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FYI - the bold is important. Howard is considered the "Harvard" of black America. It is a very illustrious, storied institution in regards to HBCUs and if she was a political science major at Howard, I'd feel comfortable that she is knowledgeable by true black American history and culture to where she can be considered and is "black" enough.
On her being a fake black person - FYI - all black people are not poor or live in the ghetto. I guess when my kids grow up and if one of them wants to run for president, someone like you will say they aren't "really" black because they aren't dark skinned and didn't grow up dirt poor lol.
Kamala, like Obama, "looks" black and lives in America. She is a black American and identifies as such. Also nearly all black Americans are of mixed ethnicities in our backgrounds. FWIW my 2nd great grandfather was Canadian and I have a lot of Canadian cousins to this day. Black people are not all the stereotype you think we all are (and note, if memory serves me correct, I thought you said you were black - comments still stand - lots of black people buy into common stereotypes of black people and think you need to be/live/act/look a certain way to be black).
I like a lot of things about Kamala Harris. But we'll see if I'll vote for her or not if she runs. I do think she will run.
I don't know why I keep getting this response about I'm not seeing her as being black enough. Or that every black person is not poor. These responses have nothing to do with what I'm getting across. Lineage is important. No, not every black person in the diaspora is the same. We all didn't have the same experience. There's nothing wrong with saying that. The problem comes in when we say, "We are all the same". It's conversation like that which leaves American DOS with the cost of slavery. Kamala didn't grow up with this cost. Obama didn't grow up with this cost. We are not the same at all.
Now, again with her going to Howard, its putting us on as a coat. She played the political game, knowing having those connections to Howard would make her seem like she is like us. In the same way, Obama went to Jeremiah Wright's church. Yet look what Obama did to Jeremiah Wright once he became president. The same will happen to all her Howard connections if Kamala becomes president. Shoot, if a white person went to Howard (and they probably do), does that make them American black to? Come on.
Yet once again addressing this "not all black people are poor" rhetoric. This is about advocacy. This is about where we are "as a group". The vast majority of us are at the bottom of this country. Not because we didn't try hard enough. Not because we messed up, where everyone else succeeded. No! It's because of our history and the current day road blocks this country has for us. We were placed at the bottom, to be the doormat of America. People like Obama and Kamala gladly stepped on our heads as they embraced what should have gone to us a long time ago. Their parents were immigrants, taking advantage of the road American DOS paved. So ultimately, we are still at the bottom of this country, and we need a president that will advocate for us. Kamala advocates for "people of color", she advocates for immigrants. We need specific stuff to come our way or else we perish as a group.
I'm not taking away anything from your children and their heritage. If you're American DOS, you're American DOS. I would say if you ever advocate for us, know where the the majority of us are in this country. I don't need for anyone to say "I'm not poor", no matter how you got stability. I need to hear from you, "America put black Americans in a hole, and it has the responsibility in taking them out". I didn't hear that from Obama in all his eight years, and Kamala hasn't shown anything that she is about the life of improving our lives. So I'm attacking them both on their record toward American DOS, and their stealing our name to better themselves.
I don't take issue with anyone due to their background. I've clearly spoken about those who take advantage of our lineage to boost themselves up. Now, had Obama married a white woman, no way he would have gotten the same turn out in the black vote that he got in '08 and '12.
Again, ultimately if you are descended from black immigrants, talk about that heritage. Don't make it seem like you are black like American DOS. Don't sing any Al Green songs, don't sing Amazing Grace. Stop it! It basically amounts to putting on black face. Shoot, besides Michelle, how many American DOS is around Obama like that? Even Michelle's background had privilege in it compared to where the vast majority of us are. She went to a privileged high school. She lived in an apartment building her family owned. She had an Aunt who was involved in the Arts, taught her how to play piano and so on. We have to ask questions, do they really know the situation black Americans are in? If they don't know, how can they advocate?
Again, Kamala Harris has always been clear about her Jamaican heritage. If she hadn’t spoken about it, then no one would know. It was publicized from the time she was sworn into the Senate. She even spoke about her experiences as a child visiting Jamaica (and India).
