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What's in a name? A lot, actually, if you look into various traditions around the world that have developed over centuries when it comes to names
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Names can be used to highlight the greatness of one's family or be used to foretell the future of a child
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But what about when it comes to the name that's used to refer to a group of people, such as African American
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What's in that title, and why do so many people of African descent in America still refuse to refer to themselves as African Americans
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In order to examine the origins of the term African American
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we have to look back at all the titles that were given to descendants of slaves in the United States since the time of their arrival
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Let's start with Negro. In the 1440s, Portuguese explorers arrived in southern Africa while looking for a route to India
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There, they encountered the Bantu peoples and used the term Negro to describe them
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The term Negro simply means black. The use of the term grew to refer to people that are believed to have originated and live in sub Africa The use of the word Negro grew extensively in the 18th and 19th century
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as the proper term to describe people of African descent in the United States
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It was actually considered a more polite word than Black. The word was also widely used by prominent Black figures in history like Marcus Garby and W.E.B. Du Bois
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The use of the word colored began in the mid-1850s. One of the first uses of the word was in an article in the New York Times in 1851
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Initially, the word referred to non-white people in America and the United Kingdom
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However, it slowly evolved to refer to just Black people, especially in America
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In 1909, NAACP was founded. During the 1950s and 60s, however, objections toward the word started to build up
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Nowadays, the term people of color is more commonly used instead of colored people
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Blacks started being used more and more to refer to people of African descent in America
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after the civil rights movement in the late 1960s It a term that used not just to describe African descent in America but also African descent around the world Today the word black is arguably the most popular term that descendants of Africans in America use to identify themselves
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Alas, we have arrived at African American. The term African American puts an emphasis on ancestry and heritage more than skin color
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The term was actually first used way back in 1782. In the 1980s, the term African-American garnered more prominence
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after activist Jesse Jackson used it in front of a national audience. The word is intended to give weight to heritage of African descendants in America
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the same way German-American or Irish-American is used. Since most descendants of slaves in America do not know exactly what country in Africa their family is from
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all of Africa is used as a reference point. Most forms nowadays have the African American slash Black option, seeing the two terms as
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meaning the same However a lot of people do not believe the two terms are the same Black is a racial description they say while African American is an ethnical heritage description For example German American describes their heritage while white describes their race
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So if African American refers to ethnical identity, can Black Americans truly identify
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with the term? Those who disagree with the use of the term African American believe this is just
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another way to other Black people in America, instead of referring to them just as Americans
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Others argue that none of their recent family members are from Africa. They don't know much about African culture
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There is no specific African country they identify with. Then why should they refer to themselves as African American
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On the other hand, there is a group of people that believe African American is a fitting term to all descendants of slaves in America
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Because there is no question that their ancestors are from Africa. On top of that, they came here against their will and their African identity was stripped away from them
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Nothing honors them or their legacy more than to identify themselves with Africa, the motherland
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So, where do you stand on this issue? Let us know your thoughts in the comments
