All of us, except American Indians, are descended from immigrants (including Hawaiians). Too many people, including the media, are trying to divide us by referring to the country whence our ancestors came as our label. Most of us have either been here for many generations or more recently moved here and become a citizen, but we are all being given a particular status like Hawaiian/Caucasian/Hispanic/Asian, etc.
We believe the term African-American, which has been promulgated by Jesse Jackson, Martin Luther King Jr. and the liberal media, is racist. Why? Because any person born in the USA is automatically a citizen and thus an American. If you were born in Africa and later become an American citizen with dual citizenship, I suppose you could call yourself African-American, but I've learned that people who immigrate to our country and become citizens are more ardent Americans than many people who were lucky enough to be born here.
Even President Barack Obama refers to himself as an African-American. But if you want to put a label on him, he is actually an mulatto American. We all know he uses the African-American label to further his political position. We understand that, but he is also fueling a racist mentality.
It is wrong, and racist, to identify everyone by color, ethnicity, culture or religious persuasion.
We are Americans, and proud of it.
Tom Godfrey
Kihei
