To clarify the style I used in my comment above & use of "they", it was to acknowledge my white privilege, I trust in the context it was pretty self-evident, but even when care & consideration of words are used, language goes well beyond mere words, so I did want to be more clear, just in case.
I appreciate the spirit in which your comment is made. Your proffer/assertion is made moot by the Jussie Smollett "Nigerian Brother" example in the piece, as well as the fact that Egyptians, Ethiopians, Sudanese, Moroccans, Angolans nor anyone else actually from Alkebulan are ever labeled "African-American." Which is the point of the treatise.
It is what it is and I , albeit brutally, articulated what it is for what it is.
Yes. In the United States, African, in African-American, is the asterisk, it is white Americans whispering, āyes, heās an American, but heās black, or ......ā northeast African descendants donāt get that title amongst white Americans, theyāre lumped in with the mid-east crowd, itās a skin tone thing. Not sure how they compare on the hierarchy of hatred, but theyāre at least equally dismissed as being a true American.
How many generations have to be born in the U.S. before the asterisk is dropped, and African-Americans are simply called Americans?
I do not consider myself "American", AT ALL. The only true "Americans" are the Original Americans; be they in North, South or Central America. The mere fact that "Americans" have the hubris, stupidity and arrogance to think they own the term "American" speaks volumes. https://rohnkenyatta.substack.com/p/black-americans
ššš I've been waiting a long time to read a more recent analysis of the "Aftrica American" vs. "Black," which I originally, instinctively (surrounded by a certain type of southerners) thought "No, no, no!, Can't you see how you're playing into their hands?" while simultaneously realizing it wasn't my place to suggest to anyone how THEY should cope with THEIR feelings about the situation they were in. I haven't read it yet, but the pic grabbed me!
Anyway, I just came here to recommend you join TTHP Slack group, which is run by people who volunteer for the show. We share news, opinions, etc. & it's a safe space to work through matters that a complicated & sometimes even uncomfortable. I think you'd really enjoy it! Then there's a Saturday thing I could tell you about too, that's more relaxed & more personal vs. political.
I really despise copycats and have no respect for them as they are the equivalent of literary cowards. In fact, it is copyright infringement. Nonetheless, I suppose there is some validity in the adage you cite.
In 1967, my dad moved us from Athens, GA, to Charlottesvile, aka Churlsville, VA. We moved into the outskirts of a black community near a railroad, because dad liked the view and the price. Yes, all my playmates were black until I got a drivers license, seven years later, but I still didnāt get a single sweet clue of the black childās ālived experienceā in America. Right over my little pink scalp, yāall.
Now Churlsberg, as I also call it, is remarkable chiefly for its pretensions to crass, I mean class, in hilarious contrast to its lack thereof. In 1967, one manās adulthood ago, the condition of the black community was hideous and hidden in plain sight and made not the slightest impression on my impervious white brain. That, I have since decided, is the European superpower: the ability to ignore what is inconvenient to see. But I did find some class.
Wandering the tracks with my dog, I came upon a black person inhabiting an actual house. A nice two story gabled farmhouse all by itself in the woods by the track. She told me I was to call her Aunt Polly, and when I asked why she lived so far from all the other black people, she stared me down and gave me strictly to understand that the proper and polite term was Negro. I have had a hell of a time changing my mind about it ever since.
Aunt Polly was trim and upright and still beautiful, though age had marked her deeply by that time. I dared ask her no more questions, but she was kind to my dog, and I liked her for that.
I have a feeling she made her money being pretty, and was not welcome in the trackside community in consequence, but she had her own place, and her own style and grace, and lived well, may she rest in peace.
My visits were infrequent and incidental, and one day on a ramble in my teens I found her house collapsed and long abandoned, to judge by the flowers and shrubs. I visited the site again in 2019, the last time I will ever walk those tracks. Her plantings have made a hedge all about whatās left, the gabled roof, now flat on the ground, being all that remains. Unless Aunt Pollyās bones are under it, as they may well be.
She knew that Negro meant black, but she demanded that capital N. She chose to hear respect in the term, and had the self-respect to make it work. Thereās a lesson in that, Iād say, if I had any business saying.
Thank you and remember: to thine own self, be true.
You might wish to inform your veterinarian that whether it be Alkebulan, Palestine or anywhere else virtually every single conflict on the planet is resultant of the world's minority (Europeans) colonizing, meddling or stealing. That is simply a iron clad, bulletproof, irrefutable, undeniable, hermetically-sealed fact.
With humbugmility and excruciating self-exculpation, I nominate New Jersey for the new Jewish Homeland. I mean, whoās gonna miss it? Booker To Washington will have to find somewhere else to senatize, but law, the whole country is sadly represented.
Hard week ends with a good Monday morning chuckle.
How bout we slap the ānā label on Musk and straighten this mess out? Oh dear, did I go too far? Is there a delete comment button here?
Might as well.
To clarify the style I used in my comment above & use of "they", it was to acknowledge my white privilege, I trust in the context it was pretty self-evident, but even when care & consideration of words are used, language goes well beyond mere words, so I did want to be more clear, just in case.
Iāve never been called an Irish American, nor a Native American, nor a German American. Iām undoubtedly viewed as a white person. An American.
My ancestors were Irish, and Natives to this land, and German. Iāve never even been to Ireland or Germany.
