There was a question regarding the nomenclature for various groups with the main question being how to reference a person's race/ethnicity. There are two main parts to this: what are the terms and when to use them. I thought this was a good question which should be presented in the discussion forums for everyone.

First, generic names such as White/Caucasian, Asian American, and Black (to use three as examples) have no real meaning other than to refer to a very large group of people with assumed general characteristics. White is really a blanket term for people who might be Irish American, German American, or English American, for example. Black is a blanket term for people who might be African American, Jamaican American, Cuban American, Haitian American, for example. The same can be said for Asian Americans, Hispanic Americans, and Native Americans.

Is it really necessary to refer to someone by their race or ethnicity in everyday conversation? Think about how many times people describe that White girl or that White guy. We do not often hear someone described as White but it is much more common to hear other descriptors in everyday conversation. How can a person find out how to classify someone without being insulting?