Why do we refer to people as being Black or White?
960948
I dont know why we are not even REALLY white nor black.  But it has been that way for years.   I perfer to call my self Caucasion and African American or what ever the case.
816317
In the 19th century (and later) it was believed that there were 3 distinct "races" of humans: negroid (black), mongoloid (eastern) and caucasoid (white, but also applied to non-white people from the subcontinent and middle east).\n\nNegroid and mongoloid are now (rightly) considered to be non-PC and downright insulting. But the term Caucasian has survived to describe white/south asian/middle eastern people.\n\nWhen black people in America got fed up being called negros, they took on the term African American as a more accurate and respectful description of themselves and their heritage.\n\nI guess white people still get called Caucasian because it has never been a term of insult/abuse.
533539
The real question is why are white people white.  Most of the world’s people are “black”. The earliest humans were presumably “black”. Only people from North-Western Europe have “white” skin. White people are the mutant  form of humanity, so the real question is why.\n\n\nWhat it seems to come down to is that white people are white because there is no reason why they can’t be. There is all sorts of speculation that white skin serves to aid in vitamin syntheis and so forth, but that makes little sense since people in Tierra del Fuego, Tasmania, Siberia or Alaska do not have white skins despite living at much higher attitudes than most white Europeans.\n\n\nBasically once people left the low latitudes they no longer relied on dark pigments to protect the skin.  Those mutants born with paler skin survived and the genes gradually spread, possibly aided by sexual selection.\n\nThere doesn’t appear to be any real benefit in having white skin since people have survived perfectly well in all environments with black, brown and yellow skin.
637988
You're talking two different things.  When we call people black, we're really referring to their ethnicity, not their skin color.  Black people are of African descent so they would be referred to as black no matter how dark or light their skin is.\nI have seen an albino black person and you can definately tell that person is of African descent even though they have no skin pigment.\nSo, yes, a black person can be classified as an albino if they don't have the melatonin necessary to make skin pigment.  \nWhat I don't understand about albinos is that even their hair and eye color are affected.  I'm not sure if melatonin is responsible for that as well. \nThe black albino I knew had blondish yellow hair.
951601
Sometimes I don't tell people my ethnicity because I don't want people to label me, and when I meet new people I don't really want to know what they are because it'll affect how I perceive them. \n\nAnyways, if you go back 2,000 generations we're all African. Race is only important if you want to generalize.
359596
Either is just fine with me! Black seems more comfortable...it seems like a lot of times when people say African American they are trying really hard to be respectful, which is appreciated, but its not necessary, especially if it makes them feel uncomfortable in referring to me.  As long as you don't call me the n word, we're cool!
142052
The word "negro" is Spanish for black.  The word "nigger", which is used to degrade an entire race of people, comes from the word negro.  So, negro is usually frowned upon.  \n\nIn general, white people are not called "blanco", which is Spanish for white.  \n\n"Negro" has a negative connotation and is reminiscent of the days of Jim Crow.
948634
It's a slang word where I am from and in it's context does not mean anything close to what the white people meant when they said it.  But on the contrary I do not use that word and I don't take offense if a black or white person says it.  Come in we are in the year 2006 slavery days are over people need to lighten up and stop using philosophy on every little thing.
306283
It is the other way around. I think black people are racists to white people. They exclude themselves. B.E.T televsion for example. White people dont have W.E.T.
365378
Lets break down the words "white people" and "black people" take out the colour what do u have PEOPLE IT DOESNT MATTER THE COLOUR OF YOUR SKIN IT JUST MATTERS OF WHAT KIND OF PERSON U ARE! WE ARE ALL PEOPLE. In this world we are all brothers and sisters nomatter what the colour
1033995
From my own experiences, when we use it it has more of a friendly meaning. When others use it, most of the time it's used in a derogatory way.\n\nIMO I don't think anyone should use it, black or otherwise.
970120
In college, we called our African friends Africans... and they were all black.  Even though lots of Africans are white... so I would just use a generic regional term such as African, Jamaican, Haitian, etc.  And let everyone have to ask if that person is black or white...
959259
Very good question, I don't know why black people are called African Americans. Some black people have never even been to Africa. But it everyone wants to get technical we are all African Americans. when life frist started we all came from Africa. When all the contenients were together it was call something like( shit I forgot the name ) but africa was the center of it all . even in biblicul times, it said we all came from that region. So again we are all African american in a way
14819
everyone is racist to some degree. the very fact that we call whites white and black black shows that there is a difference between the two. so yes, i am racist. but i don't burn crosses and wear a white suit. i am kind and polite to ALL people. and i only expect kindness from others.
866983
I agree...on some forms I've seen the phrase "Euro-American" rather than "white." I wish this phrase/label was used more often.  The words black and white have such powerful connotations (white=good/pure, black=bad/evil). It should change.
165459
we label others based on the differences we see.  People have different colors, different cultures, and different facial features.  Because of this, labeling is thought to provide security within yourself.  You feel more safe "knowning" than not knowning.  However, some labels are sterotypical and are racist.  For example, some people might label Blacks to be drug dealers... so for that reason, parents of another race might try to keep their kids away from them for safety.  However, not all blacks are drug dealers, and there is no correlation between blacks and drug dealing, but unfortunately some people think that way.  We label people to draw conclusions about someone.  We try to assess what we know about them by looking.
1170021
Why are all of your 'asked questions' about white vs. black?