I have never responded to an article in the letter to the editor before. The article in the paper on Monday caught my attention. Every one is entitled to his or her opinion. That is one of the many rights we have as Americans. I fought a year in Vietnam so that all Americans can keep those rights. As a black man (African-American) I wanted to respond. I am proud to be an American, but I am just as proud to be an African-American. I feel as though we are being singled out.

According to the books I have read, there are three groups of humans on this planet. They are Negroids, Caucasoids and the Mongoloids. Each of these groups can be divided into subgroups, but we will not go there. Each of these groups has certain characteristics. These characteristics can be found in hair, lips, color, eyes, etc… All are of the human race. As stated in the article, all originated in Africa. The article singled out the African-American.

Caucasoids — 1,000 million people with variable skin color; white-dark brown. Hair variable, never wooly, body hair often thick. Lips tend to be thin.

Negroids —100 million from Africa, South of the Sahara and Melanesians of the South Pacific.

Mongoloids — Most numerous of the present day populations, split into three groups: the Eastern Siberians, Eskimos and the Northern American Indians; the Japanese, Koreans, Chinese; the Indonesians and Malays.

Many immigrants escaped to America due to oppression, religion, jobs, an many other reasons. All come on there on free will. Africans were brought here against there will as slaves. It was assumed that we were sub-human because we were different. We have made many contributions toward the progress and improvements throughout the world. Black people in America do not want to and probably never will lose their heritage (African-American).

We still use the terms such as German-American, Asian-American, and a so on. Are those terms redundant also? I have a feeling you would not like to be called an African. Think about that the next time you tan. But, according to you we are all Africans. Why do we refer to the Indians as American Indians? Maybe it is because they were here before any of us. Most of us Americans migrated to this country, at least our fore fathers did. Using the term African-American is a way of keeping our heritage. I would be willing to bet that when you go back a few generations you will have a heritage of another country also. Maybe you do not hyphenate your heritage because you are not proud of it. Maybe you are even shame of your heritage.

I whole heartedly agree that everyone should be ready a willing to learn the language in which they reside.

Johnny Franklin

Natchez Resident