Let people define their heritage

DEAR AMY: I’ve been confused about something for several years, and I’m hoping that maybe some of your readers can clear this up for me.

It seems that lately, for a person with black or brown skin of African descent, the PC term to use is African-American.

I find this to be quite ridiculous, as the large majority of blacks in this country are of many races, including white, Native American and Latino, and haven’t been able to trace their roots to Africa for many generations.

My race is considered white, and I have ancestors that trace back to areas all over Europe. I don’t refer to myself as European-American, nor do we use that term for the large number of white Americans who trace their roots to Europe. The blacks I know prefer to be called “black,” but it seems that everyone is afraid to use that term anymore. If you’re a first-generation American from another part of the world, I can see how the hyphenation “works.” But in the end, aren’t most of us simply Americans? What do black Americans really want to be called, and why?

An American in Florida

DEAR AMERICAN: In America, being white is the default position. You and I and other whites of European descent don’t have to describe and define our race in the course of everyday life because we are the ones doing the describing. When was the last time you heard a prominent white American described as white, where race identifiers are routinely used to identify everyone else?

If Native Americans want to be referred to as Natives, by others, even when they might refer to themselves as Indians, then that should be their choice. If Latinos prefer that term to Hispanics, then their preference should be respected. I’m aware of Americans several generations removed from the old country who would like to be known as Italian — or Irish-Americans. So be it.

In my mind, people have a right to define themselves and to ask that others refer to them using their preferred term. If that term changes over the decades (could you imagine referring to a black or brown American as “colored” — the way whites did when I was a child?), then these changes are a result of our becoming more sophisticated and respectful. Mainly, this is simply respectful. But if that’s PC, then I’m all for it.

Take heart, though. As the racial makeup of this country changes, either we’ll all become Americans, or you and I will be searching for a terminology that suits us, because the majority nonwhite American population will need to find a way to describe us. I’d be happy to run responses from other readers who might want to weigh in on this issue and/or state a preference. (April 2006)