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There is no legal definition for "African-American,' no standard, no technical description.
It's a made-up term with no scientific significance and possibly only passing cultural significance. There's already a movement afoot among some people I know who consider themselves to have African heritage to return to the use of the term "black" to refer to their ethnic heritage.
Meanwhile, the Federal standard, as established by the US Census Bureau, which is charged with asking people what ethnic group they are a member of, when they are counted for the Census, is that you are whatever you say you are.
So pick the one you like. Seriously. Just pick the one you identify with.
Me, I prefer the designation that is the fastest growing group in the US Census, especially among young people: Mixed.
Truth be told, we're ALL Mixed, so why can't everybody just relax about this now?
I wanted to rep you again, but couldnt lol...
I am one of the people you speak of who prefers the term "Black American" over "African-American". I am not African, nobody in my immediate family--going back four generations--was an African migrant, and I have no strong urge to visit that continent. I am 100% American, born and raised, and if I "had" to identify as a "type" of American, as per the U.S. Census, then I am a black, but not African, American...
I agree with several posters on the view of "AA" as being more of a culture than a racial identifier. But even that is iffy. Being black in America definitely has a culture that is identifiable from being white, and vice-versa. So while black culture does exist, one isnt automatically black just because he relates to our culture--i.e. eating traditional black meals, listening to traditional music, dating black women, etc. If you happen to be white, identifying with black culture doesnt make you black...
At the end of the day, we're all mixed. Dont have the means to really research my geneaology, and although my looks have never gotten me mistaken for anything but being black, any person with knowledge of genetics can look at me and tell that I am not 100% of African descent, probably not 70%. I'm not dark enough, and my hair isnt thick enough, as traditional black Africans are/were. But I am a proud black American, and to the thread starter, you obviously have enough black lineage, and you "sound" to appear black-looking, to consider yourself black if you choose to...
My dad is from Trinidad. Well he was. And my mom's parents came to America from Mauritius in their teens. Mauritius is a small African Island. So my grandparents are African Americans. My mom may have some creole descent on her mom's side. My dad's family dark but they're all pretty purely indian so they claim. But I was wondering how one knows for sure? A third of those with indian ancestry in Trinidad & Tobago also have african ancestry. Also what are creoles?What race are they? I read a lot about them being austronesian. But what race is that exactly? Also are malagasy people black or asian? Primarily both my parents believe they're indian....anyhow am I technically carib/african american or not? What do you think?
“Creole” is a loaded word that has several various meanings. It depends on the culture and the baggage that comes with it. But this is the classic definition of an American Creole:
An American Creole is someone who can trace their ancestry back to a French family who was living west of the Mississippi River in New France before the Louisiana Purchase (pre-1803). It has nothing to do with skin color. There are both white and black Creoles in the US. The black people, especially in Louisiana, who are Creole can call themselves that because somewhere further up their tree they had white French ancestors who were in the area of New France before 1803.
I am a white Creole (and a mutt too). My grandmother’s family left France in the 1670s and settled in Quebec. Around 1730 they left Canada and settled in Missouri. They were “Frenchmen” living west of the Mississippi River nearly 80 years before the Louisiana Purchase, which makes them Creole. However, the Frenchmen in Missouri never used the term Creole to describe themselves. They simply called themselves the “Missouri French.”
Technically, you would not be classified as a Creole (in the American sense of word) because none of your family was in here before 1803 and you do not have any French ancestry.
Creole in the Caribbean "technically" just means that you were born there and a product of the mixed culture. It has more to do with culture than with ethnic background. The culture of Trinidad and other places in the Caribbean is a stew of the many influences that have been incorporated over hundreds of years. No matter your race, say you were of English ancestry, you are so different from someone born in the UK - - you are 'creole', whether of mixed ancestry or not.
Caribe was a tribe of indigenous people - and they did mix with others in the Caribbean [notably in St Vincent ]. Indian and Chinese indentured laborers were largely introduced at the end of slavery in the early 1800's and are a large influence in Caribbean culture - especially Trinidad and Guiana.
The term African American, was originally for those that descended from African slaves. It has come to mean whatever the speaker wants it to be. It's not really a "race"
If it doesn't bother you, say you are of "mixed" race, which you certainly are.
"Race" is a term that even those who study it, cannot always agree on. There are too many shades of skin. Even DNA studies can be confusing.
The Cajuns are a special mixture of American Indian, French, South American and freed slaves. They aren't a race either. I would think that if they were, it would fall under the "white" umbrella.
Ethnic groupings are a fastinating subject to study. You'll never come up with an answer that would suit everyone.
"SO, EVEYWHERE I GO IN THIS WORLD "CAJUN & CREOLE CULTURE" ARE MISUNDERSTOOD. SO, WHEN FOLKS ASK ME THE DIFFERENCES, I STICK TO THIS STORY . FEEL FREE TO GIVE ME MORE FACTS OR EVEN OPINIONS AND CRITIC. EAT, ENJOY, AND DIGEST MY FRIENDS.
Cajun food and music is in no way Acadian. People up in Canada eat a lot of similar food to European French people. No, the Cajun food is mainly Creole. Let's be real. It's not what a normal French Canadian would cook. Very spicy food is not part of the French diet, but African.
Actually, the term "Creole" does not refer to a particular race of people and the majority of the people who call themselves "Cajuns" in Louisiana are not the descendants of folks from Nova Scotia.
The term "Creole" shows up in colonial documents of Louisiana as a way to distinguish the "locally born" from the foreign born, regardless of whether their parents were Africans or Europeans. If you were born anywhere in a French colony, you were described as a Creole.
