Exploring the world of language in the realm of Africa is interesting I must say. The connotations are grounded in history and still persist today. One can study from many different angles the implications of all sorts of language towards the African region. Having said that, I will split the discussion of this topic into two posts since there is so much to cover.
Let’s start with the most popular phrase used to describe people from the African region: “black people.” According to African scholar, Alik Shahadah (http://www.africanholocaust.net/news_ah/language%20new%20reality.htm), black isn’t a race nor an ethnic group. It is a construction which describes a recent social-political reality of people of color. It has no historical or cultural association. It was born when Africans were broken down in to labor units and transported as chattel to the Americas. Political blackness is therefore not an identity but consequence of a world which after colonialism and slavery existed in those color terms. When you look at the world, only two ethnic groups commonly adhere to color definitions: the Africans (the oppressed) and the oppressor, the Europeans (White people). Africans have gone from Negro (Spanish for Black) to Black (English for Negro). This illustrates the diffusion of the color usage to define identity. It’s extended across Hispanic languages and crossed over into American/European languages. It’s difficult to be called “black” when identity is often geographical and ties people to their native environment their core doctrine (Jews of Judaism, Muslims of Islam, Chinese of China). There is no “Blackland” or “Black Region” or “Black religion.” Additionally, very few Africans are actually black in color. The term “black” was created by Europeans for comparing African skin color relative to the Europeans’ pale pigment. “Black” reflects the European attempt to remove African identity. Europe gave Africans the lowest color on Earth, reflecting the social place of Africans from the European view. Thus, “black” is from the eyes of the “other” or the “foreign.”
However it’s interesting to note that some Africans connect stronger to the word “black” than African. For example, former Secretary of State Condolezza Rice feels there is nothing cultural, ethical, aesthetic, nor outlook-wise that resembles the continent her ancestors came from. “She has replaced Africa with America, and finally Africaness with dreams of the White ideal.” The fact that “black” has no geographical origin comforts some who don’t prefer to be geographically identified in that manner. On the other side, the term “African” has Berber Tunisian origins meaning “a sunny place” (qtd. in Shahadah). Notice the contradiction with the use of the word “black.” The word “black” actually places Africans outside of their connection to history and culture. Furthermore, the words “African” and “black” are not interchangeable. Self-determination allows a people to re-examine definitions and sculpt them to their reality. In academic circles, “black” is facing linguistic extinction. Pan-Africanist American writer and professor John Henrik Clarke says, “Black tells you how you look without telling you who you are. A more proper word for our people, African, relates us to land, history and culture.”
