Far better to put away the personal perception of what happened and view with reality.

I am white until I put my hand on a white sheet of paper – then I am light brown. My ancestors were slaves if I focus on the right periods of history. In that history my ancestors fought each other and other nations of similar skin colour.
It would seem that we have found more similarity.

I am a human being living the life that I live with my perceptions being bent by others’ perceptions. Would I be wrong in assuming that you are the same?

Would it be unbearable to accept that we can remove the barriers that we (or our society) have built for the vision of people like Martin Luther King and Marque-Anthony?

This is probably the most demeaning article I’ve read on black people in a minute! Your analysis of what constitutes “black” is as flawed as it is irrational. The terms black, white, yellow, and red are universal terms for a type of people. It is not based on skin tone. The fact that you’d encourage blacks in America to somehow see themselves as not being black is absolutely asinine. While the word black is not an African term, the term was/is indeed apropos for its people (and I’m sure you’ve seen some “African-American” who are definitely “black”, not brown, but black! So should Americans further separate themselves from these Americans (rhetorical). Please notice the use of the word Americans. I’ve travelled and lived in different countries and the only terminology used for Americans (of any decent) is actually “American”. Not African, Mexican, Euro, Italian, or any other description. Just American. So why would a black man need to undermine his status and rights as an American citizen by further disassociating himself by claiming the title of African-American (also rhetorical) vice American while knowing that they are black as a race of people?
 
In the end, my response is not to necessarily spark a debate on this (even though you may consider some of my commentary as inflammatory – and that’s acceptable by me), but rather to simply say to you that articles like this are what further confuses and divides black people in this country (yes, just this country). You can rationalize your identity on a number of fronts, but in the end, you only perpetuate the confusion of either yourself or the black race.
 
NOTE: Simple definition – “Black – a member of a dark-skinned people, especially one of African or Australian Aboriginal ancestry.” black – Google Search. Just because you’ve seen other definitions of black doesn’t mean it pertains to our people and (here’s a crazy suggestion) you don’t have to subscribe to those definitions. 

Respectfully submitted

A Black Man