How did Africans become African Americans? (5769 hits)
Here is a commentary that I would like to make on the use of the term (as well as the history) of that of 'African American' ....
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Because African-American (AA) is actually an ETHNIC grouping (as opposed to being a RACIAL grouping) -- there is NO "RACIAL QUALIFICATION" REQUIRED in order to or a person to be an AA.
More than 70% of the AAs are of a Mixed-Race Lineage; about 25% of the AAs are of a full-Black lineage; and 5% of the AAs are found to have no traces of Black lineage in their ancestry whatsoever.
One should NOT assume, HOWEVER, that any person who is from the continent of Africa and who becomes an American citizen ---- can be an African-American, NOR that any African person living in the Americas is automatically an African-American.
This is not how the term is used.
African-American is an ETHNIC description used to describe ONLY those people who .... are the descendants of and can trace their ancestry back to the survivors of the targets of the chattel-slave system which took place on the continental U.S. during the antebellum era of the nations history.
Most white people found in the continent of Africa did not have ancestors from the continental United States who were chattel-slaves during the antebellum era --- and therefore they aren't African-Americans.
Much like actress Charlize Theron is a white person who was from South Africa then became an expatriate to the United States (and is said to have, since, become an American) is NOT a member of the very unique African-American (AA) Ethnic grouping (as AAs are an Ethnic group, not a Race group) -- but rather, Ms. Theron is 'a White American who is of 'South African' Ethnicity' (and is not a member of the very unique Ethnic grouping now called African-American)
In addition, while a common history of 'slavery' can apply to a substantial majority of Americans who are categorized as "black" -- not every "black" person who grows up, lives or works in the United States is an African-American, either
Some black people in America are immigrants, expatriates, tourists and students from the Black Diaspora -- and have no personal ties to the African-American ethnicity or related history.
These people are often part of Ethnic group such as the Afro-Cubans, Jamaicans, New Zealanders, Maroons, British West Indians, etc.
For instance, model Melyssa Ford, Runner Ben Johnson and singer Deborah Cox are all African-Canadians. They all work in the U.S., some live here. They are not African-Americans.
Also, Barack Obama's father is from Kenya, his mother has Irish roots.
Neither of his parents are "descendants-of-the-survivors" of the chattel-slavery system that took place on the continental United States during the antebellum era.
Barack Obama can be described as either a 'Black' American or as a 'half-Black' American -- but he is not a member of the very unique African-American Ethnicity
He does, however, seem to strongly identify with that particular Ethnic grouping of people; he has a good number of constituents who are of that Ethnicity; he has married into an African-American family and has children who are half African-American.
But both Barack and his children have an east African Kenyan ancestry -- whereas his wife, Michelle's, "black" ancestry comes from West Africa.
"African-American is an ETHNIC description used to describe ONLY those people who .... are the descendants of and can trace their ancestry back to the survivors of the targets of the chattel-slave system which took place on the continental United States during the antebellum era of the nations history."
