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My husband is Dominican and looks dark/ ethnic. I am white but my father (German parents) was born in Argentina. All but two of my kids look white, very pale skin, one has blue eyes. The two who don't look white look only vaguely ethnic.
So I guess we're all "Hispanic?" I never have a clue what to put on forms concerning their/ our race/ ethnicity.
Yeah.....but what's your point? Apples and tamarinds here; people in the Ozarks and the Appalachians are predominantly of European ancestry. It would make sense for them to have a Eurocentric world view. Blacks in the Dominican Republic and indigenous Mexicans are in a different situation altogether.........
So you're saying it's OK for the "hillbillies" to distrust Africans, because that's what they're 'expected' to do....but NOT OK for blacks in the 'New World' to distrust Africans, because they somehow should "know better"?....seems to ME that you're suggesting that our 'intellects' and our 'view of life' is predetermined by our genetics...that whites should 'think white thoughts', and blacks should 'think black thoughts', and neither group can, or should, try to understand the other.
Not trying to anger you here, but isn't this pretty much the 'racist ideal'? If blacks are SUPPOSED to all agree, and whites should ALWAYS 'feel white', then that doesn't give much hope for any sort of a multiethnic society...does it? Do you honestly see Blacks in the Americas as "Africans", and whites here as "Europeans"?
Of course, my post was made in 'jest'....but seriously, isn't it a point worth considering?
My husband is Dominican and looks dark/ ethnic. I am white but my father (German parents) was born in Argentina. All but two of my kids look white, very pale skin, one has blue eyes. The two who don't look white look only vaguely ethnic.
So I guess we're all "Hispanic?" I never have a clue what to put on forms concerning their/ our race/ ethnicity.
Strictly speaking: you would check 'White' for your kids' race but 'Hispanic' for their ethnicity on the US Census.
I know a man who is a blue eyed blond with a Spanish surname; his father is a light Mestizo and the mother is a Nordic White German from the Fatherland.
The sad part the history books dont tell ya is that the rival tribes used to capture and surrender enemy tribeman to save themselves AND gain power and land over the rival tribes. So in a way their own people betrayed and sold them.
On the other hand, those slaves ancestors became free Americans with American rights and the ancestors of the traitors are still running around in Third World Africa, so who really won that conflict in the long run?
I catch your drift: that is one of the ironic 'jokes' of history. Another would be the formerly 'downtrodden' Irish who rose in one generation from almost Third World poverty to solid First World affluence eclipsing both Great Britain and the USA in per capita income.
isn't it basically people that derived from Spanish roots?
The Spanish settled all over during the Exploration days and basically planted their seed everywhere they conquered, giving birth to the Hispanics and Latinos of the world.
Only if you consider African Americans, Native American Indians, Hawaiians and Jamaicans, for example, to be derived from English roots...........Hispanics/Latinos can be, and often do, have Spanish ancestry, and we are all influenced by Spain in terms of culture, religion, cuisine, etc. But many are not of Spanish ancestry, as there are large groups of Africans, Natives and Asians throughout Latin America.......
The sad part the history books dont tell ya is that the rival tribes used to capture and surrender enemy tribeman to save themselves AND gain power and land over the rival tribes. So in a way their own people betrayed and sold them.
On the other hand, those slaves ancestors became free Americans with American rights and the ancestors of the traitors are still running around in Third World Africa, so who really won that conflict in the long run?
You are obviously not the descendant of slaves................
My husband is Dominican and looks dark/ ethnic. I am white but my father (German parents) was born in Argentina. All but two of my kids look white, very pale skin, one has blue eyes. The two who don't look white look only vaguely ethnic.
So I guess we're all "Hispanic?" I never have a clue what to put on forms concerning their/ our race/ ethnicity.
So you're saying it's OK for the "hillbillies" to distrust Africans, because that's what they're 'expected' to do....but NOT OK for blacks in the 'New World' to distrust Africans, because they somehow should "know better"?....seems to ME that you're suggesting that our 'intellects' and our 'view of life' is predetermined by our genetics...that whites should 'think white thoughts', and blacks should 'think black thoughts', and neither group can, or should, try to understand the other.
Not trying to anger you here, but isn't this pretty much the 'racist ideal'? If blacks are SUPPOSED to all agree, and whites should ALWAYS 'feel white', then that doesn't give much hope for any sort of a multiethnic society...does it? Do you honestly see Blacks in the Americas as "Africans", and whites here as "Europeans"?
