B.J. Ellis has put up yet another great post on his blog. This time is demolishes the notion that native Americans who are Black should call themselves “African Americans”. It is a powerful piece. I’ve quoted just the conclusion below, but you should click the link and read the entire thing for yourself.
When African-American Is Un-American
|
I have heard BJ speak about this before on his radio show, but he really put it all together even better in that post. As I’ve mentioned before I am an American.
I’m going to have to read this book at some point. If a man who traveled all over Africa is happy with calling himself “American”, I think more Americans with brown skin might want to consider his point of view.
Independent Conservative - Copyright 2008 - Copyright Notice
[powered by WordPress.]
38 queries. 0.277 seconds
December 17th, 2007 at 4:00 pm
No disrespect, IC but you have to call a ace an ace and a spade an spade. You call it as you see it. America consists of thousands of ethnic groups and races that came here from across seas. It is the people’s choice if they consider themselves an American. You should consider that many of us are here for various reasons: to get away from a dictatorship government, religious reasons, a better life, etc. African-Americans are the only group of people that were forced over here and the Native Americans are the aboriginal people. The world was once one language until the tower of babel in the scriptures. You cannot force this American tower of babel to be one if it’s not meant to be. I’d say just live here, pay your taxes, grab an opportunity here if you can and die if you plan to stay here.
December 17th, 2007 at 4:26 pm
Or a leech. If someone does not desire to be an American while sucking up the benefits, it’s called leeching. If someone does not desire being an American, America certainly is not forcing them to stay.
What if you were not forced here, but meant to be here? Consider this:
Acts 17:26 (New American Standard Bible)
I thank God for His plan and placement for me and leave it at that.
Now if someone desires not to carry any national labels, that is a different discussion and certainly they would not use the term "African-American". Claiming 2 nations.
The apostle Paul never called himself Israeli-Roman. He used the Roman national label when appropriate and made it known he was also Hebrew, when appropriate.
Regarding man’s nationality, I’m American and others have the freedom to disagree, it’s the "American way"
. I don’t have to force anything, but if you’re in the tower, the bricks might fall on your head too when it crumbles. If you don’t like it, get out the tower.
December 17th, 2007 at 4:53 pm
I see that you’re VERY patriotic. Have you thought that immigrants today or yesterday were being appropriate instead of being a leech? Explain why Paul in the bible was being appropriate. Today’s Babylon is fallen, is fallen and has become the habitation of devils. May God see fit to get me out of the way. I’m sure he’s got it worked out.
December 17th, 2007 at 5:09 pm
Allow me to say this IC. Jesse Jackson organized "The Rainbow Coalition" and I don’t see where that’s going.
December 17th, 2007 at 5:17 pm
Oh I certainly desire to be from under man’s rule in this present earth just like yourself. I would not say I’m "very" patriotic, just saying anyone who uses national labels should be honest about it, that’s all. I certainly see Christ before country. The cross BEFORE the flag.
An immigrant has actually held legal citizenship, life and paid taxes in multiple nations. They have reason to use multiple national titles, although they should accept where they are.
Regarding the apostle Paul. My point is that he was Hebrew and "when appropriate" means 2 Corinthians 11:22. As biological seed of Abraham, he could claim it in both the physical and spiritual. Although he never went with Israeli-Roman. Let’s keep in mind, he was doing it in the function of ministry. He claimed Rome and it was appropriate in Acts 16:37-39. He was on course to be killed and took a totally legal measure to try and preserve his own life. He simply said he was Roman. He knew that was all he needed to say. Again, he certainly in this case did not claim to be a Israeli-Roman. He claimed Rome, straight up.
Rome certainly was no better than America. Paul claimed Rome and they were not so nice to Christians, himself included.
I was born here, my ancestors were HERE for more generations than the average American who can claim they have family from a place like Poland. I’ve got more reasons than not to claim being American. Even people claiming 2 nations (one of those nations, most have never seen) should probably be calling themselves "American-African" given their history here.
Let’s see, some not so nice African sold some ancestor(s) of mine off. What’s the reason to claim Africa again? I’ve got no problem with identifying myself as Black, but I’m not from Africa, never seen the place.
December 17th, 2007 at 5:18 pm
I have no comment on Jesse. I’ve spent enough words on him.
December 17th, 2007 at 5:40 pm
I have read and aware that the Africans sold us in slavery. Not only them but the Arabs too.
December 17th, 2007 at 7:32 pm
Another thing I would like to add is yes, I was born and raised here and pay taxes here. Therefore that makes me an American citizen. I check the yes box when asked on my applications. However, I cannot say that I am very patriotic either. She is sending her army of men into the slaughterhouse daily and turns her back on the poor and the unfortunate. I read your recent posting on exposing false teachers and you said don’t be bitter but revenge is of the Lord. Agreed. You’ve cited Acts 17:26. One must have somwhere to stay on this earth. Although Paul claimed Rome, a Christian hating nation, he took a stand for the gospel. Perverse as America is, how many spiritual leaders are claiming American citizenship and standing in the gap for the gospel of Christ. Many have sold out and is in league with the devil.