And who are you to tell anyone not to sing Al Green or Amazing Grace? Particularly when American culture is broadcasted around the world and has been for decades. People can and will enjoy whatever much they choose.
Lastly, no one is taking advantage of your lineage. You just take issue with people based on their background, particularly if they are recent Americans and of African descent, because Kamala has never pretended to be anything other than what she is.
Let me ask y'all something. What does Barack Obama, Kamala Harris, and Rachel Dolezal have in common? They all are impostors who cloaked themselves in black American life. Now why do I say that when both Obama and Harris have black heritage? Well, the thing is, they have no black American heritage. They are not American descendants of slaves.
Now, everyone knows Barack Obama got an overwhelming number of black votes simply because he was black. More specifically his wife was truly black American, and we wanted to see a black family in the White House. Yet Barack Obama himself wasn't linked to black Americans. His black side comes from his father, who was a Kenyan immigrant. Barack grew up and was raised by his white mother and grandparents. His early life was spent in Hawaii and Indonesia, where in Hawaii he went to an expensive private school. Going back to his grandparents, his grandmother became a bank executive, where she left over $400,000 dollars in stock to Obama as an inheritance. How many American DOS can say they inherited $400k? Heck, how many American DOS can say their parents are Harvard Alums? Barack Obama was as far away from a black American experience as you can get. (The overwhelming majority of us) Ultimately, he played the game that garnered black votes. As president, he did jack for black people.
So here we are, coming up on the 2020 election. Not four years removed from the impostor that is Obama, we have another one coming up the ranks. Enter Kamala Harris! What does her family background look like? Her mother, who raised her, was of Indian descent. Her father, a mixed man of Jamaican heritage. Both come from elite background, mother was a scientist, father an economics professor. She was born in Oakland, but moved to Canada at the age of 7, where she spent her true formative years. Just no real connection at all to black Americans, but just like with Obama, she cloaked herself to get our benefits. She went to Howard and got a political degree, then moved back to California, where you know the rest of the story.
Ultimately what I want to do with this topic is to warn my fellow black American voters who grew up here and descend from slavery. These candidates are not like you. They come from elite, wealthy backgrounds, showing no regard for where you are and your position in this country. Even now, Kamala Harris' biggest issues concerns immigration. Don't fall for the same tricks Obama pulled off.
FYI - the bold is important. Howard is considered the "Harvard" of black America. It is a very illustrious, storied institution in regards to HBCUs and if she was a political science major at Howard, I'd feel comfortable that she is knowledgeable by true black American history and culture to where she can be considered and is "black" enough. .
Further, Howard was highly regarded among a number of Caribbean and African people, especially from the 60s to the 80s. Growing up, my mother would tell us about when she first came here and had asked an African man where he attended school. She said he was so proud to say Howard University, which she would repeat with his full accent. No other HBCU has had that reputation among black foreigners. It is no surprise that Kamala, as someone of Jamaican descent, attended the institution in the 80s.
There is nothing to get over. It happened and it is a part of history. When you stop talking about all other aspects of history, then we will stop talking about slavery. Until then, YOU get over it.
I don't know why I keep getting this response about I'm not seeing her as being black enough. Or that every black person is not poor. These responses have nothing to do with what I'm getting across. Lineage is important. No, not every black person in the diaspora is the same. We all didn't have the same experience. There's nothing wrong with saying that. The problem comes in when we say, "We are all the same". It's conversation like that which leaves American DOS with the cost of slavery. Kamala didn't grow up with this cost. Obama didn't grow up with this cost. We are not the same at all.
Now, again with her going to Howard, its putting us on as a coat. She played the political game, knowing having those connections to Howard would make her seem like she is like us. In the same way, Obama went to Jeremiah Wright's church. Yet look what Obama did to Jeremiah Wright once he became president. The same will happen to all her Howard connections if Kamala becomes president. Shoot, if a white person went to Howard (and they probably do), does that make them American black to? Come on.
