Being Called Black = Being Called a N***er [Reflection/Blog]
After doing some reading up on Black History I will no longer consider myself as a Black human being. I am African American. After reflecting on the actual meaning of the word black (vs the word white which is usually synonymous with clean and/or pure), I feel being called Black may be more detrimental to African Americans than being called a N***er.
From birth we are called Black or referred to as Black People. But should we allow ourselves to be defined by the below definition?
Definition of Black according to Dictionary.com:
1. lacking hue and brightness; absorbing light without reflecting any of the rays composing it.
2. characterized by absence of light; enveloped in darkness: a black night.
3. soiled or stained with dirt: That shirt was black within an hour.
4. gloomy; pessimistic; dismal: a black outlook.
I/We are none of the above.
If you still do not understand where I’m coming from insert any of the below words in front of the word “People” (i.e. “Dirty” People).
Synonyms
1. dark, dusky; sooty, inky; swart, swarthy; sable, ebony. 4. dirty, dingy. 5. sad, depressing, somber, doleful, mournful, funereal. 7. disastrous, calamitous. 9. sinful, inhuman, fiendish, devilish, infernal, monstrous; atrocious, horrible; nefarious, treacherous, traitorous,
I would even go as far to say that the “N” word can be inserted in to the above list of synonyms.
I would even go as far to say that the “N” word can be inserted in to the above list of synonyms.
I’M NOT BLACK I’M AN AFRICAN-AMERICAN AND WILL NO LONGER BE ASSOCIATED WITH THE NEGATIVE IMAGERY AROUND THE WORD BLACK. Secretly my/our psyche is being poisoned by this word.
SO ARE YOU BLACK?
BLACK HISTORY 2013
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Rodrigo_Girao
Feb, 09, 2015 11:53 PMI recall the story of a boy of European ancestry who was born in Africa, but his family emigrated to the United States. In school, the kid stunned all his black classmates by claiming – correctly – that he was the only one there who could genuinely be called an African-American.
Goodvibes27
Jun, 09, 2016 12:29 AMPastor Terrell, I’ll be real here and saying this with utmost respect.. I think the constant shifting of what is “acceptable” to call African- Americans is confusing and frankly, divisive. As a white person growing up in the south, we knew the “N’ word was always a slur. Yet my Great-Grandparents used the word “Nigra” and considered it polite! Martin Luther King Jr used the terms “colored” and “negro” and those terms were socially acceptable for a while..until the urging of James Brown “Say it loud, I’m black and I’m proud”. OK. Black is the correct term now. We’ll use it. We used it for years and everyone was happy. But now, black isn’t right anymore and the proper term is “African American”. No, sorry. First of all, “African American” is 7 syllables long! Black is 1 syllable. White is 1 syllable. I’m not literally white but I can accept that term for the sake of brevity. Secondly, everyone is technically from Africa, it’s the cradle of mankind. Some just more recent than others. We’ve never pointed out “black” and “white” for my Grandson, and he came up with “brown skin” to point out black citizens. It’s just a matter of the attitude when using the word, not the word itself. After all, that’s how black hip hop artists explain using the “N” word, right? So I choose to continue to use the term “black” to describe a person, as I have since my childhood, I hope you accept that as the respectful term it is intended to be.