It's a fact that in the past African Americans have been discriminated against, and being an African American subjugated an individual by giving that person less rights and and forcing them to live on the margin of society. However, in modern American society, being an African American actually puts you ahead of non-African Americans in many ways, including preferred admission to schools, preferential hiring and preferential job promotions.
To get this preferential treatment, it is necessary for a person to identify themselves as African American. This is often done on admission forms, standardized tests, the census and job applications. However, this information is not always taken down and many times people will make assumptions about race. If you are African American but not recognized as such, it could keep you from getting the preferential treatment that you are entitled to, which keep you from getting into the school you want, the job you want or the promotion you want.
Often times, people are not recognized as African American because of the internalized racism of outside observers. Many people will make an assumption on whether an individual is African American or not by simply looking at their skin. Other times, outside observers make their assumption based on ones name, the dialect they speak, or even the clothes they wear. Obviously, such casual observations are a poor way to determine whether someone is African American or not.
When people make the assumption that an individual is not African American, when one is, in fact, African American, it can rob the individual of the preferential treatment they are due. As such, it is important to not only have an absolute way of determining African Americansim, but also a way to document it, so that African American individuals can benefit from all preferences available to them.
The Institute of African Americanism has developed a strict two question test to determine if an individual is African American. An individual must answer in the affirmative to both questions, no exceptions, to be considered an African American. The Institute for African Americanism also offers documented certification of being an African American on a fee basis. This documented certification can be helpful, especially in cases where bigoted individuals may refuse to recognize an individual as African American based on their skin color.
Test for African Americanism:
1) Are you an American Citizen?
2) Are you a Homo Sapien?
