- Blackamoor.

- Ethiopian.

- Negro.

- Free Person of Color.

- Yellow.

- Maroon.

- Mustee.

- Dusky.

- Mulatto.

- Bright Mulatto.

- Dark Mulatto.

- Quadroon.

- Octoroon.

- Griffe.

- Creole.

- Negro again.

- Colored.

- Afro-American.

- African American.

- [Both] Black.

- From our arrival here in the Americas, we've been called so many things.

The terms have changed over time, but the importance of codified racial categories has not.

- It's, like, so important.

So deep.

So important.

- But, like, why?

- I don't know, Azie.

I don't know.

(upbeat music) - At the very foundation of America, our entire economy was based on racial categories.

Who was allowed to own land, where you could live, how you were taxed.

Whether you were a slave, indentured, free, poor or rich was all determined by your racial category.

- In 1790 the first US census was managed by none other than your boy Thomas Jefferson.

Yeah, his views on race were not the best.

- Jefferson believed that race was biological and it determined a person's intelligence, beauty, even ability to experience complex emotions.

His evolutionary hierarchy of the races went from the Black man to him.

He even came up with this quick little mathematical equation to help us understand racial categories.

(classical music) - Okay, ready?

- Yes!

- Okay, little a equals pure Negro, and capital A equals pure white.

Now, the unit of blood of the issue, that means kid.

H over 2 plus ...

So let the second crossing of little h and ... (speech overlaps) Half of a b ... (speech overlaps) So now it's one 1/8 of A, so that the third cross, that third equation clears the blood.

- Did you say clears the blood?

- That's what he said.

It clears the blood of I guess pure Negroes.

- Hm.

- So, that's race math.

What Jefferson is trying to say is that if person had one eighth or less "Black blood," which is one Black great-grandparent - Got it.

- They would then be considered white.

Did this change their status as a slave?

No.

But according to Jefferson, if that person were to be emancipated, they would enter the free world as a white American citizen.

Like these kids.

- What?

- Yeah, I know.

- It makes no sense.

- What about the one drop rule?

- Well that didn't start until after the Civil War.

As a result of an emerging ideology based on pseudo science called eugenics, that said we could improve humanity through selective breeding.

- Like dogs?

- Yep.

It became a social movement in the US that included county contests for the best baby and fittest family, and forced sterilizations of poor whites and minorities.

Everyone was obsessed with racial purity.

Well, everyone like-- - Hitler!

- Yeah.

Our eugenics movement inspired Hitler.

- Girl, this is too much.

Okay so, if what makes you Black, or Blackamoor, or quadroon, or whatever can change so easily, what does it even mean?

- I don't know.

And when I don't know, I ask my mom.

- Hi mom!

Thanks for being on the show.

- Hello Azie!

- We need to know something.

What is race?

- Okay so basically race is just classification, a way to classify people.

And it's usually based on, or in this country especially, based on physical characteristics, genealogy, ancestry.

The census is important because we need to count.

We need to know what the population looks like.

It's just like with anything else, planning.

You're having a dinner party, you want to know how many people are coming.

It's the basis for so much, like Medicare.

We need to have number accounts for Medicare, social security, housing, schools, expenditures.

How much money states are going to get from the federal government.

All of that.

- Is Black the same as African American?

- So this is the thing, in terms of, again, federal surveys, census, data collection the work that I do with the data that I use, we say Black or African American, we usually put the two together.

The really important reason for having Black in there is because often times if you have folks who are of African origin, in terms of their ancestry, but they're from the Caribbean, they don't necessarily identify as African American.

They identify as Caribbean American.

So then Black would be more inclusive.

- Which one of your daughters is your favorite?

- As you know, I have no favorites Azie.

I have actually three favorite daughters.

Don't ask me that again, Azie.

- Okay, thanks Mom.

- Bye Azie!

Anytime, love you!

- Hey, Ev.

- Don't call me that.

- I'm sorry, I keep forgetting that, Ev.

You know my mom's great uncle was called a Griffe in his military records.

- Griffe?

That sounds like some Harry Potter stuff.

- Well you're not wrong.

It comes from the word griffin, which means half lion and half eagle.

It means half African American and half Native American.

- So, wait.

The African American part is lion?

- Yeah!

- That's messed up.

- You think I could bring it back though?

Like, maybe write it on the census under country of origin?

- Girl, no.

I am not trying to do math again, you are Black.

- Or am I African American?

