Let me start by explaining why I don’t use the term African-American when I’m talking about American citizens who happen to have more melanin in their skin then I do. Let me refer you to a speech made by Theodore Roosevelt in New York City way back in 1915. In this speech he was talking primarily about European immigrants, because the term African-American was not widely used until the 1980′s, but it holds true for everyone. “There is no room in this country for hyphenated Americanism. When I refer to hyphenated Americans, I do not refer to naturalized Americans. Some of the very best Americans I have ever known were naturalized Americans, Americans born abroad. But a hyphenated American is not an American at all.” “This is just as true of the man who puts “native” before the hyphen as of the man who puts German or Irish or English or French before the hyphen. Americanism is a matter of the spirit and of the soul. Our allegiance must be purely to the United States. We must unsparingly condemn any man who holds any other allegiance.”
Posted on: Thu, 18 Jul 2013 19:07:04 +0000
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