Quick Question. When will American become a ‘nationality?’
Many consider themselves Hispanic or African America. What about just plain old American?!
My husband’s ANCESTORS are from Mexico and Spain, but he is 100% American and that is how he identifies himself. My ANCESTORS are from Ireland and Germany, but I am 100% American. I am NOT German American or Irish American. I am American.
This is a really interesting thread. To this question, I think it’s somewhat of a challenge because discussions of nationality are also implicitly discussions of cultural identity as well. Discussions of cultural identity is challenging when attempting to apply it to geography because there is generally some variation among different groups within those boundaries, and I think it’s more difficult for the United States to describe its culture (also, can we really call it “American” culture, given that we’re only one country among many within North, Central, and South America? Is it presumptuous for us to describe ourselves as American, and couldn’t any of those countries in that geographical region lay claim to that label as well? On the other hand, calling ourselves “United States of American” or “United States’ian” is really kind of weird). Being a country founded on immigration, as well as a country in which immigration continues to play an integral role demographically and culturally, who says which values, which behaviors, which tools/material culture make up “American” culture? I don’t really have any answers, but these are really interesting topics and ideas to explore.
On the other hand, compare that with countries like Great Britain, France, Japan, China, etc. that have been around for a long time; these countries are, relative to the US, more homogenized with respect to ethnic background and shared values and behaviors, especially Japan and China, countries that have at points in their history cut themselves off from the rest of the world. However, they also are facing their own new cultural challenges because of globalization and immigration today.
Now, back to the OP, I think the term “person of color” is one of those terms that depend on context. Going back through our national history, every new group that has immigrated into the US faced historical (and current) discrimination, this act of “othering” if you will (I would say that this has also applied to Native American tribes as well). Groups have been marginalized and in many ways told that they “don’t belong,” or they’re not “one of us.” This kind of treatment historically even applied to Europeans like the Irish or the Germans. However, as people saw more and more people coming in that looked less and less “like us,” the challenges of assimilation increased, acts of discrimination became more extreme, etc. This didn’t occur just because of differences in physical appearance, but also differences in culture, like language, religion, food, values, beliefs, “normal” behavior. So, implied within the term “people of color” is this acknowledgment that different groups feel that they share this common “otherness,” or this difference between who they are and what they see as “valued” in this country. And I think there’s a tendency to look at “leaders” of groups (this includes political leaders, corporate leaders, media, celebrities, etc.) and define that as what is “valued.” This view gives somewhat of an explanation to why the election of a “black” president is historically valuable.
I’m not sure if I clarified anything with this long post, but that’s sort of the point: issues of culture and diversity are quite complicated, and I’m not so sure that it’s as simple as “whatever you choose to identify with” because things that are generally personal and private can also have public consequences (i.e. one’s understanding of marriage). I don’t claim to have any answers, just questions that I think about, and that I think are good for anyone to consider.