- I think I'm African American?

- Oh right!

'Cause you're from the real Africa!

- Kenya, Azie.

Kenya specifically, my parents are Kenyan.

But I consider myself Black American.

- Well, somebody in my family was from the real Africa like back in the day, I mean look at me.

- I see it!

- And my mom is Pamunkey on one side, and Nanticoke on the other.

- Right.

Eagle!

- And other stuff, white stuff, but that's normal!

Most Black Americans have white ancestry.

Blackness is complex.

Maybe that's why it's more popular than African American.

- Hey, it's 2019.

You can call yourself whatever you want to.

- So, Griffe!

- No, God, Azie no.

I think I need to talk to some real Black people about this.

- Okay!

- So we're out here, Austin, Texas.

Trying to find Black folks walking around.

I live here, I know it's kind of tough, but we're gonna do it, we're gonna have people answer the question of the video!

I am here with ... - Jeremiah.

- Thank you Jeremiah.

And the question of the day is, when someone asks you, "What's your race?"

do you say Black or African American?

- I say Black.

I would like to identify as African American, but I don't know anything about African culture.

I'm just on ignorant on that fact.

It's a completely different culture as far as what they go through, as far as how their upbringing is, their parents teaching them, the food that they eat, stuff like that.

- I encounter a lot of first generation African students, like Nigerian students, things like that.

And so I feel like when I say ...

I mean they can also say that they're Black, but when I say African American it's like ...

I mean technically they're African American too, but it's more of like the didn't come to America by choice kind of thing (laughs).

- Right, absolutely.

- So I feel like Black is more the uniting thing, because no matter what country you're from you're still like Black.

- I would say either.

First of all my idea on race, I feel like I know is a little bit different than everyone else's.

As far as I'm a Christian, I'm a follower of Jesus, and so I believe this idea of how we try to categorize ourselves, it can be a good thing and a bad thing.

But a the end of the day, I don't allow it to take away from my walk with God.

- I would say it depends on the situation and who I'm talking to.

For the most part I'll say Black if I'm talking to someone who would identify similarly.

However, if I'm talking to someone who wouldn't identify that way I'd say African American, just 'cause I want them to call me that.

So I don't want to say what I don't want them to call me.

- Okay!

Still no consensus.

- Okay, it's time to call on the big dogs.

- Okay everyone.

We've called you here today for the very important task of deciding once and for all what we should call people of the African diaspora.

So, any ideas?

- What is a name to the Negro?

If he till the field, he is a Negro.

If he work the mill, he is a Negro.

If he sing anthems to extol the praises of his America, and fight under it's banner, he is still a Negro.

- So ... one for Negro.

- If this cat thinks I'm gonna call myself a Negro he's got another thing coming, jack!

I'm Black!

Black as the night sky!

Black as the pit they try to keep us in, ya dig?

- So you think we should be called Black and not African American?

- Black as the womb we came from in our mother Africa.

Black is beautiful.

- But what about us Mulattos?

- Oh my God, you can't say that word anymore.

I'm gonna tweet this.

- Well what can I say?

Free People of Color?

- I don't see color.

- A friend of mine had that condition.

A few teaspoons of mercury should clear it right up.

It's the syphilis.

- Okay, all right, Ms. Sojourner Truth.

Do you have a preference on what you'd like to be called?

- Ain't I a woman?

- Okay.

Well we've got some choices, so maybe we should vote.

- But colored people can't vote.

That's how come we're having this meeting.

- No, we can vote.

- If you're a man ... ain't I a woman?

- What is the vote to the Negro slave?

- You can't say slave anymore!

Messy.

- Make a decision, all right?

- If the Negro is a slave ... - [Sojourner] Ain't I a woman?

- Shall he vote for slavery?

- [Sojourner Truth] That's as far as I've gotten, okay?

- [Frederick Douglass] Shall he vote against it?

- [Sojourner Truth] I can only do so much.

- Who will tally the votes of the slave?

- [ Sojourner Truth] I'm leading the way!

- I am a Black queen!

Searching for a Black king!

(characters' dialogue overlaps) - [Both] That's enough!

- Look, I don't think we're getting anywhere.

- Of course not, you won't!

You'll never come to a consensus on who we are or what we should call ourselves, because Black is not a monolith and all of our experiences are valid.

- Huh.

Well there's only one thing left on the agenda then.

Dance!

(upbeat music) - Yes, thank you, finally!

(upbeat music)