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This is unfortunate, but American blacks are desperately looking for identity. They are unable to say I am an Irish American or my great great grandfather was a physician. The only thing they can say is that there is NO ONE in their ancestry that did anything.
I my case, my dad was a lawyer and my mother an algebra teacher. My great great grandfather was a physician. My grandparents had immaculate credentials and amazing values. Many American blacks have NOTHING like that.
In the end we are the sum of our ancestors.
Are you black?
I have MANY people in my ancestry that did all sorts of things?
Maybe if you are black, you just don't know much about your genealogy. I do genealogical research as a hobby and am always inspired and proud of my ancestors. Facts I know about my ancestors from present to going back in time:
Paternal Grandfather was one of the first city employees in a management position
Paternal cousin (of grandfather) was the first black realtor in our city and helped desegregate the city
Maternal grandmother was the first black person hired as a manager of HR in a local major manufacturing office (she is still talked of positively by the people who worked there as she made sure to advertise good paying jobs to the black community). She also was a trained musician and lead choirs and ensured I both sang and had an excellent instrumental background in music with multiple instruments
Maternal great grandmother (mother of above) was highly creative, she was a professional baker and had her own home-based business where she made wedding cakes, she painted and created sculptures and sold items all around our area via art shows
Maternal great great grandfather was one of the first black people in the area to get a college degree, he could not find employment in any industrial business as a supervisor due to being black, he instead opened up a barber shop and made good money via that endeavor for the black community
Paternal great great great great grandfather, was born a free person of color in the 1820s (his family is VERY interesting) he helped established the first black church in our area, which functioned as a community center as well so he was well regarded and integral in the black community
Maternal great great great grandfather was involved in the underground railroad. He later moved to Canada due to being threatened with imprisonment for his activities with his 7 children, 4 of whom were males. The Civil War broke out while they were in Canada and all 4 of his sons came back to the US in 1863 and signed up to fight in the US Colored Troops.
Paternal great great great great grandfather (not one above, but another) fought in the Revolutionary War and was given a land grant in the state of Ohio based on his service, which is how this branch of my family initially came to Ohio, which is where I live.
FWIW, I could go on and on about my family and especially so in regards to our veterans and military service person. I am VERY proud that my family, to this day has a connection to service to our country. I have verified 9 of my ancestors fought in the Civil War, one has a very common name but I am certain he did as well and that would make 10. I have an uncle who was a Tuskeegee Airman. His brother died in WW2, while he survived and died about 7 years ago. My dad is a veteran as well - Vietname Era (got into service right when war was ending so didn't go) as did his sister in the same era. My cousin was in Desert Storm. I have another cousin who went to Afghanistan and about 5 currently in service right now. My grandfather fought in Korea. So again, I have lots of things to be proud of in regards to my ancestors.
And FWIW a large amount of my family are educators and/or principals. We have PhDs in the family (especially from 1960 forward). There are a lot of professional people in my family.
This is a good post despite what rabid deniers will tell you, and I'm a person who thinks that the perpetuating cycle of poverty is now more a result of black peoples own cultural "bad habits" then anyone continuing to perpetuate racism.
If you commit crimes, you have to expect that you will have a disproportionate level of exposure to the police. No one is forcing black men in Chicago to kill each other, they are doing it on their own. If you have children at a very young age with only one parent around, the cycle will perpetuate. No one is forcing 16 year old black women to get pregnant out of wedlock.
But the whole situation has been set in place by a system that was contemptible for many generations. Yes, a black person who puts their anger about historical racism aside, behaves themselves, pays attention in school and doesn't embrace criminality can succeed in the US...I know many who have. But when you are brought up with a certain sense of self loathing or you walk around hating the place you live and the majority of people who you live with, that's easier said than done. Is it really healthy to walk around with an inferiority complex ever day? How is that helpful in day to day life? But it's easy for white people to say "just forget about slavery and segregation and Jim Crow...the laws changed 50 years ago..."
Lets talk about that. First, how is culture acquired? Secondly, how is culture incubated? Thirdly, how did whites acquire their culture in America? Finally, what was the process of black acculturation in America, given that they were stripped of their African culture?
Great post, but you had great ancestors despite the adversity. Others are not as lucky as you.
This is not true at all.
I do genealogical research as stated and in my spare time, I actually do trees for free for friends of mine and I have done my husband's and his family, though all I have found are descendant of enslaved persons, have a similar background to my own family, especially from 1900 forward.
Black people have always had a high degree of community organization and there has always been black doctors, nurses, teachers, pastors, businessmen, and people who served in our military.
We have a very inspiring past and ancestry for the most part.
I think black people are doing well. Slavery ended less than 200 years ago, and it became illegal to discriminate against black people like 50 years ago. Both of these are pretty much a drop in the bucket when it comes to history. I think the last actual slave died in the 1930s or 1940s. I think people are use to things moving so fast, that we kind of forget that none of this stuff was all that long ago. I mean how long did it take China to get their act together? 500-1000 years? Black people are doling exceptionally well, all things considered. And the whole "welfare" and "gangsta rap" stigma is becoming more of a media image than an actual reality these days. I know FEW black people who are gangsters and welfare queens.
This is basically the truth, especially the bold. Our media are the ones that show the American public black people who are dysfunctional and act like that dysfunction is the predominant experience of blacks as a whole, when it is not at all.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Julian658
Easy for you because you are not an original American black whose entire heritage is SLAVERY. You have valuable MEMEs that are absent in many descendants of slaves.
I am an American black person.
My ENTIRE heritage is not SLAVERY
Your posting about blacks and slavery IMO really shows you don't know much at all about black people's history in America. There were always blacks who were not enslaved and slavery did not define the black experience post Civil War.
Jews were never at an economic disadvantage. Jews were just getting murdered by the boatloads, but they owned most of the banks and commerence in many countries. So once the killing stopped, they had all of the power in the world to keep their power and control. No one who is intellectually honest should even fix their mouths to compare Jewish experiences to Black American experiences. They're not even remotely the same.
Your posting about blacks and slavery IMO really shows you don't know much at all about black people's history in America. There were always blacks who were not enslaved and slavery did not define the black experience post Civil War.
Thank you for correcting this. I do not pretend to fully know the black experience since I am not black. However, I try very hard to understand the trauma of slavery, Jim Crow, and discrimination.
In any event, most of the highly successful black Americans I know tend to have a background that includes a very nice family background and that is the key. I should probably use the word "some" more often when attempting to describe what is going on with race relations.
I do genealogical research as stated and in my spare time, I actually do trees for free for friends of mine and I have done my husband's and his family, though all I have found are descendant of enslaved persons, have a similar background to my own family, especially from 1900 forward.
Black people have always had a high degree of community organization and there has always been black doctors, nurses, teachers, pastors, businessmen, and people who served in our military.
We have a very inspiring past and ancestry for the most part.
I am glad to hear that. But, you are probably part of the well to do high achievement black community that had great role models in their ancestors. However, this is not true for ALL.
Lets talk about that. First, how is culture acquired? Secondly, how is culture incubated? Thirdly, how did whites acquire their culture in America? Finally, what was the process of black acculturation in America, given that they were stripped of their African culture?
A large portion of the white America culture dates back to the west and guns. This is still prevalent in most rural republican areas. I am no expert in black culture, but cultural traits play a big role in how we develop in life. I also know American blacks have tried the afrocentric method, but I am not sure that has worked.
America was founded upon the idea that we don't care where you were born or who your parents are. We care about what you have to offer.
Why are liberals trying to change that?
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