Raven-Symoné: "I'm not African-American, I am American"

[DontDoubtDavid 1,185]

queen raven burning me with her scalding tea!

[No Angel 128]

I'm conflicted about what she means. I absolutely love Raven, and I've admired her since her Disney days, but this sort of took me back a bit. I'm not pissed at her, just a little confused. She's speaking her truth, so I cannot attack her.

 

For me, and how I grew up as an African-American, (I just say Black, kind of interchangeable, but use which saying.. it doesn't matter to me.) my parents always taught me to be proud of who I was and where I come from. I knew from the jump that I was Black, but it never affected the way I saw other people who weren't Black. Racism is taught, in my opinion. I think I know what she meant by saying "I'm American." I agree, In a sense I am American, but I know I have African roots. I enjoy hearing things about Africa and learning about the differing cultures of Africa cause I know that's where my descendants were from. It interests me. I like the cultures and I appreciate the history behind Africa and the history of Black people in America. I feel like she means that she is American and being labeled as such is toxic to her and holding those labels to someone's head isn't good because it only separates us. That, I understand. (Though labeling yourself American, is still... uhm.. a label.) Then she went on to talk about hair texture and how her hair texture was "good." The opinions of Natural/Permed hair in the Black community is a hot topic for many of us. Saying she has good hair kind of refuted her whole "Label" discussion. :/ 

 

However, I do not believe in the "Colorblind" theory, because it erases the history of people. I know a friend who is Hmong and they are extremely traditional and celebrate their holidays and hold certain beliefs about life. My mom's close friend (who I call my aunt) is Puerto Rican and her family holds strong traditions as well, and I find it interesting. So when I hear people say "I'm colorblind" I'm taken aback, like why? It's cool to learn about their lives. In a way, you're kind of erasing their history. I think in America, it's good to learn about our differences. It's good to see White people listening to Black people and vice-versa. We're trading information in a sense. We understand "I know s/he's White/Black/Asian/etc., but that doesn't stop me from understanding him and enjoying him/her as an individual." Differing cultures make interesting to learn about. I'm just the kind of guy who's interested in hearing about people's lives and their upbringing. Regardless if you're so-called "colorblind," people are still going to see you as Black, so. That theory is only for a Country full of Non-Racist, Non-Sexist, Non-Homophobic, Non-Bi-phobic, Non-Trans-phobic, Non-Ableist, Non-Ageist, ect. people... but that is not the world we live in.

 

It kinda hurts to see so many Black celebs denouncing the "African-American" title. Pharrell recentIy said he was a "New-Black" whatever that means, and that "Black is a state of mind...." basically something (Non-Black PoC/White) people can take on and off whenever they see fit. There's so many black kids out here not seeing representation of themselves, so when they see someone like Raven who has always kept her head on tight with big success, say something like that, it kind of turns them off and they start to question themselves and their image. 

 

I like being seen as a Black man, because I am a Black man and that makes me proud, but I refuse to be limited or put in a box for that. That's the tricky part. I acknowledge that I am Black, but that shouldn't stop me from getting places in life, which in certain situations, it does. Kerry Washington said something that really hit close to this topic. Ã¢â‚¬Å“I’m not interested in living in a world where my race is not a part of who I am; I am interested in living in a world where our races- no matter what they are- don’t define our trajectory in life.â€

[ryhanna 3,507]

I'll try my best. This issue is SO complicated, especially talking over the internet about it. Here goes...

 

Raven-Symoné is promoting "colorblindness", which is this idea where you see all people the same and you aren't judging someone based on the color of their skin. While the idea makes sense at first glance, the bigger problem with it is that by seeing everyone as "the same", you erase the culture and history that comes with their skin color. (This idea is really common among white people because as white people, you aren't racially oppressed, so you can't understand on a personal level the huge disadvantage a person of color in the United States has and what they go through on a daily basis. White people also have no clue what it's like to have their culture stripped from them and be left to assimilate into a white-dominant society). So, while Raven's intentions make "sense" (her cultural roots have been pulled from right under her and she has no idea where she comes from besides the big ass country of Africa) I don't agree with her disassociating herself from her culture and saying she's a colorless human being, because no matter how hard she tries, she will always be seen as a black woman in society.

(This then opens up a new can of worms, about black women trying to "be white" to fit into society, but I can't get into that right now, no time. As I said, this issue isn't just black+white, it's all a big complicated grey area and everything about it is so complicated and people have tons of different ideas)

 

SIDENOTE: The idea that the US is a "melting pot", I hate that term, because it goes hand-in-hand with this bull**** idea of colorblindness. I prefer the term "tossed salad", because then you get all these different types of ingredients (people) mixing together in a bowl, making something really awesome, but all the ingredients still hold their structure (their culture/history) and nothing is forgotten.

 

 

Does that help you understand what I am coming from, whether or not you agree with my point?

Yes, very much. To be honest I hadn't considered things from that perspective. Thank you for taking to time to explain all of that.

[Fabian5000 95]

I get that backlash all the time in my family whenever I say " I'm not a Mexican-American, I am America'

i know where she's coming from

[Sebastien 16]

"I don't label myself "

"I'm an American "

[Economy 45,949]

love her!!!!

[Redstreak 6,653]

I'm conflicted about what she means. I absolutely love Raven, and I've admired her since her Disney days, but this sort of took me back a bit. I'm not pissed at her, just a little confused. She's speaking her truth, so I cannot attack her.

