by Jesse Washington

The labels used to describe Americans of African descent mark the movement of a people from the slave house to the White House. Today, many are resisting this progression by holding on to a name from the past: “Black.”

For this group—some descended from U.S. slaves, some immigrants with a separate history—“African-American” is not the sign of progress hailed when the term was popularized in the late 1980s. Instead, it’s a misleading connection to a distant culture.

DON’T CALL ME AFRICAN-AMERICAN—This Jan. 31 photo shows Gibre George, who started a Facebook page called ‘Don’t Call Me African-American,” in Hollywood, Fla. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee)

The debate has waxed and waned since African-American went mainstream, and gained new significance after the son of a Black Kenyan and a White American moved into the White House. President Barack Obama’s identity has been contested from all sides, renewing questions that have followed millions of darker Americans:

by Nancy Benac

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP)--She did some wild arm swings, sharp robotic turns and pulsing fist pumps.

Michelle Obama busted out a few new moves Feb. 9 to mark the second anniversary of her campaign against childhood obesity with a few new friends—14,000 or so, it turns out.

DOING THE INTERLUDE—First lady Michelle Obama does the Interlude during a Let’s Move event with children from Iowa schools, Feb. 9, at the Wells Fargo Arena in De Moines, Iowa. during her three day national tour celebrating the second anniversary of Let’s Move. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

The first lady rocked out with thousands of sixth- to ninth-graders at a Des Moines arena on the first stop of a three-day trip to highlight her “Let’s Move” campaign. It was a giant pep rally for eating right and exercising, complete with confetti, balloons and a towering birthday cake made of fruit.

The first lady and crowd revved up by doing the Interlude, a dance that started in a dorm room at the University of Northern Iowa and went viral from there.

by Jim Kuhnhenn

WASHINGTON (AP)—For a president who promotes technology at every opportunity, Barack Obama often strikes an awed, self-effacing pose in the presence of technicians, scientists and high tech machinery.

“If I’m nodding, you should just assume that everything you said is going completely over my head,” he once told winners of a New York science fair.

Still, he loves the stuff.

PROMOTING TECHNOLOGY—President Barack Obama talks with Morgan Ard, center, and Titus Walker, left, both 8th grade students at Monroeville Jr. High School in Monroeville, Alabama as they show how their robot picks up a stuffed eagle in the State Dining Room of the White House in Washington, Feb. 7, for the White House Science Fair. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

At no point has his inner geek been more evident than on Feb. 7 as he mischievously—“The Secret Service is going to be mad at me about this”—helped fire an eighth-grader’s award winning high-speed marshmallow air cannon at the drapes of the White House’s elegant State Dining Room.

LOS ANGELES (AP)—A year ago, Clive Davis’ glittery pre-Grammy showcase was winding down after a number of electric performances when the grandest name of all, Whitney Houston, walked on stage to close the evening with what promised to be a show-stopping tribute to her famous cousin, Dionne Warwick.

Instead, what transpired was yet another troubling display of erratic behavior from the superstar, and a foreshadowing perhaps of what was to come.

WHITNEY HOUSTON DEATH SHOCKS THE WORLD

Though she looked spectacular, her once-stunning voice sounded frayed and hoarse. She didn’t seem to follow the rehearsed plan and looked out of sorts at times. Even when Davis, her longtime mentor and producer, announced that the show was over, Houston appeared to try to get back on the microphone, only to be stopped by Davis with the joke: “I found you when you were 19; I’m still your boss!”