By Melody T. McCloud, PsychCentral, June 10, 2020
It is past-time that this be publicly said: The term “African-American” is a misnomer for native-born Black Americans; and the media, and many Black Americans, need to stop using it.
When you hear “African-American,” do you think of Charlize Theron, Elon Musk, Sienna Miller, or J.R.R. Tolkien? Probably not. You probably think of people naturally-blessed with various, rich skin tones; people who look like me, no tanning beds required. But Theron, Miller and the others were born in Africa, and immigrated to the United States. They can, and should, use that term. Native-born Black Americans should not.
I am not an “African-American.” I am an American. A proud Black American. Period. Don’t cut my citizenry in half. Don’t make it sound as if I immigrated from another country to the US. I was born here: I was born in New York; not Nairobi, nor Namibia.
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