Black, African-American, Negro or “Other?”

By: M. Bachety

Photo Courtesy: The Grio

I’m looking at the census form and wondering; Why is it so important to know if a person, or their ancestry, is from Fiji, Tonga or Samoa but Black/Negro is good enough for the entire planet? You know, some black people living in this country actually came by choice…as in via by plane, not via by ship’s hull. Why is there no box to check stating a person’s ancestry or identity as Jamaican, Ghanaian, Haitian, Nigerian or Ethiopian? Some people would automatically ask, “What’s the big deal?” But, it’s these seemingly small yet consistent slights of indifference, disregard and/or disrespect towards black culture that perpetuates the stereotypical “pissed off black guy”. Not every African-American is descended from people kidnapped to America and, since there is a white minority in Africa, not every African-American is black. How about one simple blank, rectangular box and let every American write in whatever the hell they want to identify as?

And one other thing, when reaching out to the “black community”, is it always necessary to have a rap artist, (in this case, TopaZ) through rhyme and video of basketball dunking and dancing ho’s, communicate the message? Why not add a 40oz in a brown paper bag to the video? Can we please start addressing all Americans with equal respect?

Yes, I can go to ‘the hood’ and find the stereotypical doo-rag wearing gangsta…but I can also walk into a bar and find an Irish bartender, or go to a pizza parlor and find an Italian. So, do we really want to continue catering to old tired cultural stereotypes of our respective ancestral groups? Or, can we final turn a page in our soon to be post-Obama America and treat all Americans as simply just Americans who all like and dislike the same things as Americans.

Have a happy census!

M. Bachety is a photographer living in Seattle.

Most households will receive their forms by mail in March with instructions to return by April 1st.