Yet once again addressing this "not all black people are poor" rhetoric. This is about advocacy. This is about where we are "as a group". The vast majority of us are at the bottom of this country. Not because we didn't try hard enough. Not because we messed up, where everyone else succeeded. No! It's because of our history and the current day road blocks this country has for us. We were placed at the bottom, to be the doormat of America. People like Obama and Kamala gladly stepped on our heads as they embraced what should have gone to us a long time ago. Their parents were immigrants, taking advantage of the road American DOS paved. So ultimately, we are still at the bottom of this country, and we need a president that will advocate for us. Kamala advocates for "people of color", she advocates for immigrants. We need specific stuff to come our way or else we perish as a group.
I'm not taking away anything from your children and their heritage. If you're American DOS, you're American DOS. I would say if you ever advocate for us, know where the the majority of us are in this country. I don't need for anyone to say "I'm not poor", no matter how you got stability. I need to hear from you, "America put black Americans in a hole, and it has the responsibility in taking them out". I didn't hear that from Obama in all his eight years, and Kamala hasn't shown anything that she is about the life of improving our lives. So I'm attacking them both on their record toward American DOS, and their stealing our name to better themselves.
On the bold - no but it makes them more knowledgeable about black American history and culture depending on their major especially.
On the blue - how do you view Marcus Garvey? Do you ascribe to his ideas in regards to the UNIA and pan-Africanism? And why do you have the belief that black people "think we are all the same." I don't. You evidently want to have a specific definition for what it means to be black (I'm assuming your DOS means "descendants of slaves." Jamaicans were slaves too BTW as were all other black people in S. America, Central America, and the Caribbean.... Also a significant amount of West Indian immigrants immigrated to America in the 20th century - like Garvey and Hubert Harrison who are considered very important in the black American "black nationalist" historical mindset. They had to endure the racial caste system of America but are not technically "DOS" in America - how do you classify them? And why do you make a big deal of her dad being an Economics professor? My grandmother was a Director of Personnel and IMO she was "rich." She was pretty well off. Would that negate my status of being a "DOS?" Very weird system you have set up here.
Point is, you are not an authority on who is and isn't black. You can have your views but many black people aren't into the victimization sort of mindset that you seem to ascribe to in various posts in regards to your anger about "being at the bottom" and how weak/powerless you are.
I don't care about "everyone else" or whites or anything that "they" do. I take advantage of opportunities, as I've noted to you before. I hope one day you'll do the same and come out of this mindset as I doubt it has been beneficial for you in your personal life nor in your community in regards to helping other black people (who you feel worthy of being black I guess lol).
I don't need Kamala to do any thing in particular for me other than stay out of my way of my goals. Same as Obama, same as Trump. I do know where the majority of us are at in this country statistically and we are not in inner city, urban areas and we are not majority poor/poverty stricken either. We also can think for ourselves and do for ourselves and IMO don't need to care about white people or Kamala and what they can do for us cause we have a great legacy of accomplishment under much worse circumstances. So today there is less reason to b**ch. It also bothers me when black men in particular b**ch like this. Sorry but true (and my hood language came out cause it really does bother me when I see/hear black men do this). Be a man and do for yourself and quit worrying about someone doing something for you.
Further, Howard was highly regarded among a number of Caribbean and African people, especially from the 60s to the 80s. Growing up, my mother would tell us about when she first came here and had asked an African man where he attended school. She said he was so proud to say Howard University, which she would repeat with his full accent. No other HBCU has had that reputation among black foreigners. It is no surprise that Kamala, as someone of Jamaican descent, attended the institution in the 80s.
I agree. A lot of my family members, including myself are HBCU graduates, including Howard. There is a substantial amount of African and West Indian black students at HBCUs to this day.
On the bold - no but it makes them more knowledgeable about black American history and culture depending on their major especially.
On the blue - how do you view Marcus Garvey? Do you ascribe to his ideas in regards to the UNIA and pan-Africanism? And why do you have the belief that black people "think we are all the same." I don't. You evidently want to have a specific definition for what it means to be black (I'm assuming your DOS means "descendants of slaves." Jamaicans were slaves too BTW as were all other black people in S. America, Central America, and the Caribbean.... Also a significant amount of West Indian immigrants immigrated to America in the 20th century - like Garvey and Hubert Harrison who are considered very important in the black American "black nationalist" historical mindset. They had to endure the racial caste system of America but are not technically "DOS" in America - how do you classify them? And why do you make a big deal of her dad being an Economics professor? My grandmother was a Director of Personnel and IMO she was "rich." She was pretty well off. Would that negate my status of being a "DOS?" Very weird system you have set up here.
