Anonymous wrote:Usain Bolt - Black not AA
Jesse Jackson- AA

He's Jamaican, not American.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Why is this so hard to understand?

Your parents are/were Jamaican. If they came here and gained citizenship, they became Jamaican-Americans. You are Jamaican-American. Doesn't matter where you were born if the lineage of your family isn't Africa---------------US. "Stops" in between do not qualify. If your Dad was born in America and his family lineage went directly from Africa to the US, he is AA and so are you (if you so choose to identify).

I'm confused,

Great Grandparents- born in Kenya
Grandparents- Born in America
Parents- Born in America
Children- Born in America

Which one of them qualifies as African-American?

Were the great grandparents slaves in the US? If so, all of their descendants "qualify". If not, none of them do.

oh you have to have been slaves in the US. Ah I get it now

Usain Bolt - Black not AA
Jesse Jackson- AA

Anonymous wrote:For 12:26, you do realize that Africans and "African-Americans" share the same ancestors right? If a family of four was split and 2 were sold into slavery and the other two left behind in Africa, do they stop being family because of that? If they all go on to expand their respective families in different parts of the world, does their source of origin change?

The descendants of the family members that were sold into slavery would be African-American as these descendants would have no knowledge of their family of origin. As you may know, during slavery families were ripped apart and communities were permanently separated. All sense of family and community was lost as mothers were sold to plantations in states like Mississippi and Alabama and their young children were sold to Virginia or Tennesee planters. The term "African-American" was created so that these descendants of slavery could acknowledge and link back to thier ties to Africa despite the fact that they really didn't know their exact country of origin. Conversely, the two family members that were left behind in Africa never lost their linegage, traditions, or oral histories. So yes while all four share the same ancestors, only two of the four family members actually know who their ancestors. As indicated in Wikepedia, immigrants may self-identify as AA but as I understand the history, the rationale behind the creation of the terms does not encompass those who ancestors were not enslaved as part of the forced African diaspora migration.

Finally, another voice of reason. Great post, pp.

Anonymous wrote:Are Obama's kids black because of their mother?

Uhmmm...yeah. They're also black because of their father. Did you mean to ask if they are African American? If so, yes they are because their mother is African American.

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:
My husband is also Sub Saharan African. My children feel they are African American. That is enough for me. I am not into splitting hairs and I do not really care. I did not know being African American implied having ancestors who were slaves in America. First time I hear of this.

Not saying you should "split hairs". Just want people to actually understand. A lot of people don't know what the term African American means.

But yes, it specifically applies to US blacks whose ancestors were slaves in America. Because of the separation of families, etc, there's no conclusive way for African-Americans to trace our country of origin in Africa. As such, we use the term African-American to both honor our ancestors and to make a connection to our past in Africa without benefit of knowing from where exactly.

If your husband is from Kenya, for instance. He knows his country of origin. His ancestors were not slaves in America. As such, he is not African American....he is Kenyan and/or Kenyan-American. Unless you are an African American yourself, your children aren't either.

Now they can choose to self-identify however you please (Obama does). Doesn't make it a true/accurate identification.

I am Jamaican, my children were born here. my ancestors were also slaves and I cannot trace them to a specific country. What are my children? Would your answer change if I was born here by my parents were born in Jamaica. What if my dad were an american-born black and my mom was born in Jamaica?

Why is this so hard to understand?

Your parents are/were Jamaican. If they came here and gained citizenship, they became Jamaican-Americans. You are Jamaican-American. Doesn't matter where you were born if the lineage of your family isn't Africa---------------US. "Stops" in between do not qualify. If your Dad was born in America and his family lineage went directly from Africa to the US, he is AA and so are you (if you so choose to identify).

What if the slave ship that took my ancesotos to Virgina stopped in Jamaica for a few days and allowed the slaves to get some air, does that mean that I need to give up my AA label.

Unfortunately yes, the moment their feet touched anything besides that ship, they were stripped of their AA label. sorry

Obviously, the slaves weren't African-American. This term came about in the 1980's based on a poem by Johnny Duncan. Jesse Jackson popularized it in the 1990's. Again, PLEASE educate yourself. How can you take offense when you don't even have the facts of the issue?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
My husband is also Sub Saharan African. My children feel they are African American. That is enough for me. I am not into splitting hairs and I do not really care. I did not know being African American implied having ancestors who were slaves in America. First time I hear of this.

Not saying you should "split hairs". Just want people to actually understand. A lot of people don't know what the term African American means.

But yes, it specifically applies to US blacks whose ancestors were slaves in America. Because of the separation of families, etc, there's no conclusive way for African-Americans to trace our country of origin in Africa. As such, we use the term African-American to both honor our ancestors and to make a connection to our past in Africa without benefit of knowing from where exactly.

If your husband is from Kenya, for instance. He knows his country of origin. His ancestors were not slaves in America. As such, he is not African American....he is Kenyan and/or Kenyan-American. Unless you are an African American yourself, your children aren't either.

Now they can choose to self-identify however you please (Obama does). Doesn't make it a true/accurate identification.

I am Jamaican, my children were born here. my ancestors were also slaves and I cannot trace them to a specific country. What are my children? Would your answer change if I was born here by my parents were born in Jamaica. What if my dad were an american-born black and my mom was born in Jamaica?

Why is this so hard to understand?

Your parents are/were Jamaican. If they came here and gained citizenship, they became Jamaican-Americans. You are Jamaican-American. Doesn't matter where you were born if the lineage of your family isn't Africa---------------US. "Stops" in between do not qualify. If your Dad was born in America and his family lineage went directly from Africa to the US, he is AA and so are you (if you so choose to identify).

What if the slave ship that took my ancesotos to Virgina stopped in Jamaica for a few days and allowed the slaves to get some air, does that mean that I need to give up my AA label.

