There was a notable difference in the terms used to describe Lupita Nyongo (the actress who came to the US voluntarily), and Kunta Kinte (the lead character from the television series Roots who was forced to come to North American via the slave trade). Despite the fact that both represent the first generation in their families to move to the US and that both know the specific cultures the black folks in their families came from, 34% of online census responders used different terms to describe them. The rationales expressed a feeling that it's important to convey whether a person came voluntarily or by force because how you came affects how your relationship to the US.
Interestingly, even when people agreed on what terms to use, there were some conflicting definitions for those terms. These differences in definition were again centered around the idea that coming here by choice is different than being brought by force. Below are quotes that illustrate this trend among people who used "African American" to describe Lupita and Kunta:
"Kunta was brought to America involuntarily, despite his rights, as a slave to white Americans. Lupita came to the USA voluntarily and free, so I would assume she would now consider herself 'African American'."
"Traditionally, if you're enslaved, the term is African-American, but if you're a voluntary [im]migrant, you're more likely to go by the name of the country you came from."
Interestingly, even when people agreed on what terms to use, there were some conflicting definitions for those terms. These differences in definition were again centered around the idea that coming here by choice is different than being brought by force. Below are quotes that illustrate this trend among people who used "African American" to describe Lupita and Kunta:
"Kunta was brought to America involuntarily, despite his rights, as a slave to white Americans. Lupita came to the USA voluntarily and free, so I would assume she would now consider herself 'African American'."
"Traditionally, if you're enslaved, the term is African-American, but if you're a voluntary [im]migrant, you're more likely to go by the name of the country you came from."