The Appeal. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn. ;) 1889-19??, 1906-08-04
Race DESIGNATION.


There would be no confusion about
the proper race designation of the
people of African origin in the United
States if the rule governing in the
case of others similarly situated had
been applied to them. No such confu-
sion exists in the case of any other of
the racial elements that constitute our
! citizenship. Despite the arbitrary
, classification of all Europeans as raci-
ally homogeneous, there is as much
dissimilarity in their race traits and
tendencies as there is in those of the
! people of Africa, who are divided,
for the most part, into tribes instead
of nationalities, as in the case of
/ the European peoples. Europeans who
have become Americanized are known,
and proud to be known, however re-
mote the relation in time, as in origin
! British, French, German and the like.
! Ask Continental where he came
! from, and he will answer, unhesita-
tlngly Europe; ask him further from
what country in Europe, and he will
! name the country of his birth. Ask
an African newly arrived in the United
States where he came from and he
will unhesitatingly answer Africa and
he will name one of it's geographical
subdivisions; II you are still unsatis-
fed and want to know what race he
belongs to, he will tell you to one of
, the tribal subdivisions, as he has and
knows no political subdivisions-a
Vey Zulu, Dahomey race In short
he will tell you that he is an African
from this or that tribe. 1t is the same
way with the European, the Asiatic
and the American as with the African.
they all have a geographical and a
political relation to the country Of
their origin and outside of their coun-
try they are referred, to by their geo.
graphical rather than their political
relation. This rule is universally ap-
piled to the inha bitants of all the con-
tinents except that of Africa. My con-
tentiOn is that it should also apply to
them. when they are racially CLASH
fed, because there is no reason have
seen advanced why they should not be.
1t is by this process of reasoning
that 1 have come to adopt the term
"Afro-American" as the only proper
race designation of the people of Afri-
can origin in the United States. The
term has found an abiding place in all
OF the dictionaries and much of the
later literature OF the United States.
Time, habit and blood mixture have
produced new race in this country,
approximating much nearer the Amer
lean than the African type We do
not need any additional infusion of
white blood, although we are getting.
plenty OF it; we need only to intermar-
ry the mixed and pure bloods of the
race as we are doing, ultimately to
mix the blood of all the people of Afri-
can origin on the continent. To-day
we have Afro-American black and col
ored people; the time is coming when
we shall have only Afro-American
colored and white people; and these
ultimately will disappear into the
American people, whose race type is
IN process Of formation. This is in
evltable, as we have no reinforcement
OF pure blood from Africa, aud are
ceaselessly mixing blood with all the
white races here with whom we live
and part of whom we are.
1t IS OF the highest Importance that
we get ourselves Strengthened out on
thls question of "Who Are We?' I'm
I'll we get this race designation prom
erly nxed In the language and ltera
ture OF the country we shall be kicked
and cuffed and sneered at as a com
mon noun, sufficiently and contemptu
ously characterized by the vulger term
The term Negro" adopted from
the Latin, has been used from print
1--WE times, to describe the black
people OF Africa as they are or have
peen; and, SO used, it has been treat
ca, and quite properly, as a. common
noun: 1t is impossible to get the writ
ers IN America, Europe or Asia to
treat 1t as a proper noun. They neve,,
VIII 90 it, because it is not a tern,
dennltlve OF race affinities and unities
put OF physical peculiarities Of race
OF which color is the visible and in
variable index
the term Negro" has not even a
respectable tribe in Africa to dignify
pit The tribe so designated is reunited
70 De one of the most discredited If
all the African tribes. An American
recently returned from Abyssinia
told me that if person should call
an al Abyssinian a Negro he would fell
MIN In his tracks. He would take #
as a term OF reproach-as an insult
!. Ihomas Fortune in New York Tri-