You don't have to "give up" anything. You can self-identify as you please (as I said, Obama does). Doesn't make it an accurate statement.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Not true. Unless her husband is African American (the descendent of US black slaves), her children are not African American. Being 2, 3, 4 etc generation does not convert you into being an African American. You either have ancestors who were slaves in America (and are thereby African American) or you didn't (and thereby you aren't African American). You can't have one without the other. Her children will be (whatever country she's from)-American or simply "Black".

Well it is nice you made up this definition while sitting around your dining room table...you can't project your own definition onto everyone. African America refers to Americans with Sub Saharan African heritage. There is no requirement that the ancestors were slaves. Many of them were of course but others came under different circumstances.

Where did you get your definition from?

I can tell that you're white from your post, so what can you possibly know about this?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/African_American

You know your wiki link says you don't have to be descended from slaves, right? Anyone with ancestry from Sub-saharan Africa "counts" as AA.

African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa. Most African Americans are of West and Central African descent and are descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States. However, some immigrants from African, Caribbean, Central American or South American nations, or their descendants, may be identified or self-identify with the term.


While you may choose to identify/self-identify as you please, if your ancestors didn’t come directly from Africa, you are not African American. These are the facts. Why does the truth bother you so much? Are you African American? African?

For 12:26, you do realize that Africans and "African-Americans" share the same ancestors right? If a family of four was split and 2 were sold into slavery and the other two left behind in Africa, do they stop being family because of that? If they all go on to expand their respective families in different parts of the world, does their source of origin change?

The descendants of the family members that were sold into slavery would be African-American as these descendants would have no knowledge of their family of origin. As you may know, during slavery families were ripped apart and communities were permanently separated. All sense of family and community was lost as mothers were sold to plantations in states like Mississippi and Alabama and their young children were sold to Virginia or Tennesee planters. The term "African-American" was created so that these descendants of slavery could acknowledge and link back to thier ties to Africa despite the fact that they really didn't know their exact country of origin. Conversely, the two family members that were left behind in Africa never lost their linegage, traditions, or oral histories. So yes while all four share the same ancestors, only two of the four family members actually know who their ancestors. As indicated in Wikepedia, immigrants may self-identify as AA but as I understand the history, the rationale behind the creation of the terms does not encompass those who ancestors were not enslaved as part of the forced African diaspora migration.

Anonymous wrote:

Why is this so hard to understand?

Your parents are/were Jamaican. If they came here and gained citizenship, they became Jamaican-Americans. You are Jamaican-American. Doesn't matter where you were born if the lineage of your family isn't Africa---------------US. "Stops" in between do not qualify. If your Dad was born in America and his family lineage went directly from Africa to the US, he is AA and so are you (if you so choose to identify).

I'm confused,

Great Grandparents- born in Kenya
Grandparents- Born in America
Parents- Born in America
Children- Born in America

Which one of them qualifies as African-American?

Were the great grandparents slaves in the US? If so, all of their descendants "qualify". If not, none of them do.

Black but not AA : Zoe Saldana, Rihanna, Carmelo Anthony

AA: Vanessa Williams, Viola Davis, Denzel Washington

Anonymous wrote:For 12:26, you do realize that Africans and "African-Americans" share the same ancestors right? If a family of four was split and 2 were sold into slavery and the other two left behind in Africa, do they stop being family because of that? If they all go on to expand their respective families in different parts of the world, does their source of origin change?

Of course they share the same history. The only difference is that African Americans don't know their countries of origins (so we don't even know who to share a kinship with).

Are Obama's kids black because of their mother?

"Unfortunately yes, the moment their feet touched anything besides that ship, they were stripped of their AA label. sorry "


You can't be serious ...

Just to further drive home the point that there is no "right" definition of African American - here's more from the Wikipedia definition. Especially note the author who considers Obama African American but not black.

Who is African American?

Since 1977, in an attempt to keep up with changing social opinion, the United States government has officially classified black people (revised to black or African American in 1997) as "having origins in any of the black racial groups of Africa."[138] Other federal offices, such as the United States Census Bureau, adhere to the OMB standards on race in its data collection and tabulations efforts.[139] In preparation for the United States 2010 Census, a marketing and outreach plan, called 2010 Census Integrated Communications Campaign Plan (ICC) recognized and defined African Americans as black people born in the United States. From the ICC perspective, African Americans are one of three groups of black people in the United States[140]

The ICC plan was to reach the three groups by acknowledging that each group has its own sense of community that is based on geography and ethnicity.[141] The best way to market the census process toward any of the three groups is to reach them through their own unique communication channels and not treat the entire black population of the U.S. as though they are all African Americans with a single ethnic and geographical background. The U.S. Department of Justice Federal Bureau of Investigation categorizes black or African American people as "A person having origins in any of the black racial groups of Africa" through racial categories used in the UCR Program adopted from the Statistical Policy Handbook (1978) and published by the Office of Federal Statistical Policy and Standards, U.S. Department of Commerce, derived from the 1977 OMB classification.[142]

The African-American experience
In her book The End of Blackness, as well as in an essay on the liberal website Salon,[143] author Debra Dickerson has argued that the term "black" should refer strictly to the descendents of Africans brought to America as slaves, and not the sons and daughters of black immigrants who lack that ancestry. In her opinion, President Barack Obama, who is the son of a Kenyan immigrant, although technically African-American, is not black.[143][144] She makes the argument that grouping all people of African descent together regardless of their unique ancestral circumstances would inevitably deny the lingering effects of slavery within the American community of slave descendents, in addition to denying black immigrants recognition of their own unique ancestral backgrounds. "Lumping us all together", Dickerson wrote, "erases the significance of slavery and continuing racism while giving the appearance of progress".[143]