What does it mean to be black
America is truly unique; it is the only place in the world where people are identified with their ethnic group and not nationality. If one was to travel through Europe it is commonly known that the citizens identify with their nationality, they don’t say “oh I’m European”. In Asia they also identify with their nationality, they don’t go by “Asian”. The same applies with the citizens in Africa, they don’t say that they are “black” they claim their nationality. America is the only place where groups of people are clumped together, and very little distinction is made. This is dangerous due to the differences that every nationality shares, are there similarities between the ethnic groups yes but to lump them all together portrays a false narrative when using them for statistics and examples. The groups I’m going to talk about are African immigrants, and African Americans, because they are very different, yet America views them as the same. The word black was not used to identify Africans in the beginning, I’m here to provide some context and understanding on what the word black should mean, and why African immigrants, and Africans from the west indies shouldn’t use it falsely.
Origins of the word black
When Africans arrived in America, they identified with the language of the country they were from, not by the color of their skin. The west Africans weren’t brought over alone, there tended to be a mixture of other ethnic affiliations that were not accounted for, nor taken into account for by the colonists. The significance of this information is in the fact that the captive slaves came from vast different regions from the west Africa of Senegal to Angola. The African American identity and culture incorporated elements of the various ethnic groups and of European cultural heritage that they had to not only live by but live in a country where that culture/heritage is the only acceptable one.
Examples of the elements would be terms such as “the black church” or what white people considered “African American English”. The U.S. racial classification of black referred to people who had any form of skin pigmentation light or dark. In 1808 the Atlantic slave trade was said to abolished and or banned. By 1807 majority of the black people were native born making them African American. For some blacks the word African meant a sense of pride, but to many others the title African was looked at as a hindrance to their chance at getting their citizenship. Around 1835 is when we can see an increase in the use of words such a negro, or colored. Many African Americans removed the title African from some of their institutions as well. Many of the white citizens of America couldn’t tell the difference between someone who is and who isn’t African, so they lumped people of similar geographic areas into one category. Again, in Africa, Africans do not identify as Black, that exists solely in America. The term black being used to identify African Americans is unique to American and is related more to the Africans native or born in America than those who migrate over.
Why is this a problem?
Africans and African Americans are different. It is not right to group or generalize an entire group of people together that share significant differences. According to U.S. Census Bureau data, African immigrants generally do not self-identify as African American. The overwhelming majority of African immigrants identify instead with their own respective ethnicities (~95%) Immigrants from some Caribbean, Central American and South American nations and their descendants may or may not also self-identify with the term.
United States of America | Africa Health Organisation (aho.org)
The immigrants themselves don’t even want to be identified as African American. The concept of blackness in America describes how much one associates with African American culture, politics and values. Essentially this concept is not so much about race but more about political orientation, culture and behavior. The cultures between those who are African American and those who are African are different. Although both cultures share similar experiences in regard to forms of discrimination, that just not justify grouping them together. Aside from white people grouping them together you see the majority of children that come from African immigrant parents identify with or call themselves black. Despite what they’re parents may say, the irony is seen in the fact that some Africans talk down on the very culture they either claim to be a part of or identify with.
For children whose parents migrated from Africa growing up for them can be hard due to the pressures of the culture you have to abide by at home and then face the pressures of society. A lot of kids who consider themselves African or make it known that they are African are more likely to get bullied due to the false perceptions of Africa. I say this not to not recognize that every ethnic group gets bullied due to certain stereotypes but to point emphasis on the case of African children. A lot of African children will hide a part of them at home life so that they can be socially accepted.
African American culture is loved by the masses from slang, music, entertainment, and more. The children of the immigrant parents most of the time only have African American culture to their access, what I mean by that is they are more likely to be accepted if they identify as “black” instead of African, the children and families in the neighborhood are most likely African American, so a lot of their time is spent around African Americans. The problem with Africans identifying as black is they get to reap the social benefits of being black, while not being a part of the very culture they identify with.
Some may question what the perks of are being associated with or identifying as black due to the discrimination towards blacks. To me the biggest perk is the social acceptance, the feeling that you belong, no matter what ethnic group you identify as people will always point out or bring up the bad aspects to that respected culture but again because of how popular African American culture is, it is likely to be looked at as cool. Cool in the sense of the fact that you identify with the culture that everyone loves, and or gets inspiration from. As someone who is African American, I find it offensive that African individuals want to call themselves black, which we established earlier is an American way of racially classifying African Americans. African American culture is one that is heavily influenced from early European culture because the original Africans had their culture stripped, so for someone who has an established culture to try to claim the very culture they talk down upon while reaping the benefits is offensive.
Differences in cultures:
African American and Africans live in two different yet similar realities. Socially due to the contents of sharing similar skin we are looked at the same because most can’t make the distinction unless one claims to identify as something rather than black or African American. Only 36% of African American children grow up in a household with married parents, while 66% of children with immigrant parents from African or West indies grow up in married households. That alone shows the difference in cultures, unfortunately one culture lacks in the two-parent home department which studies have shown that it is the most important factor on the successful outcome of a child’s life. Going home to a single parent environment is different from a two-parent environment.
