hundreds of different people groups with many different skin colors that should be appreciated for their diversity. Yet, so often, instead of using the lessons of history, we stay fixed, trying to modify the terms that we use, in the name of being politically accurate. But being politically accurate is being ignorant in identifying our drawbacks so that we can build a more healthy society. A society in which we can appreciate the diverse skin colors all around us and yet, an American is an American, and that’s it. They may be black, but they are an American who is black. They may be white, but they are Americans who are white. Each wonderfully made in their own way.

Using the politically correct term such as African American comes with good intentions, but it continues to create a divide among Americans. The black American is always going to be an African first and American second. The white American is just American. If the past two sentences didn’t cause you to shiver a little, then reread them, and I will give you a minute to muse over them…

Let me help you out. One of the reasons, and probably the most important reason, that African American is used to identify black Americans is so that it can help black Americans remember their history. It is important to remember history, but it’s also important to not be stuck in it, and the terminology, “African American,” is not a catalyst for change, but instead, a flat line. It keeps the black American divided from the white American. It makes them second-class citizens, always American only after being first African, whereas the white American is always American first.

As an African, born and raised in an African country, it is sometimes difficult to not want to correct every person that uses the term African American. Africans in America are lumped into the African American group because of our skin color. Yet we are neither African Americans nor Americans, and believe me, the government reminds us of that every day. We are instead, more accurately, Africans in America and that’s how we see other Africans who are currently in America. However, when we see black Americans in America, we do not think they are African Americans because they were born and raised in America not Africa, and so were their parents and grandparents, just like white Americans. Culturally, there is more in common between the black American and the white American than there is with the African in America. We are Africans, they are Americans.

So you may either agree with me or disagree with me, but I hope it makes you think. The terminology African American always distinguishes the black Americans as being something other than American first. Why not everybody be American first, then secondly, appreciate the complex diversities within each of the many different Americans — even skin color.