What are your thoughts regarding Raven-Symoné's stance on labeling people herself?

I agree with her 100%, an American is an American and it is time to stop identifying race with citizenship as well as time to stop blaming the long dead horse of history for racism on all sides of the fence. She is a progressive thinker and I like the position she promotes. Taking things to a “new” level. I’m sure their are plenty of Americans that can identify with what she is saying.

We just can’t never get it right, can we!

Perhaps Raven has the wealth and luxury to isolate herself from racial issues, but for the vast majority of African-Americans race is an inescapable issue in their everyday life. It’d be nice to think that we live in a post-racial society, but the reality is that, for good or ill, race matters and no amount of wishful thinking or telling others to stop identifying by race is going to change that. Also it’s funny that she says her sexual orientation is no one’s business but hers, and that she doesn’t want to be labeled as gay, but if it weren’t for her bringing it up herself in this very public spotlight how many people would have known or cared?

I would prefer to hear that type of stance from somebody that you can’t look up on IMDb.

Doesn’t bother me a bit. If it works for her, fine. And I get her point.

@Coloma …it is time to stop identifying race with citizenship… I don’t understand why it continues either, other than it has become habit . For one thing, Africa is a continent, not a country. A co-worker relocated from the UK to the US, and she was bemused when people referred to her as an African-American.

@Dutchess_III We just can’t never get it right, can we! This may be true. Labeling a person seems to be a factor of human nature. What is sad is that it can be incorrect. I have fallen into this trap one too many times.

@Darth_Algar Interesting. Raven-Symoné is publicly requesting that she be labeled nothing more than an American. Yes, she is famous (in the US), which gives her a wider audience in order to share her opinion. So does Morgan Freeman. Does this make it wrong because both are pursued by the media and are willing to share their personal opinions?

Neither are saying that they are not ‘black’. Raven-Simone is asking that she not be labeled ‘African-American’ because it is a misnomer. Morgan Freeman is asking that the US do away with Black History Month because being ‘black’ deserves 365 days of acknowledgement instead of one month in the calendar year. If it takes social media to spread their message more quickly because they can, is this so wrong?

@Blondesjon I would prefer to hear that type of stance from somebody that you can’t look up on IMDb. That is understandable. If you heard this type of stance from just one non-celebrity, would it make a difference in your opinion, or would it take more?

@snowberry That is pretty much how I feel. What caught me off-guard was Oprah’s reaction. Granted, she didn’t share a personal opinion, but what she speculated the feedback would be for not embracing the African-American and/or lesbian label.

@Pied_Pfeffer . . . Her view has been my view since before she was born.

Real life, as opposed to Oprah life, has believed in and tried to push this sentiment for a long time. Real life just keeps getting told on TV that it hasn’t happened yet.

@Blondesjon Thank you. I would really like to believe that, as it equates to most of my personal interactions. Where respect is lost is when someone uses their ancestry as an excuse for their behavior.

I support anyone’s right to self define in whatever way they choose whether they’re famous and wealthy or not at all.

Because Raven Symone has accrued more fame and recognition than the average person neither especially validates nor invalidates her position.

There are many transexuals also going through similar struggles with rejecting society’s labelings and choosing their own.

Bi-racial people face the same problem.

Society as a whole keeps trying to categorize people in one box or another, with one label or another because it seems to make keeping track of things easier.

But human beings are infinitely more complex than their labels (which serve to limit rather than expand.) so there are always people rejecting labels, rejecting the status quo and that’s a good thing because it reminds us of the need to keep expanding our minds and hearts (and hopefully become more inclusive and accepting of any and all based upon their actions toward us rather than a flimsy label.)

So, if Morgan Freeman and Raven’s speaking out about that helps the process along then that’s a healthy thing, so good for them and anyone who feels likewise.

I completely agree with her. I’m Caucasian, but my roots go back to Belgium. I still refer to myself as American.

The thing is, the phrase “African American,” was coined BY African Americans to replace the word “Black,” which seemed to be offensive to some. We still use it, far more than we use African American. Jesse Jackson coined it, and most blacks agreed, that that’s what they wished to be referred to.

There are times I label myself, or someone else labels me, as “European American.”

We ALL get labels. I’m white. I’m a female. I’m middle class. I’m a heterosexual. I don’t mind being described as such.

@Pied_Pfeffer

Honestly I’m confused by your response as it doesn’t seem to have anything to do with the point I was making whatsoever.

@Dutchess_III My apology then. Can you clarify your point?

Which point, @Pied_Pfeffer?

I label everyone as human. I think that race is something that needs to get tossed out the window all together.

Pig works too.

@Dutchess_III The point that you made in which my response confused you. (Maybe it’s the double negative that threw me off?)

@Winter_Pariah Pig works too. I’m laughing at that comment, and I don’t know why. What exactly does that statement mean?

@Pied_Pfeffer reference to the quote I believe from Churchill: “Always remember, a cat looks down on man, a dog looks up to man, but a pig will look man right in the eye and see his equal.”

@Pied_Pfeffer

I believe you are confusing @Dutchess_III for myself. I was a bit confused by your response to me because my post had nothing to do with “right” or “wrong”, so i’m really not sure why you asking me “is ____ so wrong?”. Certainly Raven Symone has the right to label herself whatever she wishes. My point was that having spent pretty much her whole life in wealth she has perhaps been sheltered from the day-to-day realities that most black Americans face. Severed from their own cultural heritage, carrying around European names that were forced upon their people by slaver owners, in a society that has still never full accepted them as equal citizens, “African” is the only cultural heritage that most blacks in America have. Hence “African-American”.

@Pied_Pfeffer Could you please just copy and paste the point that you want me to clarify? Saying The point that you made in which my response confused you. doesn’t tell me a single thing.

Oh, yeah. You’re right @Darth_Algar. Took me a bit to puzzle that out. You responded to me @Pied_Pfeffer, when you meant to respond to @Darth_Algar.