Point is, you are not an authority on who is and isn't black. You can have your views but many black people aren't into the victimization sort of mindset that you seem to ascribe to in various posts in regards to your anger about "being at the bottom" and how weak/powerless you are.
I don't care about "everyone else" or whites or anything that "they" do. I take advantage of opportunities, as I've noted to you before. I hope one day you'll do the same and come out of this mindset as I doubt it has been beneficial for you in your personal life nor in your community in regards to helping other black people (who you feel worthy of being black I guess lol).
I don't need Kamala to do any thing in particular for me other than stay out of my way of my goals. Same as Obama, same as Trump. I do know where the majority of us are at in this country statistically and we are not in inner city, urban areas and we are not majority poor/poverty stricken either. We also can think for ourselves and do for ourselves and IMO don't need to care about white people or Kamala and what they can do for us cause we have a great legacy of accomplishment under much worse circumstances. So today there is less reason to b**ch. It also bothers me when black men in particular b**ch like this. Sorry but true (and my hood language came out cause it really does bother me when I see/hear black men do this). Be a man and do for yourself and quit worrying about someone doing something for you.
On the bold - no but it makes them more knowledgeable about black American history and culture depending on their major especially.
On the blue - how do you view Marcus Garvey? Do you ascribe to his ideas in regards to the UNIA and pan-Africanism? And why do you have the belief that black people "think we are all the same." I don't. You evidently want to have a specific definition for what it means to be black (I'm assuming your DOS means "descendants of slaves." Jamaicans were slaves too BTW as were all other black people in S. America, Central America, and the Caribbean.... Also a significant amount of West Indian immigrants immigrated to America in the 20th century - like Garvey and Hubert Harrison who are considered very important in the black American "black nationalist" historical mindset. They had to endure the racial caste system of America but are not technically "DOS" in America - how do you classify them? And why do you make a big deal of her dad being an Economics professor? My grandmother was a Director of Personnel and IMO she was "rich." She was pretty well off. Would that negate my status of being a "DOS?" Very weird system you have set up here.
Point is, you are not an authority on who is and isn't black. You can have your views but many black people aren't into the victimization sort of mindset that you seem to ascribe to in various posts in regards to your anger about "being at the bottom" and how weak/powerless you are.
I don't care about "everyone else" or whites or anything that "they" do. I take advantage of opportunities, as I've noted to you before. I hope one day you'll do the same and come out of this mindset as I doubt it has been beneficial for you in your personal life nor in your community in regards to helping other black people (who you feel worthy of being black I guess lol).
I don't need Kamala to do any thing in particular for me other than stay out of my way of my goals. Same as Obama, same as Trump. I do know where the majority of us are at in this country statistically and we are not in inner city, urban areas and we are not majority poor/poverty stricken either. We also can think for ourselves and do for ourselves and IMO don't need to care about white people or Kamala and what they can do for us cause we have a great legacy of accomplishment under much worse circumstances. So today there is less reason to b**ch. It also bothers me when black men in particular b**ch like this. Sorry but true (and my hood language came out cause it really does bother me when I see/hear black men do this). Be a man and do for yourself and quit worrying about someone doing something for you.
No, I don't subscribe to pan-African thought. I don't have an opinion on Marcus Garvey. Back then it was easier to identify with the struggle of black Americans because the treatment was so blatant. So if you did come here, you knew what to expect. If you didn't know what to expect, you still had no choice for the most part. Besides Marcus Garvey and others, which I don't discount their beliefs or work, the majority of black people back then were all American DOS. Most black immigrants today, just like all immigrants today, had no stake in this country until the 70s onward. Actually especially black immigrants, because as you know this country didn't want black people coming here. They wanted to deport Marcus Garvey, which they did.