Data Report: Black Immigrants in the U.S. (boundless.com)
One of the effects we see is in the percentage of those who get degrees to those who don’t. Comparatively, U.S. born blacks over 25 have a lower probability of earning a bachelor’s degree than black immigrants -19% versus 26%. Far household incomes a foreign-born household has a median income of $45,000, a full $10,000 more than U.S. born black households. U.S. born households have a median income of $33,500. With just a couple of those statistics there is to be seen a clear difference in those who are African American and African. To associate the two as the same while ignoring the differences in the cultures is ignorant.
Statistical Portrait of the U.S. Black Immigrant Population |
Reasons for the differences
The differences that exist between African immigrants and native-born Africans is due to the different treatment that both were subjected to. To the African Americans their entire identity was stripped from them, and they had to create or form their own sense of identity. African immigrants have always been able to keep their culture and sense of identity.
The different experiences
One of the first things we have to address is the perception of white people. In Africa, Africans frequently encounter white Americans serving in the Peace Corps, going on missions, teaching or practicing medicine. They fostered positive relationships with the Africans by acting as mentors. Through my experience I’ve seen that Africans relate more to white Americans than they do African Americans, this is largely due to white people serving as a mentor and a savior role towards Africans.
While African Americans on the other hand spent their time growing up in black neighborhoods with former generations of those who were slave. So, growing up African Americans grew up being reminded the history of slavery, how cruel it was and how it impacted black people. The legacies of racism that still prevail in the United States are often experienced firsthand by African Americans, and their communities. Under those conditions it can be seen why black people are distrusting when it comes to white people, and even more so to Africans who show admiration or respect for white people.
Responses towards racism
African Americans react differently to racism than Africans. Simply due to their difference in backgrounds and what they experienced. African Americans generally attribute poverty to racism. Even when racism is ambiguous, unclear, or more complex than simple racial bigotry, they are quick to point out instances of perceived racism. Black people tend to blame police officers and law makers for the mass incarceration that takes place in America. Black people are more likely to look and see discrimination in ways that Africans won’t see it. In a country where your people have been targeted by white people for 400 years, it becomes almost impossible to not attribute them for the lack of success black people endure, and the unjust laws that set black people back.
I mention an in-depth insight on the relationship between whites and blacks here
Remarkable outlook on the unique black and white relation
Whereas African immigrants are escaping dictatorship, suffering from many civil wars, military corruption. To them they are happy to simply be in a country that offers freedom. When they immigrate, they tend to not get involved because they don’t identify with the social issues that affect African Americans.
Responses to adversity
Majority of African immigrants are here for economic advancement, meaning they are willing to work any job, and they do not blame the system or blame discrimination for their failures. They see being in America as a privilege not a right, so they see life in America as a game of monopoly and everyone gets equal turns at the dice, when they fail to realize that they only get to throw the dice once while white people get two turns. African people have no political agenda, they just want to escape their previous situation. So, they are strictly in survival mode, they are willing to work jobs and get denied as many times as possible because in their mind it can’t be worse than where they came from.
Black people don’t really see being an American as a privilege. The history of racial discriminatory practices has led black people to think more times than not that the failure of securing a job based on the color of skin, and not qualification. We’ve seen a turning point in American culture where black people in some fields are getting jobs solely because they are black. Some black people would say it’s owed, others would say it doesn’t address the real problem. Black people are more involved with politics than African immigrants, they aren’t just looking for economic advancement, they are looking for social reform to fix the system that oppresses them. African immigrants don’t believe that there exists a system that oppresses them due to the “opportunities” they have.
Dangers of grouping
When people lump African Americans with African immigrants it portrays false imagery. The same race that embodies completely separate cultures and different histories shouldn’t be lumped together for narratives, and statistics. Nor should they be grouped together for social matters, not every black person is African American. Africans want to call themselves black when it is convenient for them while still living in their own separate culture that is different from African American culture. The biggest similarity they we share is forms of discrimination based on the black skin we share with one another. Similar experiences with discrimination though do not warrant nor mean you can identify with one’s culture or claim. Especially when that contradicts with the culture you grew up in and lived in. Again, America is the only country where ethnic groups are grouped up together, the rest of the world is not like that. Falsely identifying people leads to false interpretations about certain cultures, and that doesn’t help the relationships between all Americans.
The saying “everyone wants to be black without being black” can ironically be applied to Africans. They want to claim to be black in social settings, or so they are more likely to be accepted by others, but in other aspects of life they identify with their nationality. At home life tends to get left at home and not brought out in social spaces. Politics often misrepresent black people due to combining them with African immigrants. The blacks who are in prison, majority are African American, not African. The top scholars in the US tend to be those of African parents. These things matter because you can paint a false picture for a group of people to fit a narrative that isn’t true and feeding false information can harm those groups. They leave out the two-parent home, the importance of education, etc. So, when new outlets spew that blacks are doing better it is important to say which group is doing better because there’s a clear distinction on African American success and African immigrants.
African immigrants think they are better than African Americans due to the issues that they complain about, when in the immigrant’s eyes they see Americans as the lucky ones. The realities are so separate that they could never be equal. Yet for social acceptance they will still claim to be black, just so they won’t be bullied and or less accepted. There is a notion amongst African Americans that Africans think they are better than blacks. African immigrants are less likely to be accepted if they identify as African rather than them just saying their black. African American culture has had everyone trying to take a piece of it for their own benefit, the last group that should be taking claim for a culture that isn’t theirs is the group that still has their culture intact.