Kevin,
Thank you for your astute observation. I chose to use "African-Americans"
because that was the term in use in the discussion by those making favorable
comments. I used "white folks" because that is the common term.
In truth, many "African-Americans" would be correctly identified as
"African-European-Americans" or "African-Native-European-Americans". But,
the old term "colored" is in detriment.
One census back, my neighbor got the long census form, and being in her
eighties found it worrisome. So, she brought it to me for help. I carefully
asked her each question, reading all choices and writing down exactly what
she said. When it came to race, the best choice for her would have been
"African-American", but she replied that she was born in America, had never
been to Africa, and didn't feel she was "African-American". So, I checked
the box for "other", and wrote in American, per her instructions.
To look at her would be to consider that she may have been
African-European-American, or perhaps African-Native-European-American. I do
not know since she has never shared her known heritage with me. I'm sure
that the bean-counter in Washington, if they sent someone in person,
corrected the form to read "African-American", but it was not her wish to
label herself as such.
We need to remember that people have the right to designate themselves as
they wish. It is not for others to label them.
Anne
Anne Pemberton
[log in to unmask]
http://www.erols.com/stevepem
http://www.erols.com/apembert
http://www.educationalsynthesis.org
To subscribe, change options, or unsubscribe, please see the instructions
at http://listlva.lib.va.us/archives/va-hist.html
|