Equality vs. labeling

The question is: Who decided that the term "African-American" should be used and by what authority did the term come into usage? Insisting upon using the term helps to separate Americans.

If that is the case, then the civil rights marches and the people who gave their lives for inclusivity and change did these things in vain; and we are headed back to the same segregated formats we had in the past.

We are also always parenthetically labeled in news stories: Gen. Colin Powell (first black chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff), David Dinkins (first black mayor of New York city).

History tells us that in 1619 human beings were first brought to this country from Africa and enslaved. The 13th, 14th, and 15th amendments to the Constitution corrected the injustice.

And after 373 years we should qualify as American, not black, not African-American - just American. Lewis H. Hammond, Louisville, Ky.

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