December 17th, 2007 at 9:24 pm
Actually "the surge" has been working. Far less troops dying. The poor have more social programs than were in America even 50 years ago. As a Christian, I’ll take America with Bush over Rome with Nero every day of the week
.
There are many false teachers and America’s seem to spread their garbage overseas.
December 18th, 2007 at 9:27 am
My parents are Jamaican immigrants and they are very patriotic. We proudly celebrated the 4th of July, we were strongly encouraged to vote and be a part of the political process. Mom did a lot of volunteer work for the community through her church and sorority. While we embraced our Jamaican heritage (and still do) my parents considered themselves Americans. I remember how upset they were when I told them for business purposes I was thinking about applying for dual citizenship. Boy did they freak out. I can’t even repeat what was initially said on these boards.
In short my parents showed me what love of country is all about and I have passed that on to my children. I consider myself an American citizen, but that’s just me. I have been blessed to have traveled to many other countries and I have family all over the globe. I cannot think of another place where I’d rather be…especially as a black man.
That’s simply my opinion…yours may vary.
December 18th, 2007 at 12:42 pm
Personally, like Brooklyn, that’s how it’s been for me as well. My mother is Panamanian (i.e. from the COUNTRY of PANAMA, not Panama City….& that may sound silly to mention, but you wouldn’t believe how many people have responded "From Panama City?" whenever I say Panamania, lol)…….& though there are many things in this country she disagreed with/speaks out against, she still supports it by being a hard worker and being GLAD for the opportunities being in American afforded her (i.e. being able to attend MEDICAL SCHOOL & BECOME AN OB-GYN, Religious Freedom, etc).
It may’ve been a bit different for her, however, since Panama was under the control of the U.S when she lived there and was exposed to American Values anyway.
I consider myself an American Citizen too, and even though I traveled extensively around the world and have had times where I wished I was in another country since differing countries each have different aspects of their culture that are admirable, I would rather be here most of all.
December 18th, 2007 at 12:51 pm
That’s one reason why I’ve always found the term "AFRICAN AMERICAN" a bit odd (especually seeing the history of the slave trade, before & after, and that many Blacks today most likely have more than AFRICA in their blood since in my understanding many slaves/blacks intermixed/had children with people from other cultures/nationalities…..whether it be NATIVE AMERICANS, Whites, IRISH, POLISH, and anything else you could think of)
Even more interesting is the fact that the term is not applied to whites (i.e. WHITE AMERICANS, IRISH AMERICAN, POLISH AMERICAN). Many say they adress themselves as African Americans because it symbolizes the struggle they had to go through…..while everyone else recieves the "WHITE" label, nevermind that during immigration to the country many who were IRISH/POLISH, Jewish, or from other countries endured many RACIAL BATTLES from those who were already here in the states.
December 18th, 2007 at 1:52 pm
Black Americans have changed their group name several times in the past, we called ourselves negro, colored, black and now African American. It doesn’t really matter to me what someone chooses to call himself, changing what one calls his or herself is an easy cosmetic change. How we as individuals choose to define ourselves is ultimately more important than what the group calls itself. Let our actions define us as mothers, fathers, husbands and wives if not, then it really won’t matter what we call ourselves as a group. Notice the relationships I referred to all take some level of effort to accomplish. It takes time and commitment to maintain any of the four, the same cannot be said for one’s group identity. So knowing all that which identity do you think is more important?
December 19th, 2007 at 9:44 pm
Who came up with that name of African-American? The government, NAACP, Jesse Jackson, who? That only confuses us with the Africans from Nigeria, Sudan, Egypt and other African nations that migrated over here.
December 19th, 2007 at 9:53 pm
Best I can recall Jesse Jackson and whoever did this Wikipedia notation feels that he "popularized" the term.
All the more reason to abandon it.
December 20th, 2007 at 3:26 am
I can’t stand the whole “hyphenated” American. Have you ever looked at an American of African descent VS an African? No offense but although there are certain genetic markers that are similar they couldn’t be more different in overall complexion and build. Obviously I’m not locked in a bubble and the centuries of having interracial offspring is what makes Americans of African descent unique in there own right. Ok, what do I mean by this. I think Americans regardless of their past heritage need to be AMERICANS. The % of ethnically pure people in the US is trivial. Even most Americans of European descent really have no direct bloodline to a specific region. Lets face it. Genetics don’t make a group. Genetics are merely that. Just genetics. The concept of race is bunk. It was created out of thin air. Genetic traits merely are passed on by reproduction resulting in whatever outcome dictated by the punent square. Foolish mankind created racial this and racial that. The only reason people of specific regions look universally the same is because there is no reproduction from outside that given region. This is a no brainer. Look at south and central America. There was no such thing as “Hispanic” prior to the Conquistadores. Hispanics consist of genetic material of European Spaniards, Native Americans, and Africans creating what we call Hispanics today. If our nation was to lock its borders and just the 300 million people in this country were allowed to reproduce there would be unique genetics traits that differ from what we are today. A 100 years from now you would find a group of people (USA)with a homogeneity of genetics( Pending the above criteria) This whole race stuff is nonsense.
