This was brought up in a separate thread but I thought it may deserve its own. I've heard a lot of racial nomenclature thrown around lately, the title of the post are just the ones used to describe Barack Obama. While I'm pretty sure that "African-American" is probably the most accepted term I've seen interviews of black civil rights leaders say that one was even inappropriate for Obama since his ancestry didn't come from slaves. I've also seen the term used in such an absurdly politically correct way that black Frenchmen were referred to as French African-Americans.
Black seems to be the term that average folks use, regardless of their backgrounds... at least when they don't feel under the microscope of racial tension. This use of the word seems pretty uncontroversial for this usage as even Merriam-Webster lists it as one of the definitions (it similarly offers a definition of white for racial nomenclature). This is the term that makes the most sense to me since it doesn't assume that everyone views their genetic characteristics through the prism of national/regional ancestry.
Mulatto is a term, that while generally acceptable seems to be used by conservatives who want to point out that Obama is half-white and/or has little claim to any notion of black heritage. It strikes me as similar to the term mestizo and rubs me the wrong way personally as I've seen it used as a perjorative. Something about it just reminds me of the racist mixed blood sentiments of America's past as well as other foreign cultures, the Japanese being the one that stands out in my mind at the moment.
Person of color, while fairly popular these days among many groups (possibly because it's a term that unites all against white people), reallly hits me as a rearranged throwback to colored people. Given the history of colonial Europe and imperialism by predominately white nations in history to be a fairly useful expression, it just seems inappropriate generally.
I feel pretty comfortable referring to Obama as a black guy, just like I'm comfortable referring to myself as a white guy when the subject of race comes up. I think it's a bit sad that race comes up so often though. I'm sure there's some folks out there who want to define Obama by his race as opposed to his positions, but I think that's a far worse throwback to our past.. I think an Obama victory would be a historic moment in our nation's history, finally ending a period of pretty blatant racial similarities of all of our past Presidents. People who know me closely know, and now all of you, know that I've been tempted to vote for Obama in November just so I can have bragging rights as part of that historic moment. But I just can't do it. I disagree with him on fundamental political philosophy, and though in Illinois, which is hands down "Obama country" where a vote to the contrary will probably make a red vote in this blue state even more obviously irrelevant... I just can't betray my principles like that.
But just so we can get this nonsense out of the way? What do the rest of you prefer? My racial nomenclature is fairly adaptable, I'll use the term that the folks I'm talkikng with prefer as long as it isn't a common perjorative/slur.
Jes' go look in the urban dictionary. You can find a great many un-common pejoratives and slurs there which should satisfy you. Unfortunately there is no such thing as an urban thesaurus, so you will just have to browse until you find one suitable. "High yaller" is pretty uncommon these days, will that work for you? How about "grey"? Illinois could then not only be the "Land of Linkin' " but also the "home of the blue and the grey".
I have no idea what you're trying to say/imply. Perhaps try being more blunt? I can be pretty dense when it comes to assuming a racist disposition.
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Glock21 Op/Ed
I think I know what * is trying to say. It is silly attaching labels to people based on skin tone. And more importantly, the group that you are labeling isn't a group at all, there is no hegemony among people with one skin tone or another, or one ancestry or another.
Labels, even when well intentioned, just don't work.
I'm white, but really kinda pinkish, not Casper the Ghost white. I get pinker in the sun, or when I am exercising. Maybe it's because I'm irish, or Scottish, or English, or Welsh, or my French blood is showing, assuming the Germanic tribes were procreating in what became French territory before they went back east.
Way before that, my great gandma, I mean my great great great and on and on grandma was named "Lucy". She was your great --- grandma, too. She was from Africa. There is absolute proof we are all Africans.
To be blunt, labels are useless. It just depends on how far you want to go back. For me, I go back to my own birth. That makes me an American.
Jeanie,
You're making a 100% nature argument. "We're all human, and that's all that matters." When it comes to pejorative labels founded on stereotypes with no consideration for the individual, I couldn't possibly agree with you more. I'll be just as quick to point out that the genetic markers which separate us from chimps only account for roughly 2% of our DNA, and that the differences between races are even less remarkable.
Nonetheless, they do exist. Whether it's a higher tendancy toward heart disease, a Roman nose, or the brown hair and brown eyes that most Germans pass on to their children, it's a little silly to say that evolution means we're all the same. We aren't. (And, completely as an aside, it would be a more dangerous world for humans if we were... genetic diversity contributes to the survival of the species.)
The labels we use to describe that genetic diversity can be useful. For instance, if I tell you that my Grandmother was a strong influence on me as a child, and that she was raised in rural Bavaria by her aunts, who woke her up at 4 am every day to attend sunrise service... well, you might get the impression that a strong belief in God, a frugal approach to money, a commitment to helping others in need, a fair amount of guilt over anything that failed to hit the mark of perfection, a solid work ethic, and learning to say, "No thank you, really, I couldn't eat another bite!" were important things in my childhood. And you'd be right. The words "Catholic European Grandma born in the 20's" pretty much lay that out on the line very clearly, and I suspect that anyone who was blessed with one of these matriarchs in their family tree is chuckling right now.
Does this mean that *all* Catholic European Grandmas pass these values down to their children and grandchildren? No, of course not. That would be relying on the label to define the individual, and that would be just silly. But, when the label fits, it's a useful way of giving a lot of information in just a short phrase. Nurture is an important part of personality, and culture/race is a big part of nurture.
That's the news from Lake Woebegon, where all the women are strong, all the men are good looking, and all the children are above average.
Kem
Whoa... I'm just a bit irked that someone would think someone whose father was African isn't African-American.
Drying Ink - Making it Readworthy
"Person of color, while fairly popular these days among many groups ..."
I find the term "person of color" interesting in the fact that it excludes white people, despite the fact that white is a color.