i have roots in a lot of places so i wouldn't really think of myself as a "black american". i'm so far removed from that culture personally, but am very familiar with it from places i've lived and people i've met through family or friends. i may have communicated that in this thread a few times but it's possible i hadn't.
i almost never talk that way in person even in those settings, and i wouldn't have here if the rules weren't so ambiguous. there's a certain humor in the dialect however that i think is easy to communicate, and would hope it doesn't offend anyone.
Well I'm not going to police anyone's words or anything unless I'm personally offended or I feel folks are getting disturbed. You do you man. I personally wouldn't drop nigga amongst a community of people I've assumed (perhaps incorrectly I'm willing to admit) to be mostly non-PoC (DGAF), but not everyone is me.
My black friends? I use the word if they're cool with it and always have though I'm using it less and less nowadays out of personal choice. But I've always used it out of endearment.
So yeah, feel free to ignore this post but that's where I stand.
S/N: Not that you asked but I dunno if we're close to being the same age or if you're younger than me, but I will say that if you don't look white at all - you may not think of yourself as a 'black american' but, for all intents and purposes, you are not white and the luxury of being able to live 'race-less' is out of the hands either of us were dealt in life.