African is the asterisk in African American. Most Black Americans have probably never been to Africa, but theyāre still African Americans, *.
I appreciate the spirit in which your comment is made. Your proffer/assertion is made moot by the Jussie Smollett "Nigerian Brother" example in the piece, as well as the fact that Egyptians, Ethiopians, Sudanese, Moroccans, Angolans nor anyone else actually from Alkebulan are ever labeled "African-American." Which is the point of the treatise.
It is what it is and I , albeit brutally, articulated what it is for what it is.
Yes. In the United States, African, in African-American, is the asterisk, it is white Americans whispering, āyes, heās an American, but heās black, or ......ā northeast African descendants donāt get that title amongst white Americans, theyāre lumped in with the mid-east crowd, itās a skin tone thing. Not sure how they compare on the hierarchy of hatred, but theyāre at least equally dismissed as being a true American.
How many generations have to be born in the U.S. before the asterisk is dropped, and African-Americans are simply called Americans?
I do not consider myself "American", AT ALL. The only true "Americans" are the Original Americans; be they in North, South or Central America. The mere fact that "Americans" have the hubris, stupidity and arrogance to think they own the term "American" speaks volumes. https://rohnkenyatta.substack.com/p/black-americans
And to say I mildly, I appreciate your writings and always look forward to the next piece. Thank you!
And I appreciate your appreciation and intelligence.
ššš I've been waiting a long time to read a more recent analysis of the "Aftrica American" vs. "Black," which I originally, instinctively (surrounded by a certain type of southerners) thought "No, no, no!, Can't you see how you're playing into their hands?" while simultaneously realizing it wasn't my place to suggest to anyone how THEY should cope with THEIR feelings about the situation they were in. I haven't read it yet, but the pic grabbed me!
Anyway, I just came here to recommend you join TTHP Slack group, which is run by people who volunteer for the show. We share news, opinions, etc. & it's a safe space to work through matters that a complicated & sometimes even uncomfortable. I think you'd really enjoy it! Then there's a Saturday thing I could tell you about too, that's more relaxed & more personal vs. political.
Lastly, I happened to stumble on this:
https://open.substack.com/pub/brandonpatrick?utm_source=share&utm_medium=android&r=1gpqe4
Hmmm, Imitation is the best form of flattery?
Happy Holidays & thanks for your contribution to the greater discussion.
More like plagiarism.
I really despise copycats and have no respect for them as they are the equivalent of literary cowards. In fact, it is copyright infringement. Nonetheless, I suppose there is some validity in the adage you cite.
In 1967, my dad moved us from Athens, GA, to Charlottesvile, aka Churlsville, VA. We moved into the outskirts of a black community near a railroad, because dad liked the view and the price. Yes, all my playmates were black until I got a drivers license, seven years later, but I still didnāt get a single sweet clue of the black childās ālived experienceā in America. Right over my little pink scalp, yāall.
Now Churlsberg, as I also call it, is remarkable chiefly for its pretensions to crass, I mean class, in hilarious contrast to its lack thereof. In 1967, one manās adulthood ago, the condition of the black community was hideous and hidden in plain sight and made not the slightest impression on my impervious white brain. That, I have since decided, is the European superpower: the ability to ignore what is inconvenient to see. But I did find some class.
Wandering the tracks with my dog, I came upon a black person inhabiting an actual house. A nice two story gabled farmhouse all by itself in the woods by the track. She told me I was to call her Aunt Polly, and when I asked why she lived so far from all the other black people, she stared me down and gave me strictly to understand that the proper and polite term was Negro. I have had a hell of a time changing my mind about it ever since.
Aunt Polly was trim and upright and still beautiful, though age had marked her deeply by that time. I dared ask her no more questions, but she was kind to my dog, and I liked her for that.
I have a feeling she made her money being pretty, and was not welcome in the trackside community in consequence, but she had her own place, and her own style and grace, and lived well, may she rest in peace.
My visits were infrequent and incidental, and one day on a ramble in my teens I found her house collapsed and long abandoned, to judge by the flowers and shrubs. I visited the site again in 2019, the last time I will ever walk those tracks. Her plantings have made a hedge all about whatās left, the gabled roof, now flat on the ground, being all that remains. Unless Aunt Pollyās bones are under it, as they may well be.
She knew that Negro meant black, but she demanded that capital N. She chose to hear respect in the term, and had the self-respect to make it work. Thereās a lesson in that, Iād say, if I had any business saying.
"That, I have since decided, is the European superpower: the ability to ignore what is inconvenient to see. "
Sublime.
Nakedly, unabashedly and remarkably so.
Thank you and remember: to thine own self, be true.
You might wish to inform your veterinarian that whether it be Alkebulan, Palestine or anywhere else virtually every single conflict on the planet is resultant of the world's minority (Europeans) colonizing, meddling or stealing. That is simply a iron clad, bulletproof, irrefutable, undeniable, hermetically-sealed fact.
With humbugmility and excruciating self-exculpation, I nominate New Jersey for the new Jewish Homeland. I mean, whoās gonna miss it? Booker To Washington will have to find somewhere else to senatize, but law, the whole country is sadly represented.
Perhaps Israel IS Texas...
of the "Middle East."
Just a thought grenade.