Of course, my post was made in 'jest'....but seriously, isn't it a point worth considering?
I think you totally misread my post. I never explicitly mentioned distrusting Africans; I simply was speaking about the irony inherent in the situation in which an African from Latin America (which is what my ancestral background is) is hell-bent on denying that blackness because that is what the culture he/she grew up in is teaching him he should do. When you brought up the "hillbilly" culture, I saw no relevance, because this is no example of a similar situation; the Ozark and Appalachian people are not being encouraged to hate their ancestry and culture (I do realize that American culture in general does somewhat devalue the culture of Appalachia, but that is not a racial issue, nor are these people in the majority in society as a whole but being treated as a minority).
In Latin America, even in places where African descendants are a majority (the Dominican Republic, Cuba) and where Native people are a majority (Bolivia, Ecuador, Peru, Mexico, Paraguay), whiteness and Spanish culture are valued, while that which is non-European is devalued.
I do not see blacks in the New World as African, nor whites in the New World as European in an absolute sense, but I do see the cultures and racial backgrounds with which each group are associated as being derived from these places. You can't escape that. I refer to myself as an African for convenience and in a cultural sense, but in terms of ancestry my people come from Europe, Asia and native America as well. There is no part of Africa or any other continent outside of North and South America where I could find people who look like me, and only in America can I find people who think like me.
My hope for the future of the world and for America is that our nation(s) need to work together as one, to establish a place where it is possible for us to both retain our distinct ancestral cultural heritages but live together in mutual welfare and benefit as a larger society. I will gladly share a country with someone from the Ozarks, but that doesn't mean I will assimilate into his distinct culture; nor do I expect him to want to live within mine.
I think you totally misread my post. I never explicitly mentioned distrusting Africans; I simply was speaking about the irony inherent in the situation in which an African from Latin America (which is what my ancestral background is) is hell-bent on denying that blackness because that is what the culture he/she grew up in is teaching him he should do. When you brought up the "hillbilly" culture, I saw no relevance, because this is no example of a similar situation; the Ozark and Appalachian people are not being encouraged to hate their ancestry and culture (I do realize that American culture in general does somewhat devalue the culture of Appalachia, but that is not a racial issue, nor are these people in the majority in society as a whole but being treated as a minority).
In Latin America, even in places where African descendants are a majority (the Dominican Republic, Cuba) and where Native people are a majority (Bolivia, Ecuador, Peru, Mexico, Paraguay), whiteness and Spanish culture are valued, while that which is non-European is devalued.
I do not see blacks in the New World as African, nor whites in the New World as European in an absolute sense, but I do see the cultures and racial backgrounds with which each group are associated as being derived from these places. You can't escape that. I refer to myself as an African for convenience and in a cultural sense, but in terms of ancestry my people come from Europe, Asia and native America as well. There is no part of Africa or any other continent outside of North and South America where I could find people who look like me, and only in America can I find people who think like me.
My hope for the future of the world and for America is that our nation(s) need to work together as one, to establish a place where it is possible for us to both retain our distinct ancestral cultural heritages but live together in mutual welfare and benefit as a larger society. I will gladly share a country with someone from the Ozarks, but that doesn't mean I will assimilate into his distinct culture; nor do I expect him to want to live within mine.
Well-written piece. Having traveled extensively throughout Latin America, I agree with all you say. My original goal was just to have a little 'fun' with your post....but you've given us much to ponder here...and I know it to be true.
I have a complex 'take' on many of these issues, and enjoy reading lucid and well-focused writings such as yours...
You are obviously not the descendant of slaves................
Perhaps not, but I am……..and I agree with his/her comments. I am not condoning slavery for one second. In my opinion, it was the most egregious crime against humanity in U.S. history. However, it would be disingenuous, to say the least, if I didn’t admit I’m glad I was born here, as opposed to ANYWHERE in Africa.
Something vile (slavery) resulted in good. It does not justify slavery, but it certainly makes it a little easier to swallow (at least for me). Had it not been for some of my ancestors being brought here as slaves, I would not exist -- being a descendant of African slaves, White Americans of German descent, and Crow Indians.
My mom was once insulted by an African, who had the audacity to call her a “mongrel.” She quickly retorted, “At least I’m not running around hacking people with machetes, mutilating young girls, living in abject poverty, and worshipping rats and snakes.” Of course, that was a generalization, but I’m sure he got the message.
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I never have a clue what to put on forms concerning their/ our race/ ethnicity.