And there is no difference culturally between Creoles and the so-called Cajuns. The only difference used to separate them is based on race only. But when you got to Louisiana, people will insist there is a difference, but can't explain how or why.
And as far as spices go, have you eaten gumbo from a Creole person vs. a Cajun? Who designated these distinctions? Visitors who have come from abroad to write on Louisiana people? Go sit down at a true Creole dinner table and you will find just as much difference in the spices used as you would from the next Creole household. The same thing with any Cajun household.
People are so fixated on Cajun that they want to label everything Cajun. If we are to assume that Cajun means "deriving from Acadie" then still, gumbo being "overall Cajun" is still debunked. None of those ingredients have come from Acadie.
Also, the Acadians descended theory is debunked. Genealogy research shows that a great percentage of those claiming to be Cajun based on Acadian ancestry have no Acadian ancestry at all. This thing is cultural. Let's stop trying to make it into a phony "racial" issue. Race isn't biologically even real.
Culturally, "Cajuns" are Louisiana Creoles, as they were native to the land. At one point, they even identified this way (all of what I'm saying by the way is well studied and documented; it's just buried deep inside libraries and scholastic files). Creoles and Cajuns both speak either French or Creole and in some cases both. The predominant religion is Catholic, both enjoy Zydeco and "Cajun" (once called "Old French" before the Cajun economic ploy) music.
Cajuns aren't the only people who are farmers and "self-sufficient" as it is thought. As a matter of fact, in the 18th and 19th centuries, contrary to popular belief, many Acadians acquired land, established businesses and purchased many slaves. Census records document this clearly and it debunks the theory that the Acadians were "simple country folk". Cajuns settled lands that were already inhabited by French-speaking Native Americans and Creoles and they lived among them and they learned from one another.
Prior to the 60's, people all identified as either Creoles or simply, Frenchmen. This Cajunness didn't come into play until Jimmie Domengeaux was appointed the Head of CODOFIL (Centre pour le developpement du Français en Louisiane) and because he was a self-identified Cajun, he would use this term to fuel economic efforts and generate funds into Louisiana under the label Cajun.
NOW DATS REAL TALK!!!!!! MERCI BEAUCOUPS WISE GEEK"
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SOURCE LINK/URL
My dad is from Trinidad. Well he was. And my mom's parents came to America from Mauritius in their teens. Mauritius is a small African Island. So my grandparents are African Americans. My mom may have some creole descent on her mom's side. My dad's family dark but they're all pretty purely indian so they claim. But I was wondering how one knows for sure? A third of those with indian ancestry in Trinidad & Tobago also have african ancestry. Also what are creoles? What race are they? I read a lot about them being austronesian. But what race is that exactly? Also are malagasy people black or asian? Primarily both my parents believe they're indian....anyhow am I technically carib/african american or not? What do you think?
Based on the information you provided, you are NOT African American. You are not of ethnic African American descent.
You are Trinidadian and Mauritian. So you can say that your race is multiracial, mixed race, and your culture or ethnicity is Trinidadian and Mauritian.
“Creole” is a loaded word that has several various meanings. It depends on the culture and the baggage that comes with it. But this is the classic definition of an American Creole:
An American Creole is someone who can trace their ancestry back to a French family who was living west of the Mississippi River in New France before the Louisiana Purchase (pre-1803). It has nothing to do with skin color. There are both white and black Creoles in the US. The black people, especially in Louisiana, who are Creole can call themselves that because somewhere further up their tree they had white French ancestors who were in the area of New France before 1803.
I am a white Creole (and a mutt too). My grandmother’s family left France in the 1670s and settled in Quebec. Around 1730 they left Canada and settled in Missouri. They were “Frenchmen” living west of the Mississippi River nearly 80 years before the Louisiana Purchase, which makes them Creole. However, the Frenchmen in Missouri never used the term Creole to describe themselves. They simply called themselves the “Missouri French.”
Technically, you would not be classified as a Creole (in the American sense of word) because none of your family was in here before 1803 and you do not have any French ancestry.
Creole has varied definitions but it more so describes culture or cultural identity. One does not have to be mixed or have racial mixture of any sort to be Creole. There are plenty of whites that are Creole, and there are plenty of blacks that are Creole as well as even Native Americans and Asians that are Creole.
Based on the information you provided, you are NOT African American. You are not of ethnic African American descent.
You are Trinidadian and Mauritian. So you can say that your race is multiracial, mixed race, and your culture or ethnicity is Trinidadian and Mauritian.
Basically, there's no real such thing as African American. At least, not when you dna test yourself. There's no genetic markers that would isolate anyone as being African American. A person could choose to identify with the concept of African American, or not. (as seen by this thread, not all Black Americans identify themselves as African American).
Personally, I'd say there's no such country as Africa, so why would anyone call themselves African American? Via genetic testing you can find out your true heritage.
Basically, there's no real such thing as African American. At least, not when you dna test yourself. There's no genetic markers that would isolate anyone as being African American. A person could choose to identify with the concept of African American, or not. (as seen by this thread, not all Black Americans identify themselves as African American).
Personally, I'd say there's no such country as Africa, so why would anyone call themselves African American? Via genetic testing you can find out your true heritage.
Those of us that identify with or use the term "African-American" do so in absence of the knowledge of our specific origins, Yoruba, Ghananian, Falani, which were robbed of us during the New World slave trade. That is one of the attractions of DNA testing. It might reestablish those kinships that were lost.
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. FEEL FREE TO GIVE ME MORE FACTS OR EVEN OPINIONS AND CRITIC. EAT, ENJOY, AND DIGEST MY FRIENDS.
