Ladies, women, girls....

[boy in a kilt]

I'm baffled by the need for the word black in this statement.

I admit I grew up and now live in areas where the diversity leans more towards those of European, First Nations and Asian decent, so perhaps it's my limited exposure and understanding of the racial tensions that African Americans face that makes this term seem not quite right. Can anyone help me out with understanding this?

Thanks,
~T~

I moved from the south to a racially mixed neighborhood in michigan when I was young. A lot of my friends were black so a lot of my friends' moms were black. Not calling them "ma'am" was begging to be smacked upside the head.

There is still a picture in my head of black women that I had better call "ma'am" or I'll get smacked again.

It has nothing to do with racial tensions or lack thereof.