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8 Interesting Reasons Some Blacks Reject Being Called ‘African-American’

Posted byBy A Moore | Published on: | Updated on August 13, 2016 CommentsComments (126)

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I’m From The Caribbean/I’m From Africa

Many Black people from the Caribbean and the African continent who immigrate to the U.S. think the term “African-American” should refer only to Black Americans because it omits their specific cultural heritage.

Some people from the Caribbean want to be referenced by their specific country of birth, while some continental Africans prefer to be identified by their nationality or their specific African ethnic group.

 

 

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Can a White African Be An African-American Too?

Some Blacks think the term African-American is not exclusive enough, and the term could also be claimed by whites and Arabs who also were born in Africa. Their claim is bolstered by a recent lawsuit by a Caucasian man who immigrated to the U.S.  from Africa and wanted to be classified as African-American.

Born and raised in Mozambique, Paulo Serodio, now a naturalized U.S. citizen, filed a lawsuit  in 2009 against a New Jersey medical school, claiming he was harassed and ultimately suspended for identifying himself during a class cultural exercise as a “white African-American.”

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