Am I African American?

Question

My parents came to America from Europe but I'm sure if I kept going back some ancestor once lived in Africa. So I'm African-American right?

Answer 1

You are probably not considered one.

Answer 2

If you were born in the US, you're American.

If your parents immigrated from Europe, they're European-Americans. (Or whatever country they came from).

If you grandparents immigrated from Africa, they're African-Europeans.

You could call your self:

American of African descent.

Answer 3

NO

Answer 4

I think African American is an alternative to saying all of the older terms used in America for people whose ancestors typically came from Africa and sometimes came as slaves from Africa?

I would think the term African American would apply to Charlize Theron's (A South African by birth) children if they were born in the US as American citizens though.

If you believe we all came from one group of people that started in Africa, then yes we could all put the "African-" infront of where ever we were born I guess.

Answer 5

Ummmmmmmmm.........although your parents came to America from Europe........what is their native origin?  Many people come from Europe........both black and white...........It's not about where they came from................it's about their NATIVE origin and cultural make-up.........  I know people that were born in Africa that are white.............so.......that makes no difference

Answer 6

THink I will agree with Mollie and Horse's answers.

Ditto

Answer 7

Your choice.  You could just say American if you wish, or human, too, as I do.  I like it that we seem to be blending as time goes by.  Maybe these distinctions will be less important later.

Answer 8

ask your dad, if you know him?

Answer 9

wrong- you would be african

Answer 10

If you have to ask, no you are not African American.

Answer 11

Genealogy DNA indicates (I didn't say proved) that everyone originated in Africa, even Scandinavians.

It is believed that our differences are due to mutations and as some people mutated or didn't, they couldn't survive in certain parts of the world.

The sun is rich in Vitamin D.  It has been found that the minimum amount of Vitamin D an African native requires is the maximum amount that someone of Northern European extraction should have.  Therefore, black people in the past, would have died out in Northern Europe due to short sun spans and lack of Vitamin D.

Today, it is not such a problem as we have vitamin supplements.

African American has become the politically correct way by many to refer to people of black ancestry in America. However, there are some people from Africa who are not black.   Actually, racial definitions have become political.  Schools get additional funding for having minorities so they are anxious to classify as many kids as possible as part of a minority. There really aren't any white people.  If there were we would look like Casper.  Also most black people in the U.S. have some what is called white ancestry. What are called white people come under a wide variety of pigmentations.  Some tan very well and some don't.  People of European ancestry are white people but a lot of Hispanics have American Indian in them so now they classify them as brown. However, when you talk with many people classified as "white" you find they have some American Indian in them. I was born redheaded, blue eyed with a skin cancer type complexiion and I had a Choctaw great great grandmother.  When I was growing up we never thought of someone being brown unless they had spent a number of weekends at the beach.

Oh, some of our classmates had darker pigmentation but we never put them in a separate classificiation and I was born and raised in Southeast Texas.

Answer 12

If you are black, your ancestors are from Africa. Then again calling someone an African American or a Italian American isn't the best thing because what if a white guy came from Africa. Then what?

Answer 13

Not really, you might be just a little bit but you have to find out first and if you are just a little then that dosent make you fully black

Answer 14

If you search back far enough we are all.  Your a goof!

Answer 15

Hm, that's interesting...but you need proof. Like, Im black, a bit african american, native american, indian, portuguese, and I MAY be part puterto Rican. I technically dont have Puerto Rican in me untill its clarified. So really i wouldnt call myself a race unless its obvious you are, or you're absolutely sure and you have proof. Also if its like wayyyy back in your ancestry, no i really wouldnt consider myself an ENTIRE race. Just refer to you being part...bla bla or i have a little bit of bla bla bla in me. But if its too small of a fraction to be in your genes, then no, you are not african american.

Answer 16

No. It's like if your great great great great great grandparents all lived in Ireland or somewhere and then you have one from Japan, you'd pretty much get laughed at for claiming to be Japanese. :)

Answer 17

No that statement is not correct because if you searched back far enough you would have came from all different finds of continents & countries. So you would not only be African American but maybe all the continents combined like European Asian African Australian American (South and North) or something like that. I hope this helps you in your search of knowing where you came from.

~Picktowngirl77