Quote Originally Posted by kuhio98
I saw Whoopie Goldberg on a show once. I loved what she said. I won't be able to quote her exactly, but she said something liked ~ Don't call me African American. I don't want anything to come between me and being an American.
I few years ago there was something on the news about Tiger Woods asking him how he wanted to be referred to. Was he African American? A Thailand American? An African-Thailand American? He responded something that was full of hyphens because his Mom's genetic background was mixed of several ethnic groups and so was his father's. I found myself wishing that he had just said, "I am an American".
My parent's liked to say that we were "Croatian Americans) and I guess that makes sense since they grew up speaking Croatian first and foremost and only English in Public and School. BUT that was then and This is NOW. My kids are told they are AMERICAN, just like all of their friends. Just like Whoopie, Tiger, JFK, George Bush, Michael Jordan or George Lopez! People of my Ethnic background around my parts are sometimes referred to as "MillHunkies". Not so much anymore since most of the Steel Mills have shut down. Although some found it offensive, I always thought it kind of funny and never really bothered by it!!!