Sunday, May 15, 2005

Should I be OFFENDED by the term 'AFRICAN AMERICAN'?

I suppose this is a call to Only the folks that call them selves African American (however anyone may comment).

First, I should state that I am an American male of African decent. OK.....There goes...I'm just going to ramble in no particular order.

I need YOU to help me understand why I should accept (aside from that fact that it's on government documents) the term African American as a label for my family and I. It's rather offensive to me (and should be to African born Americans, which can be of any race) because it implies that I'm half 1/2 African and 1/2 American. Though I am not 100% pleased with America or my neighbors I am VERY proud to be American. I would suspect that my neighbors as well as America is not 100% pleased with me and would hope that they don't try to find a way to disassociate themselves with me. Yes I do believe that we Americans of African descent are trying very hard to disassociate ourselves from America when we are as much a part of THIS land as anyone else...Like any other race we have both honored, improved, glorified, built-up, tore-down, and disgraced America.

I was born: Jeff Thomas III
In: Los Angeles, CA - 1975 - (UNITED STATES OF AMERICA)
Never been to Africa - though I would like to go...And that still doesn't make me an African.





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