In the United States, over 36 million Americans identify themselves as black or “African-American”. In Brazil, over 77 million people are identified as black, or some mixture of black and one or more European ethnicities, making it the largest “black” population outside the continent of Africa. Despite this, and a number of physical similarities, many “black” Brazilians do not refer to themselves as being black. India, a country more than one-third the size of the United States, has a population of over 1 billion people, whose range of complexions is similar to the “black” population in America. Yet, they are not considered to be “black”. This then begs the question, what exactly does it mean to be “black”?

For years, Americans whose direct or distant roots lie in Africa were associated with the term “Negro”. According to Merriam-Webster, this term has its etymological roots in the Latin stem “nigr-“, meaning black. In the 1960’s and ‘70’s, that term was shed from the common vocabulary in favor of “black”, despite the many negative phrases or connotations that have been created using the word (e.g., “Black Monday”, or “black market”, or “black arts”, among others. In the 1980’s, the term “African-American” became fashionable, as many sought to re-establish lost connections to historical roots in Africa. Relief contributed to the ubiquity of the term, as many sought (and still do) to distance themselves from what they perceive to be an ominous color or word. Still, none of these terms clarify the notion of being “black” in America.

Does being black mean that one’s origins lie in Africa? If so, then the entire human race could be considered “black”, since historical and/or anthropological evidence dictates that modern man originated in what is referred to as Africa. Many “white” Europeans have lived in Africa for generations, but are not considered to be “black”. Does being black mean adhering to a predominant culture among Americans of African ancestry? Surely not, as anyone could follow such a trend, and many who are considered to be black do not. Many would tell me that I am not “black”, simply because I am a conservative Republican, do not support “Affirmative Action” or preferences, and disavow the current so-called “civil rights establishment”. I have been told in the past that being “black” is a mindset or an “awareness”. However, no group of mankind has a monopoly on awareness of self, God, nature, the environment, or anything else for that matter. Nor is a particular thought or way of thinking confined to a group of people.

Hence, the question still remains: what does it mean to be “black”? It does not appear to describe ancestral origin, adherence to a culture, skin complexion, a way of thinking, voting patterns, or even a national citizenship. Such is the problem with language and labels. Very often, words not only fail to describe a particular object or concept, but they often obfuscate the matter and thus lead to confusion, division, and/or misinterpretation.

So, despite that fact that the populous may demand that I be referred to as “black”, as was/is the case with golf phenom Tiger Woods in light of his preference of the term “Cablinasian”, I simply defer to a clearer and unifying term - “American.”