Who came up with the term

@Carver I'm African but my skin is a darker shade of brown not black

@Carver 1) Africa is a continent
2) That's not really true? There are plenty of rural African tribes where their skin is clearly brown.

@thiccchungles 1) I know that. What makes you think I didn’t?
2) I don’t think that goes for most Africans, but the point is that’s likely where the term “black people” comes from.

@Carver

[quote]true Africans and not African descent, have really dark, near-black skin. [/quote]

Incorrect, that is just common stereotype created by classifications made by colonialists. There are all types of skin shades in African tribes, including those who are still primitive. Light skin Africans inhabited Africa for thousands of years.

That aside, it is not up to the west to decide what constitutes a true African, it is up to us Africans and it has nothing to do with skin color.

@Miram That didn’t mean what you think it did. I meant that in a biological sense, but I didn’t say I knew that for sure, just what I [i]think[/i] it is. I could be wrong. 🤷‍♀️

@Carver

In biological sense, it makes even less sense. Like I said we have had all shades of skin color for thousands of years. And it is not up to outsiders to decide we should ALL look in specific way. We don't, our appearances are as diverse as our cultures.

@Miram I didn’t say anything about how Africans should look. Like I said, I meant “true African” by my understanding of where dark skin in humans comes from. Maybe I’m wrong, but it’s just one individual’s misunderstanding of something, not an outsider trying to dictate what constitutes as a true African. I wish I didn’t used that phrase, but I couldn’t think of a better one to fit what I was talking about.

@Carver

The phrase has been used too many times by a prejudged group. I see, sorry for thinking you were trying to define us.

Lighter skin color which Europeans have originates in three gene, one traced back to East Africa not Europe,30,000 years ago. That gene mutation occurred after a wave of immigration from asia. It wasn't until later when it spread elsewhere.

There are other gene variants involved which go back a million years ago and it occurred first in Africa, or at least that's what most scientists accept now. Lot of africans have all the genes variants, their environments are what decide the skin color. And Africa has very wide range of climate.

@Miram I saw an interesting show which talked about how skin color was pretty consistent across the globe depending on latitude (obviously not talking colonisation here)

Africa is long continent!