trying to grok

Typical stuff, actually. I'm labeled a sell-out in my school because I happen to believe that the "tyranny of the minority" definitely applies on campus, racially and otherwise.

Oh and yeah, I'm Asian (Filipino-American to be exact). I think the correct term is a "twinkie": yellow on the outside and white on the inside. Or some also use banana, depending if the accusing party is also a vegan anarchist.

A co-worker and I were just discussing this very topic. Since both of us are of mixed heritage, we have been accused of not being "Black enough" or "Acting white". It's just pathetic.

I personally have "issues" with being called African-American. I can trace my Fathers side back to my Great Grandparents and they were in Georgia. On my Mothers side I can trace back to my Grandparents, they immigrated from Poland to Germany before the war.

Can someone please tell me how that makes me "African-American"?

I don't mind the term African-American. I've been called far worse. Why is there such a push for some verbal, superficial acceptance when history and society tells us discrimination is still rampant?

--Cobra

Growing up I knew two black kids who were twins. I grew up in an Asain and Hispanic community. When I hit college, I had more interactions but was still very unknowledgable about black culture. All this time though I was told, time and time again to call blacks African-Americans. (I grew up in northern CA).

It wasn't until I got married moved around and got to spend real time making friends with all sorts of people that I learned that there are many that do or don't like a particular term to describe ethnecitity.

A couple of coworkers giggled the first time I called a woman African-American. So I pretty much refrain from using any term until I get to know the person better. Both of my officemates use Black, so do I when I am with them. An older coworker down the hall prefers African-American. I just try to accomodate to what they are used to if I can.

It is too bad that she felt she had to change the person istead of him being allowed to be who he was. I know two Sgts that are from different African Nations, they are great people. They are quiet but when they do speak they have some very interesting and well thought things to say.

I hope he found out who he was and stuck with it.

HH6

Sigh. I unfortunately can relate to the African. I actually HEARD a girl in my high school say, just loud enough so I could hear, that I used to be cool last year when I was black. WTF? Then, I was so confused. Now, I realize that it was just an avenue to piss me off. She wouldn't have liked me whether I was "black" or not.

As I heard Henry Louis Gates (head of African American Studies at Harvard) say on the Today Show, Martin Luther King Jr. would roll over in his grave to see that black kids are pressured to be thugs, speak poorly and drop out of school to play sports - by their own people. It's an insult to the civil rights movement to define being black as being ghetto. If being highly educated and dressing appropriately means I'm white what is that saying about what it means to be black? And anyway I'm half black. NO one picked up on the fact that I'm half Latino too...

Ok, off my soapbox :)

Well said Monique!

Did I mention the comment from that girl was probably twelve years ago? It take's time to heal those feelings unfortunately...