*As if being a person of African descent living in American doesn’t give us enough to contend with, now we are seriously entertaining the whole black vs. African American “comparison” and what this means when it comes to describing ourselves with how white people feel about it in mind.
Seriously?
We get the whole reality about black-sounding names like LaKisha Jones or Shanequa Brown and how those names vs. Patty Smith may lose you an interview, and now, because of this, people are (supposedly) giving their kids less black-sounding names. As if that’s going to put an end to the latent racism that rears its ugly head at any available opportunity — no matter what you do.
Yet the “studies” continue. This latest one done by Emory University shows that whites reacted very differently to questions posed about how people of color describe themselves. And what they came up with is that being identified as “black,” as opposed to “African American,” brought about vastly different responses. Negatives one. Responses that highlighted the harsh reality that it’s not just visual cues that can activate latent racism.
Since when does ignorance start with what you see?
Read more at EURThisNthat.