“Believe nothing, no matter where you read it, or who said it, no matter if I have said it, unless it agrees with your own reason and your own common sense.” – Hindu Prince Gautama Siddharta (the founder of Buddhism, 563-483 B.C.)
Did anyone catch Barack Obama’s interview with Anderson Cooper from within a Ghanian Slave Castle? Moreover, did anyone catch what he said…
“[Referencing the experience of African American when visiting the African continent] You are in some ways connected to this distant land, but on the other end you are about as American as it gets. In some ways African Americans are more fundamentally rooted in the American experience because they don’t have a recent immigrant experience to draw on. Its that unique African American culture that has existed in North America for hundreds of years long before we actually founded the nation.”
We agree that we may not have a connection to the distant African land, but does that make us more American or even ‘American as it gets’? Not sure if we agree with you there Brother Barack. I understand that African Americans may feel extremely American when feeling that African sun and them big horse flies on the back of their neck. But when we think of what is ‘American’, we think of a bunch of white people marching in a county fair parade, singing Lee Greenwood’s God Bless the USA. We think of a white family of four sitting in the grass posing for a picture, with matching denim outfits and fresh white Keds. We think of the team moms in Little League Baseball passing out Capri Suns to all of the kids after the game. We think of the Boy Scout troop number 1273 from Altoona, PA buying those terrible FBI hoodies in Pentagon City Mall on their field trip to Washington DC.
Watch the interview in its entirety below:
Are we alone in this thought?
Um yeeahh. You are alone. and I ALWAYS agree with Barack!! ’nuff said!!
i think you missed the connotation of what barack was saying. there is a reason you (and many people) think of all of those things when they think of ‘american’…it’s because that’s what you’ve been taught to think, as the african american influence and sense of belonging has always been taught to be outside of the ‘american experience’. we *are* american…this america, county fairs and country music included, wouldn’t exist without our influence. the truth is, that this is our home and we should feel that way, despite what mainstream media tries to make us feel. we helped build and shape it, it’s time for us to claim it. because if this isn’t our home, nowhere is. barack is being revolutionary in espousing the idea (on national television) that, “we too sing america” (bonus points if you can tell me where that’s from)
I, Too, Sing America Langston Hughes.
I got a PayPal account for you to send those bonus points!
I understand your point but I still have a tough time fully accepting his argument. I personally believe the reason that we view those images to represent American is because, whether we like it or not, that has been the outward image of America. America doesn’t showcase the Hispanic culture of Texas. It doesn’t feature the Asian culture of San Francisco, not even the American Indian culture of Oklahoma. It may not be the most accurate portrayal, but that should not be surprising. We have long known, ‘he who wins the war, tells the story’. We well realize, ‘he who has the gold makes the rules’. We should feel like this is our home, but not simply with what mainstream media says, but even the inability to move to certain neighborhoods, reminds me of the present state of affairs. The inability of children of color to share a swimming pool with caucausian children, moves me beyond what should be, to a reality of what is.
Because of my life experiences, because of the cross burnings I have seen in my life, because of the race riots I have witnessed, because of the degradation of all things ‘Black’ by greater white society I have been exposed, because of the sub-culture treatment of African American traditions and customs, I tend to agree more with the words of W.E.B. Dubois, “One ever feels his twoness-an American, a Negro; two souls, two thoughts, two unreconciled strivings; two warring ideals in one dark body, whose dogged strength alone keeps it from being torn asunder.”
I’m genuinely interested in how you suggest we claim it?
I know America would not be America without the Negro. I realize we built this nation with our blood, sweat and tears. We fought (and won) the wars. We have patented novel creations that have preserved life and have allowed all Americans to enjoy life in the manner in which we do. In the Strivings of Negro People, Dubois goes on to say “He [The Negro] does not wish to Africanize America, for America has too much to teach the world and Africa; he does not wish to bleach his Negro blood in a flood of white Americanism, for he believes–foolishly, perhaps, but fervently– that Negro blood has yet a message for the world.” I, like Dubois, “simply wishes to make it possible for a man (I add ‘all men’ not simply me, you, and Barack) to be both a Negro and an American without being cursed and spit upon by his fellows, without losing the opportunity of self-development.”
I’m just not sure if we are there yet.
I def feel you on this one. A country belongs to whoever controls the purse. Money controls the politics and the social institutions which shape our “American” values and determines who gets a seat at the table. These have been and will continue to be white American values until another group can exercise more economic and political might. Most of these Negroes out here can’t see that because they don’t know the distinction between European values and African values. For example, did you know true Democracy (not this sham oligarchy disguised as a monarchy we currently have) originated in Afrika thousands of years before Christ (according to Chancellor Williams in the Destruction of Black Civilization)? We are mere pawns on the board, simple participants in a game controlled by forces beyond us because we think too small and we are unaware of our great African legacy. We affect the game but we don’t control it (like Professional sports with Black players and white owners).
Have you really asked yourself what it means to be an American? In the year 3000 AD, what will the American legacy be? If you honestly think about the answers, you might not be so hasty to claim it as your own. But alas Negroes will be Negroes. I, for one, am Afrikan.
Abibifahodie
i definitely agree with all of the problems you articulated. . .america is not some oasis or ‘melting pot’ where we are appreciated and feel comfortable. we are definitely not there yet. and yes, in 3000 ad it will be ‘nice’ to be able to be distinguished as a black american and not one of the white, moneyed americans who, even today are seen as the originators of so many of the world’s problems. but then what will we claim? many of us have no idea what is even going on in africa and even those who have a faint idea couldn’t point to darfur on a map if we had to.
but that’s my point, you can be black and american–they are not mutually exclusive and it doesn’t deny that our experiences are different from those of white americans (on the same visit barack said the kind of capacity for cruelty that enabled slavery still exists). no one said being a black american means that everything is perfect or the same as being a white american, but there comes a time when you have to put down your suitcase and realize you are not a guest in some foreign land. so many black people have never even been to africa, (unfortunately) can’t trace their roots to an african, and if you actually went there you would see how little you have in common with african culture. you don’t even have to go all the way to africa–i mean, many black people can articulate stark differences between themselves and the africans who live in the united states (eg your post on african brothers and zara suits). it makes you realize what really shaped your experience, your history–whether it’s the music you listen to, the struggles you endure, or the legacies you will pass on. it is undeniably american and black. . .and to the extent we can, we have to shape our experiences here, because it’s not like we can flee to africa and all will be well. that is what the civil rights struggle is all about, shaping our experience and making ‘them’ see us as full americans and not second class citizens bc this is our home. there is a lot of work to be done, but the reason we can make these demands (and file lawsuits when our children are told they can’t swim in the same pool as white kids) is because we are americans and we deserve to be treated like as such.
we are american trees with african roots and that makes us a different kind of american, but american nonetheless.