PT 2: Black VS African-American VS American

Ash: "I'm ethnically American. I am such an All American girl that it annoys me that people think you have to be Becky blue eyes to be American."


Ant: "American is a citizenship not an ethnicity. America as a nation is inhabited by several different ethnic groups. There is no typical American. You'll find Americans with different customs when it comes to food, music, religion, etc. And there is no predominate commonality.

Normally for a country itself to be an ethnicity it has to be a monolithic population racially with a long history steeped with a common tradition/culture. Japan, England and Greece can be considered their own cultures. Or countries where racial and cultural mixing has actually taken place (and lower immigration rates) few places in the new world (exceptions for countries like Mexico and a majority of the Caribbean) have that history."

Ash: "I meant American in terms of the general idea of American. Not the niche cultures in America....Maybe my ethnicity is "Southern" then...lol"

Jos: "augh this never ending topic. Race and nationality are not the same. Everyone born in America or has citizenship here is American. If you're American but have parents from somewhere else then you could break it down to your nationality and nation of origin, if you know it. And unless a parent or grandparent is something other than of the black race (which covers the ENTIRE African Diaspora some people think you're only black if you're an African American.

I learned that when I lived in Cape Verde), then you black jack! you can nitpick if you want, like oh, I don't have "typical" African features, or I’m lighter than most, my hair is wavy, or my daddy has hazel eyes so that means..." but like someone else said the rest of the world doesn’t really see those lil differences"

Ash: "I am not an African American because other than melanin I have nothing in common with anyone that's a cultural African. I'm not an actual or ethnic African and I prefer not to be called one."

Jos: "I didn't call u one! lol. I get what you're saying. It may be inaccurate from a cultural standpoint, but racially it isn’t. I think some black Americans felt the need to not be looked at like some alien creature that has no home, whereas most other races in American can trace their people back to another continent/country. And the reason you're black at all is because somewhere down the line you have African ancestors."

Esh: " I mean, we're all so many things. But I think it's one of many things are we aren't completely in control of. I can say that I'm part African, part European, part Indigenous Caribbean, but this society sees me as Black and that's what I identify with the most. As much as I can talk about other parts, that's the dominant one and that's the one that mostly affects who I am and how I'm seen and treated where I live, so it makes more sense to me to have a stronger connection with that.

We can talk all day but white people are gonna call us black and say our hair is nappy so somewhere along the line I feel like internalizing it and making it positive may be a better way to deal so we don't go crazy."