Black Americans experience disparities in education, business, healthcare, incarceration, and the environment, but does identifying as Black versus African American hold additional consequences that amplify inequality?
According to a study conducted by Erika V. Hall, Assistant Professor of Organization and Management at Goizueta Business School, white people view the term “Black” in a more negative light than “African American.” For instance, when reviewing otherwise identical job applications of Black- and African-American-identifying candidates, “only 38 percent of participants who evaluated the black applicant believed he could be in a managerial position, compared to 70 percent of participants who evaluated the African-American applicant.” Additionally, when evaluating a fictional crime report, “whites showed more negative emotions toward a suspect when they read that a black male suspect “was found running east on Lake Street” than when the same suspect was described as African-American.”
While “Black” and “African American” may share a literal meaning, they carry different connotations and arose out of different historical concerns in the racial justice movement. In order to learn more about the complex history behind contemporary racial labels, I spoke with Tiffany Ruby Patterson, Associate Professor of African American and Diaspora Studies at Vanderbilt University.
Before “Black” or “African American” became the standard terms, “Negro” with a capital ‘N’ was the dominant label of respect. However, as the Civil Rights movement came into play, and as the Black Power movement arose, identifying as Black became a semantic show of pride in the color of one’s skin.
“My generation was coming into the Civil Rights movement in the ‘50s and the ‘60s, demanding to respect our color as Black people,” Patterson said. “I’m Black, and I’m proud all through the ‘60s and the Black Power movement. The name ‘Black’ took on a very radical designation, a determination that we were not ashamed of our color, that we were proud of it.”
In the aftermath of the societal shifts sparked by the Civil Rights movement, “Black” settled into mainstream status as the dominant term until 1988, when civil rights activist Jesse Jackson announced the need for a shift from “Black” to “African American.” For Jackson, this transition in terminology empowered African Americans to claim pride in their ethnic heritage. He declared, “Black tells you about skin color and what side of town you live on. African-American evokes discussion of the world.”
“Jackson wanted us to elevate the name of Africa,” Patterson explained. “Keep in mind, there are historical events that are happening that are driving these discussions and driving these tensions. Colonialism in Africa would be challenged simultaneous to the civil rights movement… Later, Jackson began to say, we are African American people and have to have an ethnic identification in the same way that European Americans have.”
Jackson’s campaign was successful in that “African American” grew to become a widely used term. However, it did not fully replace “Black,” with both terms accepted as standard labels in contemporary American society.
The evolution of racial terminology is not a clear-cut linear progression, but rather a complex, continuously evolving dialogue, especially as modern-day movements like Black Lives Matter further the fight against racial injustice. Different people have different preferences for racial terminology, drawing pride from Black, African American, neither, or both. Allies can demonstrate respect for their Black peers by acknowledging individual preferences for racial terminology and by identifying and dismantling their internalized racial biases. Whatever the next iteration of “Black” or “African American” may be, we must work together for it to represent the accomplishments of an intelligent, dignified, and diverse community.
Since it is impossible to cover the multi-century, multi-faceted history of racial labeling in the space of a few hundred words, here are several books Professor Patterson recommended to further your understanding:
- The Fire Next Time by James Baldwin
- Slave Culture: Nationalist Theory and the Foundations of Black America by Sterling Stuckey
- Drylongso: A Self-portrait of Black America by John Gwaltney
- Exchanging Our Country Marks: The Transformation of African Identities in the Colonial and Antebellum South by Michael Gomez
Be sure to browse these black-owned bookstores as you diversify your bookshelf.
- Carbon Farming: The Future of American Agriculture and Carbon Trading - May 26, 2021
- LEED: Greenwashing or Good for the Planet? - March 8, 2021
- Who Invented Zero Waste? Acknowledging Indigenous Wisdom in Modern Environmental Practices - February 9, 2021
Thanks for writing this, Heream! I learned a lot from your conversation with Dr. Patterson.