African American, black, of color, colored???

@dazedapathy Said

hmm.... but American isn't a race... it's a nation. A nation that consists of immigrants.

@weaksauce Said

i think these type of topics are not helpful at all. Sprinkiegirl dont take this at all the wrong way. when a question like this is asked in what ever medium it can amount to nothing good. it leaves open a huge hole for racist remarks. u might want to know what other peoples names are for other or the same race they are but does it really matter? in my opinion it doesnt matter what we call anyone as long as they dont take offense to it. i think that the biggest problem in "racial" conflicts is the fact that we just cant move on. and that is the same on both side of issue. so lets move on. we all are people trying in life. we all put our pants on the same way. one leg at a time.

@dazedapathy Said

IT doesn't really matter what people call one. As long as they don't intend to offend or insult someone. Like the word "b****" it's not supposed to be derogative. It's a female dog for pete's sake. But it evolved into something else.

Also I think stinabloom is pertaining to blacks in America... so maybe "African- American" is more accurate.? I don't know.

@Spinkiegirl Said

Being an American and half black myself.....I believe most blacks in this country prefer to just be called black....or better still...by their birth-name...whatever that maybe!!

@kentoo Said

I have not had much experience with black people. I have had considerable experience with Native north americans. Like Spinkiegirl, I found using the birth name to be the most respectful.

@crazylikeafox Said

I think Black, White, Hispanic, and Asian are fine. I don't really like the Blank-American for 2 reasons. 1st, it makes it sound like you're a Blank 1st and an American 2nd (if that's too confusing, it makes it sound like an African-American is African 1st and American 2nd). 2nd, it leaves out those of us like me who are something like 1/4 German with English, Irish, Dutch, Swiss, posibly Jewish (that's what my last name is, anyways), and probably other races I can't think of. How would you posibly categorize that? The only exception I would make are Native Americans, because saying Indian or Indian-American could mean either a Native person or someone who's family came from India, which could get a little confusing.

@crazylikeafox Said

I had a Chinese Prof who started calling it the Far East and then said "well, I guess it's the Far West from our perspective, isn't it?" Before then I never really thought of the fact that the term Far East is from Europe's perspective.

@stinabloom Said

This is so true! Applies to Middle East as well.
Another word for Asia - the Orient, and Oriental for Asian, is as far as I know completely unacceptable due to the main association of the word Orientalism that Edward Said coined (right?) --> Otherism and the Other.
Anyone of a different opinion?