Reply #55: Frenchie Cat putting it all in perspective

[Slickriddles]

I loved this post cause it just indicates how these various labels came about and what they signified at different times. Let me add some stuff from an Irish-German-Scotish- American point of view. I also have taught US history at a Community College and that raise some points. I never refer to myself with all that hyphenated baggage above. But I wanted to say I'm caucasian without saying "I'm white." None of this I think is about race. Many posts upthread have hinted at the fact that race is really not a viable category. As long as people can procreate they are of the same "race." And it quickly gets very confusing. It's mainly based on appearance and therefore is not at all a scientific category.

When I teach I need a name for the group of people brought here, mainly from West Africa, subjected to slavery, then emancipated but subjected to another 100 years or so of legal segregation, and in today's America still suject to oppression in various forms. Sometimes I use African Americans and some times I just use Blacks when I am lecturing. What's important to me is that my students who are mostly white understand that African Americans have a distinct history unlike that of any other immigrant group. In some sense Blacks in America constitute a distinct nationality. I suspect that is in the process of breaking down, but I don't think we are there yet.