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Throughout history there have been many labels used to describe Americans of African descent. These classifications have gone from derogatory to what is deemed politically correct. In 1619 the African captives were described as negars, the color black in Latin. After that they were commonly known as negros, the color black in Spanish. Throughout history, the name "blacks" always held a negative connotation. But in the 1960's was used as an expression of pride. The term Afro-American was popular in the 1970's, but soon after, African-American dominated. The term was looked at as a compromise. Unfortunately problems still remain, as many so called "African-Americans" do not believe that the term represents them and their heritage correctly. One individual, Shaun Smith, prefers to be called black, as his parents are from Mississippi and North Carolina and he does not identify with the term //African// American //.// Gibré Georgestarted a Facebook page entitled "Don't Call Me African-American," because he feels that although they respect their African heritage, the term does not really define them.

As stated in the article, the label used to define African-Americans has changed throughout history. Each change in term was accepted, but there were also many opposers. In the early 1900's, blacks had no say in what they were called. As they began to gain their rights they also looked to make a change to the the derogatory titles. One such man interested in making that change was Rev. Jesse Jackson. He supported the elimination of the "N-word" and sparked a movement to implement the term African-American. He said, ''This is deeper than just name recognition. Black tells you about skin color and what side of town you live on. African-American evokes discussion of the world.'' His influence as a well-known civil rights activist helped to make the transition from "negro", "coloured", and "black" to "African-American".

African American culture has slowly been integrated into the large entity of American culture. Originally as slaves, the African Americans were restricted in practising their own traditions. Only after being accepted as equal citizens could the blacks really encorporate their own culture within American society. Initially, African American culture developed separately from mainstream American culture. This was due to slavery and the segregation that had been in place for so long. Allowing the black community to dictate what they were called encouraged the entire black population to break from the restrictions that were once held on them and embrace their own practices, values, and beliefs.

Questions: 1. One reason for the disapproval of the current term, African American, is that although they respect it, many blacks do not identify with their distant African heritage. Will this spark yet another name change as future generations are further removed from their African culture? 2. Is the percentage of Americans who identify as African American dropping because the term is out of date? 3. Does the mixture of races also influence the disapproval of the term African American?

"Jesse Jackson - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia." //Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia//. N.p., n.d. Web. 9 Feb. 2012. . WILKERSON, ISABEL. "'African-American' Favored By Many of America's Blacks - New York Times." //The New York Times - Breaking News, World News & Multimedia//. N.p., n.d. Web. 9 Feb. 2012.  "African-American culture - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia." //Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia//. N.p., n.d. Web. 9 Feb. 2012. .