Quote:
Originally Posted by Ike Bana
Back in the day there was this older black guy I worked with...Sam Charles was his name. I remember one day, back in the late 60's, Sam went on a rant at work..."What's this Afro-American shit? I don't play that. I ain't no African!!!" Pissed off some of the younger black guys on the shop floor. And every time James Brown's "Say It Loud...I'm Black and I'm Proud!" came on the radio, Sam would crank it up.
And then in 1989 Jesse Jackson saw a poem on a "Black History" calendar and he decided that his people were no longer "black" but "African American". The media bought it because it was Jesse. And ever since, depending on who I happened to be with, to one level or another, I was nervous using either term. What's a well-intentioned white boy to do???
|
Take your best shot at being well-intentioned. If someone objects to a noun or something, apologize sincerely and assure them you meant no offense.
If they stay pissed it's not your fault.