Now, let me first say that 'race' is NOT biological. I COULD go into why it isn't, but who wants a science lesson at 8:30 in the morning? Well, you might not be reading it at this time, but I'm writing it and I ain't finna get into it. Anyway, Race is SOCIAL. Human's always want to make their group seem better for whatever reason by excluding another. Thats where race comes into play. (If you ask me? White people have been threatened by us Darkies since the beginning of time for whatever reason...)
Now, when a white person asks me if I would prefer to be called African-American or Black? If first thank them for being racially conscious cause the fact is, they really don't have to be. Depending on who it is, I'll say black cause I'm American and not African.. You can't go too into depth with white people when it comes to racial identity, cause I mean.. yea.. they ain't gonna get it...
But I've gotten into this discussion recently multiple times with some black people. It is true that when you look at me you can assume that my ancestors were from Africa. But BLACK people have been stripped of their cultural identity, and it ain't our fault. Call me what you want. But I'm NOT African. I'm American. My mother was born in America, her mother was and her mother was. How close am I supposed to feel to my "African roots" when we haven't been there for 'round 6 generations? Plus, what IS African-American anyway? Africa's the second largest continent in the world and you can be white, yellow, black, purple or green and be from Africa. Not to mention, the HUMAN race started in Africa, by the standards we use to determine "African-American" we could ALL say that we are "African-American" right?
My father is married to an African woman. They're from Liberia. It took me eating their food, dancing to their music, playing and working with them to realize that my ass wasn't African... Yea, we're all dark, our hair is nappy... but our cultures are VERY different. I will say that there are some consistencies between African's and Black-American's culture. We both like to eat! ha!
So, I'd say that I was black. I'm not insulted when called "African-American" tho. Hell, just don't call me colored! LOL
That being said, we as black people have WAYY more to worry about than what we'd rather be called. Like.. oh, I don't know.. Health Insurance?
Song of the Day:. "Whats Going On?" Marvin Gaye
-C
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