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Actually, my logic is fine. I have said repeatedly on this thread, on this subforum, and on other C-D forums that African Americans can also be blacks of non-African American origin, or their descendants, who assimilate into the African American culture. And this includes Barack Obama. Whom his father was married to, or not married to, is totally irrelevant to this discussion. He was in America long enough to have an American-born child. The President is American born, of African ancestry, and he identifies with the African American culture. That's good enough for me.
This is not my definition. It is the definition, codified by Harvard's African American Studies Department, that is accepted by the majority of scholars of African American history, ethnicity, and culture.
The Encyclopedia Africana, which the African American Studies Department of Harvard helped put together, does include a few francophone "white Africans" of non-African heritage such as Albert Camus (of French and Spanish parentage), Jacques Derrida (of Sephardic Jewish ethnicity), and Albert Memni (of Sephardic Jewish ethnicity), in addition to quite a few "white Africans" of African heritage (ranging from Hannibal to Habib Bourguiba).
The Encyclopedia Africana, which the African American Studies Department of Harvard helped put together, does include a few francophone "white Africans" of non-African heritage such as Albert Camus (of French and Spanish parentage), Jacques Derrida (of Sephardic Jewish ethnicity), and Albert Memni (of Sephardic Jewish ethnicity), in addition to quite a few "white Africans" of African heritage (ranging from Hannibal to Habib Bourguiba).
Yes, I am familiar with that. I actually served as a translator for some of the entries.
I also do not see Hannibal or Habib Bourguiba as white. You may do so if you wish.
Nevertheless, these folks have nothing to do with the question of "who is African American?" If you look at the same Encyclopedia Africana, you will see that the definition of African American is as I have laid it out on this forum.
I accidentally voted 'yes' but meant 'no'. African American is a term that applies to an individual whose ancestry is from Africa. Many White South Africans families have been living in Africa for hundreds of years. So yes they can identify themselves as African American even if they are not Black. So African American can be of any color.
Yes, I am familiar with that. I actually served as a translator for some of the entries.
I also do not see Hannibal or Habib Bourguiba as white. You may do so if you wish.
Tunisians, like their Algerian and Moroccan cousins, overwhelmingly look like Southern Europeans (and considering the history of the Maghreb, no surprise).
Could it be that the term "white" doesn't refer to race but merely means "European (or of European ancestry) and not Muslim"? Such a definition would explain why Bourguiba, or his successor Zine al Abidine Ben Ali, or the most famous North African in the world, Zinedine Zidane, might not be considered "white" by some people.
Never mind that it's hard to tell the difference between a Tunisian, Algerian or Moroccan and a Sicilian, Maltese, Calabrian, or Southern Spaniard.
Hannibal, as we know, lived several centuries before there was such a thing as Islam, and a few centuries before Christianity existed. From the depictions I've seen of him, he would be considered white. 90 percent of white people don't have blonde hair.
Like I said, it needs to be reworded. There are white africans.
White people in Africa don't called themselves Africans. They call them selves Dutch, or Afrikanner, or South African. A Zulu would not call himself African no more than a Canadian or a Mexican would call himself an American.
For over ten years when ever someone has asked me who I think is the best looking African American actress; I've always answered Charlize Theron; born and raised in South Africa and emigrated to the states. She's the very definition of African American.
She probably doesn't refer to herself as an African or an American
Tunisians, like their Algerian and Moroccan cousins, overwhelmingly look like Southern Europeans (and considering the history of the Maghreb, no surprise).
Some Tunisians and other Maghreb natives are as black as the blackest sub-Saharans.
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Could it be that the term "white" doesn't refer to race but merely means "European (or of European ancestry) and not Muslim"? Such a definition would explain why Bourguiba, or his successor Zine al Abidine Ben Ali, or the most famous North African in the world, Zinedine Zidane, might not be considered "white" by some people.
Yes, that may be true. But many Africans do not consider me black. Race is a construction, not a biological absolute. I am so conscious of it because I grew up in a very Eurocentric milieu where anything having to do with African people was disparaged. Makes you really try to figure out what's really going on.....and I certainly have figured it out.
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Never mind that it's hard to tell the difference between a Tunisian, Algerian or Moroccan and a Sicilian, Maltese, Calabrian, or Southern Spaniard.
Hannibal, as we know, lived several centuries before there was such a thing as Islam, and a few centuries before Christianity existed. From the depictions I've seen of him, he would be considered white. 90 percent of white people don't have blonde hair.
Unless we have seen photos or videos of Hannibal, neither you (who says he was blond) or me (who has seen depictions of him in which he was darker, with black curly hair) knows what his ancestry really was or what he looked like. But let me ask you this? Who depicted Hannibal as a blond "European?"
White people in Africa don't called themselves Africans. They call them selves Dutch, or Afrikanner, or South African. A Zulu would not call himself African no more than a Canadian or a Mexican would call himself an American.
They certainly did not during apartheid...........Now all of a sudden they're part of the family.
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