What IS the right term....?

[Flamesparrow]

I know it isn't really news, but it is conversations about it with children that bring it to the head...

Black
Coloured
Dark
Mixed Race
African American (doesn't work in this country though and DD has friends that she is just noticing are "brown")

I was raised early 80s with "coloured" (which I hate as we're all a bloody colour) which then changed into "black", but if I say black in rl people look like "You can't say that", I have no idea what to say any more

Obama is African-American very literally, because his dad was from Kenya and his mum was a white American (and it's how he refers to himself)

But what about other people? I think her friends are mixed race - is that right?

What about mum's student - he is from Sudan...

I want to be able to teach my children the "right" term, but I have no idea what that is. Just ignoring it and saying everyone is the same ain't gonna cut it round here - predominantly white area so they do mention it.

I agree with you flame. We live in a very white village, but there are a few non-white children - mainly mixed race. But we do venture from here to other places where there are more non-white people, and as we are in Yorkshire there are huge numbers of people with Indian/Pakistani/Bangladeshi ancestory living not very far away. And they are not really black are they?

I think you need to refer to their precise origins, eg:

Pakistani
Indian
Korean
Kenyan

etc

One of my black friends insists it's 'black' and gets very offended when she is called 'african-american'. She says she's never been to Africa in her life, and as a born American she objects to anything other than 'Black American' if you really must reference her skin tone.

Mixed race and black are pretty accepted I think. In the US they often talk about people 'of colour' as a catch-all term which I think sounds a bit pretentious. In the public sector they talk about 'black and minority ethnic', or BME. 'Asian' is also breaking down a bit.

Language is a changing, growing thing so I don't think you can say that there is a 'correct' term that they can use now and forevermore, it's just important to be sensitive and flexible.

Yeah but Anna that assumes that you actually know the people well enough to know their precise origin as the vast majority out here in the sticks will be British. Also I find my children can be pedantic regarding black/brown skin tones.

My colleague refers to herself as "mixed race" - she has light brown skin. I think that one of her parents is white. One of our very pc social workers pulled her up on how she chooses to describe herself - saying she should embrace the "black" part of her background or somesuch comment. Perhaps she wants to "embrace" both sides of her heritage?

I think that mixed race as a term has now officially been replaced with dual heritage.

Ooh, that social worker is wrong, wrong wrong! People should be able to define their own identity!

It is odd though that we use the terms "black" and "white" but not "brown" to describe Asians. What do you say though? I hate the term "white" as I am most definitely not white unless I've had a shock or am ill.

Beige? Kind of olivey when it is summer?

Perhaps now we can start using the country rather than colour. So saying Barack Obama is American and leave it at that?

I don't know, it is tricky to the point of frustration.

OTOH I am really quite white especially before I put my slap on.

precise origins would be hell for DD's friends

I find black the preferred term, but as it isn't me that is the issue it is so hard.

I'm pleased to see it isn't just me that has no idea though

I doubt we will ever be all just "people"

yeah, how about we adopt the term 'people with a head' for everyone? That's pretty inclusive

ooh i dunno - that excludes the headless people

My black friends call themselves black. My asian friends call themselves asian.

Anna - I think that most British black and asian people would be really pissed off if you tried to find out 'where they come from' - they were born here, they grew up here, ergo they're British, just not white British

I use the term Afro-Carribean more than the word black.

Anna 8888 -it doesnt work like that does it? That is to do with countries not race.

Otherwise you are drifting into saying that you can't be Black and British or Asian and Scottish.

There are of course people in this globalised world who have multiple ethnicities - we come across them every day as DD's school is chock-a-block with them. She is in class with children who are growing up with four languages/three religions at home because all four of their grandparents have different ethnic backgrounds.

However, in my (quite extensive ) experience in lots of situations, most people I come across do not want to be called "black" or "brown" or "white". They want to be called Korean-American with a French passport or Qatari-Polish or Egyptian Jewish-Lebanese. Complicated perhaps, but it has the merit of explaining a lot.