grist for the mill

Article | Why I'm Black, Not African American: "With the number of African immigrants in the U.S. nearly tripling since 1990, the use of 'African American' is becoming increasingly strained. For example, Alan Keyes, the Republican Senate candidate in Illinois, has claimed that as a descendant of slaves, he is the 'real' African American, compared with his Democratic rival, Barack Obama, who has an African father and white mother. And the reason Keyes and others are making arguments such as this is rather small, the idea being that 'African American' should refer only to people with a history of subordination in this country - as if African immigrants such as Amadou Diallo, who was killed by police while reaching for his wallet, or Caribbean ones such as torture victim Abner Louima have found the U.S. to be the Land of Oz. "