All that said, your view of black America is more an opinion. It's one of aspiration. My view is based on countless studies done showing black America being at the bottom, and the bottom is about to fall out. Look up any area concerning wealth, education, income, unemployment, jail population, etc. etc., they all point toward the same thing. We know why this is. Yet you wish to ignore that and say we can overcome it? As a black man, the strongest thing I can do is come face to face with the bully, and demand my lunch money back. Not hide my face and try to figure things out on my own, hoping the bully doesn't come back to take more.
The problem with folks like Obama and Kamala, is they held positions of power and advocacy. Kamala is a senator of California right now. What is life like for American DOS in California? It's not pretty at all. They are pretty much priced out of the entire state. You go to Skid Row, 50% of their homeless population is black. Understand that black men make up 6% of California's male population, but represent 30% of male prisoners. That's what you call having a target on your back. It's true everywhere in this country, but what has Kamala Harris done to combat that as a senator? She's the one who want to keep more prisoners locked up. Have them fight wild fires and other laborious work, for pennies. So besides her stepping on our heads, her record says she will do nothing for us. Of course it seems your cool with that, just like you were cool with Obama doing nothing despite being the "First Black President".
Then people get mad at black Americans when they decide not to vote, when they say, "Voting doesn't matter". So you get shot down when you become apathetic, and you also get shot down when you become political and want to see things done for your community. I don't get it.
On the bold - no but it makes them more knowledgeable about black American history and culture depending on their major especially.
On the blue - how do you view Marcus Garvey? Do you ascribe to his ideas in regards to the UNIA and pan-Africanism? And why do you have the belief that black people "think we are all the same." I don't. You evidently want to have a specific definition for what it means to be black (I'm assuming your DOS means "descendants of slaves." Jamaicans were slaves too BTW as were all other black people in S. America, Central America, and the Caribbean.... Also a significant amount of West Indian immigrants immigrated to America in the 20th century - like Garvey and Hubert Harrison who are considered very important in the black American "black nationalist" historical mindset. They had to endure the racial caste system of America but are not technically "DOS" in America - how do you classify them? And why do you make a big deal of her dad being an Economics professor? My grandmother was a Director of Personnel and IMO she was "rich." She was pretty well off. Would that negate my status of being a "DOS?" Very weird system you have set up here.
Point is, you are not an authority on who is and isn't black. You can have your views but many black people aren't into the victimization sort of mindset that you seem to ascribe to in various posts in regards to your anger about "being at the bottom" and how weak/powerless you are.
I don't care about "everyone else" or whites or anything that "they" do. I take advantage of opportunities, as I've noted to you before. I hope one day you'll do the same and come out of this mindset as I doubt it has been beneficial for you in your personal life nor in your community in regards to helping other black people (who you feel worthy of being black I guess lol).
I don't need Kamala to do any thing in particular for me other than stay out of my way of my goals. Same as Obama, same as Trump. I do know where the majority of us are at in this country statistically and we are not in inner city, urban areas and we are not majority poor/poverty stricken either. We also can think for ourselves and do for ourselves and IMO don't need to care about white people or Kamala and what they can do for us cause we have a great legacy of accomplishment under much worse circumstances. So today there is less reason to b**ch. It also bothers me when black men in particular b**ch like this. Sorry but true (and my hood language came out cause it really does bother me when I see/hear black men do this). Be a man and do for yourself and quit worrying about someone doing something for you.
Well said. Just to add, there are pockets of descendants of American slaves in the Caribbean, specifically in Haiti, the Dominican Republic, Trinidad etc. In Trinidad, DOS in the US who fought for the British were brought and given land in the South. In the Dominican Republic, they left the US and settled in Samaná and still retain some African-American traditions. They also tend to be Protestant rather than Catholic, for example. Haiti opened its doors to DOS in the US after it revolution and up to 20 percent of free blacks in the North went to Haiti and later some moved to other islands. While a minority, the OP should not assume that just because a person is a Caribbean immigrant/Caribbean-American that he or she is automatically not a DOS in the US.
Completely agree with you about Kamala. I am also not looking for her to do anything specific for black people, the Caribbean community or the South Asian community. Doing well by the country overall benefits all of us. Again, it’s unlikely that she will attain Presidency but if she did, I share your thoughts on the matter.
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