Marie Arana discusses in her Washington Post article, "Isn't it time for the language to move on?". In language she means why our society is so caught up with calling him black, or her white, just because of the color of peoples skin. I feel like we should "move on" and find a different way to alter our stereotypical language for race and not just label people by the way we see them.
As our first "black" president is elected many people see this as a change or taking a step forward into the future. Arana however, disagrees with the phrase "black" but interpreted it as "We are racially sophisticated enough to elect a non-white president, and we are so racially backward that we insist on calling him black. Progress has outpaced vocabulary." Sure its a change to not elected a "white" president but it is not and hasn't been a change to refer to all people with dark skin black.
I agree with her statement that "the categories must go" and we cant always label and be so stereotypical to what race people are. I know many people who have dark skin and would be labeled as black or African American but are actually half white or come from a European background. Obama for instance is 50% white Kansan and is labeled around the world as the U.S's first black president. I think there are other phrases out there like biracial which is a more appropriate use of terminology for this subject.
In all society needs to realize calling someone "black" or "white" isn't the socially correct way to define a race. The language does need to move on and our society needs to move along with it. Nothing should "still mired in the old south".
As our first "black" president is elected many people see this as a change or taking a step forward into the future. Arana however, disagrees with the phrase "black" but interpreted it as "We are racially sophisticated enough to elect a non-white president, and we are so racially backward that we insist on calling him black. Progress has outpaced vocabulary." Sure its a change to not elected a "white" president but it is not and hasn't been a change to refer to all people with dark skin black.
I agree with her statement that "the categories must go" and we cant always label and be so stereotypical to what race people are. I know many people who have dark skin and would be labeled as black or African American but are actually half white or come from a European background. Obama for instance is 50% white Kansan and is labeled around the world as the U.S's first black president. I think there are other phrases out there like biracial which is a more appropriate use of terminology for this subject.
In all society needs to realize calling someone "black" or "white" isn't the socially correct way to define a race. The language does need to move on and our society needs to move along with it. Nothing should "still mired in the old south".
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