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I don't know much about them, but what little I do and can provide in a short post I will type.
As you said, Louisiana passed from the hands of the French to the Spanish through the Treaty of Fontainebleau in 1762. France regained the territory in 1800 through literal Napoleanic efforts. French Acadians fleeing persecution in what is now Canada came to the current day state of Louisiana and founded "Cajun" culture. The area became U.S. territory after the Louisiana Purchase in 1803. It became a state in 1812. Why it developed southern culture is beyond my knowledge, but I will gander a guess as to its geographical proximity to other "Southern" states. If you research this and come up with something, please share your findings.
Oklahoma. Well, there seems to be some debate on whether it is a Midwestern state or southern state. The same can be said about Missouri, and southern Illinois is sometimes thought of as part of the "South" also. Oklahoma and Texas don't get along. I haven't been to either state, but this is such a big issue that it filters all the way here to California via mass media. Oklahoma was designated, as you said, as "Indian Territory". Putting different tribes in one small space following relocation was a recipe for disaster, but that is what our forefathers thought was best and we have to live with the result. The westward expansion could not be contained from Washington D.C., although Congress and many presidents tried, and the traveling mass of people eventually reached and coveted the Oklahoma territory, and their was a big land rush to stake out claims. Some of those folks got their sooner than they were allowed, which gave the name which the Oklahoma University athletic teams are called today, Sooners. Some Oklahoman once wrote, "I was Sooner born and Sooner bred, and when I die I reckon I will be Sooner dead". Anyway, Oklahoma became a state in 1907. Why it is thought to have southern culture, I will leave to Oklahomans to answer, and maybe they will disagree. As for me, I don't have an opinion one way or the other, only that I always thought of Oklahoma as a Midwestern state, and that maybe this push to tie it to the South is manufactured. But I really don't know.
Thanks for your help. I find it sadly ironic that English is now the language of Louisiana, considering that the Cajuns fled Quebec to escape the British, yet today Quebec still speaks French despite being part of a country led by the Queen of England.
And it's also sad that Louisianans (who had a very idyllic life when ruled by France) now live in one of the poorest states out of the 50, and speak a very inarticulate dialect of English that originated in VIRGINIA (a BRITISH settlement). Or at least my feeling is that Virginia is where the Southern accent originated. The dialect of Louisiana is certainly closer to the dialect of Virginia (historically a non-rhotic dialect) than to the dialect of Texas. I once ran into a fellow from New Orleans on the street in Ithaca, NY and could tell instantly after hearing him speak on the phone that he was from a Southern state but most certainly not Texas. Only after we exchanged greetings did I find out exactly where he was from. Funnily enough, I would have guessed somewhere in Virginia if I didn't know otherwise, but that's mostly because of its proximity to NY state.
And funny tidbit about Virginia... people in Northern Virginia today (and yes, NOVA was home to the infamous Robert E Lee) do not have a Southern accent as found in Richmond, Norfolk, Williamsburg, etc. Rather, they have a Philadelphia-like accent, but to be fair the Philadelphia accent has both elements of the New York accent and of the Southern accent. And the Philadelphia dialect is clearly rhotic unlike the accents surrounding it to both the north and south.
That has nothing to do with people of African origin who are of Caribbean, Latino or recent African background.
But I guess some are limited in thought when it comes to these matters...lol.
Quote:
Originally Posted by caribdoll
Again, none of that really has anything to do with the groups being discussed. Most Afro-Caribbeans and Africans are not concerned with whites. Most of those terms are from generational American culture.
Additionally, is Caucasian the right term for White Americans? Many people who are actually from the Caucasus do not consider White Americans as Caucasians. Anyway, it is whites who came up with these broad and backward color labels and the more recent racial ideology. Really and truly, Africans were not "black" en masse until slavery/colonialism, the former depriving Africans of their cultural identities by force. Prior to that, ethnic/cultural identification was used like in the rest of the world.
That is one reason why you will find some who reject the black label. For certain Africans, it is seen as referring to them as a descendant of the slave trade when they are not. Others may see it as calling them Black Americans when they are not, because the terms are often used interchangeably (some Latinos of African descent in the US feel that way).
It sure does.
The title of the thread is " If the word "black" is offensive and was replaced by "African American", then what..."
Then what? I say, replace "black" with "colored" instead of your "suggestion" of African American.
You see on these forums we are allowed to offer opinions other then those suggested by you.
All Blacks should just be called Africans. After all, we refer to all people with roots in Asia as Asians, whether they are first generation or if their families have been in the country for generations.
Supposedly, "Mitochondrial Eve" was from Africa so every person on this third rock from the Sun is African. What should a white American from South Africa call themselves?
Supposedly, "Mitochondrial Eve" was from Africa so every person on this third rock from the Sun is African. What should a white American from South Africa call themselves?
Every person on this planet descended from apes as well, and we are still technically apes, so why not call everyone apes? Why even have words to distinguish one thing from another? Why do we even need to differentiate? We should just point and grunt, just like apes.
Every person on this planet descended from apes as well, and we are still technically apes, so why not call everyone apes? Why even have words to distinguish one thing from another? Why do we even need to differentiate? We should just point and grunt, just like apes.
Calling black people apes is "racist". Try throwing a banana at a black person and see what happens. People are people, not apes. Apes are animals. Try associating fried chicken and watermelon with black people. That is "racist" too.
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