Stop calling me ‘African-American’ — I’m Black

If you're not white, your race on any SAT sign-in, FASFA doc, or job application will be hyphenated. White people are "Caucasian" and the rest of us are labeled [insert minority race] – American. In my case, being labeled as an "African-American" is inaccurate, and I need to school ya'll on why myself and many other Black people prefer to just be considered Black.

My origins may be in Africa, but I'm not African

Sure, my ancestry and that of kinfolk started in Africa, but most of us who got dragged (literally) into this fucked up country have all been displaced so none of us have a fucking clue as to where in that bitch we're really from.

Most people (whose grand daddies weren't sold and shipped) are able to pinpoint a specific country of origin. But to me, claiming Africa — which is a continent by the way — isn't a nationality or a race.

I've come across many people who just assume if your skin is a chocolate brown color, you immediately get categorized as 'African-American' in the U.S. census. There are Cubans, Brazilians, and other mixed races with my complexion, but people still are afraid to use the Black term to describe our appearance. But please, use it. We're honestly making your life easier.

I remember my time in retail during the holiday season when I was ringing up a (Black) customer in line, and she asked if I was Nigerian. I don't know how the fuck she could assume my country of origin out of all 54 African countries, but when I couldn't clarify her assumption, she hinted at the idea that I could assert myself as Nigerian to people because of how I looked. Yeah, no thanks. I'll just 23AndMe that shit instead of trying to make up my ethnic background like Rachel Dolezal .

In addition, any time some thirsty thirst tries to interrogate my life, questions around my nationality seems to always be the starting point to our conversation. Bonafide Black people are the ones who have been in this country for so long, we don't know our true origins and I'm forever in racial limbo while everyone else can actually trace their fam back to the days that mine were in shackles.

And America damn sure hasn't accepted me or my people (We don't claim Omorosa's ass either)

It's now 2018, but Black people and every other underrepresented group are all still "wading in the water" for any and every billionaire politician to acknowledge us and our needs. The continuous police brutality, blackface makeup, and white people trying my patience with the use of the N-word makes it pretty evident that I'm not wanted in this country altogether.

Listen, dudes and dudettes, people will self-identify however they want to, unless you're screwy like Dolezal. I self-identify as black, and that should be enough for you.

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● What's Ariana Grande's ethnicity? Because Twitter INSISTS she's black and needs to accept her true identity

● Everything you know if you're a big booty hoe

@aribines