african american not black

blackmail-    unfair threatening or incriminating of somebody, as a way of achieving a result
blacksmith-  was not allowed to live in town, the smiths were branded evil.
black friday- Let's be honest, every shopping center was like a war zone 
black bird-    Like the crow and the raven, the blackbird is considered a bad omen
black cat-     black cat crossing your path is considered bad luck
black hole-  A black hole is a region of space from which gravity prevents anything, including light, from escaping.
blacklist-      a list of people or products viewed with suspicion or disapproval
black market- market in which goods or services are traded illegally
black ice-    a dangerous type of ice on roads that is so thin that it cannot be seen
black box-   used to determine what happened in an airplane crash, but the box is red.
black magic- supernatural powers or magic for evil and selfish purposes.
black death- The Black Death was one of the most devastating pandemics in human history
blackout-     Loss of lighting or communication

In many cases, black is used to represent bad people, mystery, or secrecy. The color black is in many cultures regarded as representing evil. Many people wear black to funerals to show mourning.

Black is not a color, strictly speaking. It is the absence of all color. When people speak of opposites, it is usually in terms of black and white. Black, and its opposite white, represent polarities. Black absorbs all aspects of light. While white reveals, black conceals. It has come to mean hidden, fearful or bad experience. It is linked to the unknown or the unseen.

In times of fear and uncertainty black contains the energy of the threatening unknown. In a positive state, black is seen as a restful emptiness into which anything may emerge and disappear once again. It is also mysterious, providing a sense of potential and possibility.

With all this being said I will not state my children are half black. I will say that they are half African American, and I will stop using the word black to describe a African American. After deeply thinking about the word black, it is used to describe something bad, my children and husband are beautiful not black.