Afroamerican
The American people have a serious identity crisis. It's rare while in the country to hear someone say that they are American. People say that they are Irish, Scottish, German, Italian, African, English, West Indian, etc. Often people are a combination of these. For black Americans it becomes even more complicated. Many want to identify as African but others would never dream of such a thing because it's so foreign to them. I was speaking to a man at a party I had at my apartment. He was telling me about how he plays African drums, traveling around to different towns and performing. He had even been to my part of Cape Cod, Wellfleet. I asked him if he was African and his reply was vague. He couldn't really say yes but he wasn't about to say no. I thought that maybe he was second generation and that his parents were born there so I asked if his parents were African. He said, "well I can't really say no, you know what I mean. It had come up earlier that I was An Afro-Am major and after that point as far as he was concerned we had some kind of connection. I was glad that it never became my turn at 40 questions. I am BI-racial and people react to that differently than others. To some it's a scar on my blackness
being that I'm also half-white. To some it ain't no thing black is black even if your not 100%. Of course finding a person whose 100% of anything these days can be a challenge. In the states if you are a small part black then you are black. We have this system, thanks to the good old days of slavery where no matter how white you looked and no matter how much you resembled the master's children, you were still black enough to be a slave. In other parts of the world the tables are turned. If you are even a small percent white then that's what you are. The words used to describe black people have changed over the years. From Colored to Negro to Black to African American. As I explained earlier if you are a little bit of something else you're not white. This has caused the population of all those considered black to take on a very broad spectrum. Cape Verdeans have for many years considered themselves white. It was not until the civil rights movement when black pride was so strong that many acknowledged their black ancestry over the traditional Portuguese. Black people needed each other it didn't matter if you were from some unknown place if you were fighting for the cause you were in. Black people saw friendship in all their brothers' faces. Language is often something that separates people. Because Cape Verdeans had their own language they were often able to separate themselves from black descendents of slaves this helped in the feelings of non-blackness. Struggle brings people together. The younger generations began to think of themselves as black to the chagrin of their parents who had always considered themselves white. As more and more Cape Verdeans accepted their black ancestry the easier it was to assimilate into black culture in America. African American is now a term that refers to all black peoples at least in America. It does not matter from where you're from if your skin is dark and your hair not so strait you are a welcome member. People still hold on to their ever-important identities. Cape Verdean, Haitian, Dominican, African, West Indian and black American which is actually encompassing of all. Often in urban areas these groups may live near each other and seperate themselves from others. As did the Cape Verdeans see themselves as different so do the West Indians. They have taken to distancing themselves from those black descendents of slaves. It is somehow considered terrible to be a black American. They were enslaved far to long. They don't seem to understand that we were all enslaved and that we should not be looked down upon because it takes a strong people to go from where they were to where they are. Why are all those immigrants here? Because black Americans lead the way fir black school, churches, and organizations. Why can they walk down the street and not get lynched? Because of their brothers and sisters who were sent to different places and fought in different ways. Black people are united under their oppression. United we stand. In the eyes of white America everyone is black. This is obviously the deciding and strengthening norm that forces blacks to stick together. White America's racist attitude that kept dark skinned Cape Verdeans at the back of busses even though they swear that they are white. This is the tightest glue of all. That of a racist society. I think that first generation immigrants cannot think of themselves as African American but their children will. When it's all you know you are socialized to the ways of the world. When you have grown up somewhere else your value system is different. You look at things through the eyes of anot
Some common words found in the essay are:
Wellfleet African, Adjusting World, African Americans, Cape Verdeans, West Indians, African American, Katie Cannon, West Indian, Cape Verdean, Supreme Court, black people, middle class, cape verdeans, civil rights, civil rights movement, african american, west indian, themselves black, white world, cape verdean, rights movement, black middle class, themselves black descendents, black descendents slaves, rights movement black,
Approximate Word count = 2458
Approximate Pages = 10 (250 words per page double spaced)
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