 

For me, and how I grew up as an African-American, (I just say Black, kind of interchangeable, but use which saying.. it doesn't matter to me.) my parents always taught me to be proud of who I was and where I come from. I knew from the jump that I was Black, but it never affected the way I saw other people who weren't Black. Racism is taught, in my opinion. I think I know what she meant by saying "I'm American." I agree, In a sense I am American, but I know I have African roots. I enjoy hearing things about Africa and learning about the differing cultures of Africa cause I know that's where my descendants were from. It interests me. I like the cultures and I appreciate the history behind Africa and the history of Black people in America. I feel like she means that she is American and being labeled as such is toxic to her and holding those labels to someone's head isn't good because it only separates us. That, I understand. (Though labeling yourself American, is still... uhm.. a label.) Then she went on to talk about hair texture and how her hair texture was "good." The opinions of Natural/Permed hair in the Black community is a hot topic for many of us. Saying she has good hair kind of refuted her whole "Label" discussion. :/ 

 

However, I do not believe in the "Colorblind" theory, because it erases the history of people. I know a friend who is Hmong and they are extremely traditional and celebrate their holidays and hold certain beliefs about life. My mom's close friend (who I call my aunt) is Puerto Rican and her family holds strong traditions as well, and I find it interesting. So when I hear people say "I'm colorblind" I'm taken aback, like why? It's cool to learn about their lives. In a way, you're kind of erasing their history. I think in America, it's good to learn about our differences. It's good to see White people listening to Black people and vice-versa. We're trading information in a sense. We understand "I know s/he's White/Black/Asian/etc., but that doesn't stop me from understanding him and enjoying him/her as an individual." Differing cultures make interesting to learn about. I'm just the kind of guy who's interested in hearing about people's lives and their upbringing. Regardless if you're so-called "colorblind," people are still going to see you as Black, so. That theory is only for a Country full of Non-Racist, Non-Sexist, Non-Homophobic, Non-Bi-phobic, Non-Trans-phobic, Non-Ableist, Non-Ageist, ect. people... but that is not the world we live in.

 

It kinda hurts to see so many Black celebs denouncing the "African-American" title. Pharrell recentIy said he was a "New-Black" whatever that means, and that "Black is a state of mind...." basically something (Non-Black PoC/White) people can take on and off whenever they see fit. There's so many black kids out here not seeing representation of themselves, so when they see someone like Raven who has always kept her head on tight with big success, say something like that, it kind of turns them off and they start to question themselves and their image. 

 

I like being seen as a Black man, because I am a Black man and that makes me proud, but I refuse to be limited or put in a box for that. That's the tricky part. I acknowledge that I am Black, but that shouldn't stop me from getting places in life, which in certain situations, it does. Kerry Washington said something that really hit close to this topic. Ã¢â‚¬Å“I’m not interested in living in a world where my race is not a part of who I am; I am interested in living in a world where our races- no matter what they are- don’t define our trajectory in life.â€

This was a wonderful and insightful post, thank you for sharing :)

[Morphine Prince 100,401]

To clarify, I don't agree with the colorblind theory either. I think it's important to embrace our cultures and races. That, however, does not mean that in the US (specifically, because race has been a huge issue here), we have to create all these labels when it would be easier to just call each other American. Whites are the only ones who get away with being called American, as I said before. This, on its own just shows that this country still isn't past the race issue. The image of what an "American" is does not match the "melting pot" this country claims to be. 

[Emvee 7,492]

More power to her. We all have the right to call ourselves whatever makes us feel comfortable.

Anyone who sees something problematic with her wish to be simply Ameican is being pointlessly offensive. They might say she's setting a bad example as a black American, but its not like she's the only ethnic American that feels this way. It's prevalent. Believe it or not ethnic backgrounds are a non-issue to many people. It's as important as having brown or blue eyes. It just is.

And geographic ethnicity is not the same thing as race. Ethnic identities and attachments to them vary from person to person. However, race is very different. We are all well aware of the race we are because we are reminded of it every day. That is not the issue at hand, so I don't think we should get them confused.

[SEANGT 4,795]

She's literally not sure if she is from africa and if she is she knows there is more heritage in there than that so like...she's right. But she should have just said that people should stop calling black people "african american" because not all people with dark skin are from (just) africa. At a certain point, their heritage is mostly just in the United States. 

[HausAlly 799]

i understand why she feels like this, Some times the term african american can become overused and people can focus too much on the african rather than the american, but this does not mean that she is denying her heritage or ancestors, just that she wants people to focus more on the fact that all americans have more in common than differences 

[Dayman 5,975]

I love Raven and I agree with her 100%. Reminds me of the Kriss Akabusi story in some ways.

[Morphine Prince 100,401]

I love Raven and I agree with her 100%. Reminds me of the Kriss Akabusi story in some ways.

That reporter is a mess.

[Guest]

I agree. I don't like the whole ________-American thing. American applies to all U.S. citizens.

[Supersonic 49,376]

I'm gonna have to call BS on this. Islamic immigrants from the middle east tend to hold very strongly to their country of origin, and that is pretty much all of the immigrants to Sweden that aren't from somewhere in Europe.

 

Assuming that all Islamic immigrants from Sweden hold on to their country of origin is a prejudice and borderline racist though.

The majority of the children from Turkish immigrants here in Germany for example say that they definately see Germany as their home country and have no big connection to Turkey at all. Only minority does not feel that way, but the media tends to cover only a small part of the reality and conceal the rest, for the sake of money.