John Hardly,

It's possible when posting on an international forum that comments can be miscontrued because of differences in word and phrases being used or interpreted differently within the same nation and within multiple nations. It's possible that a word or phrase or comment that appears to be racist may not be that at all. However, it's also possible that a word or phrase or comments that appears to be racist is, indeed, racist.

I've said a number of times on this forum and within this thread that I don't speak for other African Americans. However, I would like to unequivocably state my belief John, that, even if you meant no harm by using the phrase "the American black", that phrase was interpreted by me, and is likely to be interpreted by many if not most African Americans {Black Americans} as prejudiced if not racist. If you had used the plural phrase "the American blacks" that would be much more acceptable-though that phrase isn't used in the United States.

My sense is that "the American black" is racist, or at least can be construed as being racist because it lumps all Black people in the United States into one person, thus discounting the myriad ways in which Black Americans live, move, and have our being. In other words, using the singular phrase "the American black" stereotypes even more than using the plural phrase "American blacks". Even if you make a seemingly positive statement such as "The American black dances better than the American white". That still is stereotyping. From my own experiences, I can name a number of times I have seen White people dance better than Black people, including better than me. But even if you say American blacks dance better than American whites that is also a racist statement. I mean, who has surveyed all of these people and who are the judges, and what criteria {standards/values} are they using to make such a blanket statement?

I've already mentioned that the referent "the American black" isn't a racial referent that is used or preferred by African Americans".
If I have not mentioned this, I will do so now- the racial referent "Oriental" appears to have been retired years ago by non-Asians and does not seem to have been used that often by Asians themselves. John, it's possible that you grew up with these racial referents. And/or it's possible that you still hear these group referents being used among your friends and peers. If so, you may have thought that it was appropriate for you to use these referents on this international discussion forum. The responses that you have received thus far from other Mudcatters might {should?} be lead you to conclude that neither of these group referents are appropriate any longer, if they ever were appropriate.

John, I believe that you live in Great Britain. Today another Mudcat member sent me private message that included information about the British website http://www.ligali.org/ .

That multipage website includes articles, current events postings, quotable quotes, and a mostly text based forum. Since I received that URL this afternoon, I've spent some time reading some "threads" in that forum. I found them interesting reading, in that they provided me with glimpses of how some people of African descent view living in Britain. However, I have some reservations about joining that forum, partly because of time considerations, and partly because I may not be in agreement with some core values of that forum {such as the equal acceptance of people without regard to sexual orientation and without regard to race}. But I hasten to say that it may not be the case that this forum and its members have values that disagree with mine. I've just read a small amount of entries on that forum. However, it is telling that the moderators did not delete those two comments that I read that which I interpreted as being homophobic... But then again, I might feel the same way if I were coming to Mudcat for the first time and I saw posts that remained which I considered to be racist...

But I digress...I want to post this definition that I found on that website's Frequently Asked Questions page:

"African British is the term now used to describe the community previously mislabelled as Afro-Caribbean, Black British, UK Black, Coloured and Black. It embraces all British nationals with antecedents originating directly from Africa or indirectly via African diasporic communities, such as those in the Caribbean and South America."

http://www.ligali.org/aboutus/faq.htm

-snip-

My point is that the referent "UK Black" is similar in construct to the referent "American black" that you used, John.

I'm not sure how widespread the phrase "UK Black" is or was in Great Britain. It seems from that "Black" as it appears in the referent "UK Black" was/is both singular and plural.

John, given that definition, I'm willing to believe that your use of the group referent "the American black" may have been based on your knowledge or familiarity with the referent "UK Black". Maybe you were using a phrase that was similar to one that is familiar to you or a group referent that is itself familiar to you. And maybe you meant no harm in doing so.

That said, John Hardly, I would respectfully suggest to you that using "the American black" and 1. that you are prejudiced if not racist against Black people and Asians, if not other non-White peoples

and

2. that you are an old foggie who finds it difficult to change with the times.

I'd rather believe #2 than #1.