Kyle
December 20th, 2007 at 4:01 am
Let me expound further. Lets look at Barrak Obama. You have people saying this could be the first "Black" President. Well first of all he is mixed. His Dad was "truly" African and his mother was "American" His genetics are African and European. The reason I brought him up was just as a point of reference. All this stuff is crazy. All genetic material was present in God’s original creation Adam and Eve. What genetics were dominant in appearence is up to specualtion and frankly doesn’t mean jack. I couild go on for ever on this topic. The only thing God had on his mind when he created the differences in his creation was to create a wonderful diverse creation. We as people are no different than the flowers of the field. You have yellow, red, purple,white, etc, etc. And you know what. My little niece is mixed. And just like the when horticulturist mix flowers and creates a new look so happens with Humans. It’s just genetics. That’s it. In fact this brings me to a conversatin I had with someone at work. He and I were discussing how "Americans" of Primarily African descent excelled in sports. I had asked him how well actual "Africans" do. Well, common sense prevailed. They don’t because "most" Africans don’t have the physique to be sucessful in many of our American sports. However, certain Americans who posses "both" genetics of Africans and Europeans like we have here in America tend to do quite well. That is an example of gentic traits from "both" groups that have done well. Now don’t get me wong I’m not saying this is 100% in all cases but can be observed. So when you have an American of African Descent descibe there superiority in sports they are doing an injustice to themelves because if it were not for the genetics of both groups combined they more than likely would not do well in American sports.
I could go on and on.
Kyle
December 20th, 2007 at 10:27 am
Gxg, I dumped your comment, because you’re doing that wholesale copy/paste of the comments of others again. And that commentary only justifies nationalities based on location, when you look at the scriptures they noted, which is not the point.
Kyle, if Blacks are so good, they would not need steroids. If Blacks were so good, Europeans would not be getting spots in the NBA. The bottom line is often one’s initiative to excel in a given area. No all babies don’t come out the same, but I highly suspect if more Whites were pressed to do something like play more basketball, you’d see more Whites in the NBA. Yes Blacks have shown to have more "fast twitch" muscle action as babies. However, the differences are not overwhelming when someone has good training.
Perhaps the slender of African traits and the bulk of European traits provide a level of advantage. Europeans are all over strong man competitions, Africans (Kenyans to be specific) dominate marathons. But I think much of what we see is ultimately based on the drive of the individuals, because most kids are not trying to be star athletes to begin with. Also, if we claim race is the main factor for athletic achievement, you’ve got to not be a hypocrite and also say it’s the main factor for learning aptitude.
December 20th, 2007 at 10:51 am
Ok…..so to be clear, no one’s saying that it not be both genetics & one’s desire to excell combined correct??
December 20th, 2007 at 11:10 am
By the way…..
If anyone heard, there was someone (James Watson won the 1962 Nobel prize for discovering the structure of DNA) recently who lost the Nobel Peace Prize for taking things to the level of blacks not being as genetically stocked as whites regarding intelligence/attributes:
http://www.cnn.com/2007/TECH/science/10/19/uk.race/index.html
December 20th, 2007 at 11:12 am
The outcome is always a combination of both. However, my assertion is that many of the "genetic" assertions that play on race are probably not always as profound as made out to be.
For example, with body building, only a natural mesomorph can excel without any drugs. And even a natural mesomorph needs the right training, diet and so on. And natural mesomorphs have been found to be of various "races", although they do mostly have some European blood from what we’ve seen. (That would include Lee Haney for you ready to toss his name out, he’s American.) Never seen a pure blood African in body building, however I can’t say I know much effort has been made to train people in Africa in that area.
December 20th, 2007 at 11:25 am
I’m not upset at James Watson at all and unlike some, I don’t fear his style of research being further investigated. Either he’d be proven correct or incorrect, but too many people shy away from that research and you can’t get funding for it if you wanted to do it. Did you hear that James Watson has an unusually high amount of African blood?
December 20th, 2007 at 4:53 pm
According to man’s law of genetics and race, if you have one drop of black blood, you are considered black. Did you know that according to the bible, your heritage was determined by the seed of your father? If you read 1-2 Chronicles and/or read Matthews 1 Chapter on Christ physical heritage, you’ll see.
December 20th, 2007 at 4:55 pm
There are certain countries from what I was told on this earth that practice genetics and heritage the bible’s way.
December 23rd, 2007 at 1:00 pm
I would like to add if man would consider the bible’s way of determining heritage, there would be no confusion, regarding who you are.