The first, most recent incident, I will discuss is Sunda Croonquist, the biracial woman who is being sued by her mother in law due to some of her jokes in her comedy routine.
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"OK, now that we know you're having a little girl I want to know what you're naming that little tchotchke. Now we don't want a name that's difficult to pronounce like Shaniqua. We're thinking a name short but delicious. Like Hadassah or Goldie."
-Sunda Croonquist
Personally I think her comedy comes from pain, apparently her mother in law wasn't crazy about her daughter in law. The lady was excluded from family photos, had ignorant comments made towards her by her and others in the family, and I should note Mrs. Croonquist is Jewish herself, she converted before she married her husband. Now apparently Ms. Croonquist is a racist who hates Jews because she talks about her Jewish family in her comedy routine. What comedian doesn't talk about their family in their comedy routine? I find it appalling that a woman would risk losing contact with her son and grandchildren because their mother makes jokes. She should be offended in doing what she did to the mother of her grandchildren, and the possible horrible treatment she received from her and other members of the family for not being an "ideal" white jewish woman. I find it strange because she is Jewish herself, but apparently in these situations you have to choose race over religion. I guess since it is perceived she chose race, she is now anti-Semitic.
Another example of my anti-Semitism is my views of Max Blumenthal's video showing college age, drunk kids making very racist comments in regards to Obama. The immediate reaction was they were drunk and American. Being dunk doesn't make one racist or say racist things. Nor does being American make someone automatically racist, even if we live in a very racist country. Why is it impossible for folks in Israel to be racist, and no one said all of Israel was racist, but I do think racism exists there, just like everywhere else in this world.
This is racist, it doesn't represent all Jewish people in Israel, but it exists.
I don't think all blacks are non racist, speak to a Hebrew Israelite or Louis Farrakhan, these people are not seeking a racist free world.
I ain't going to lie, I agree with the "die in your wars, build your cities, raise your children, and bleed in all of your wars, and reap none of the benefits, there is no one more patriotic than us" I agree with it because there seems to be a perception by many people that black people aren't patriotic, and we have been here since the inception of this country, building, working, and yet get no recognition for it. Anything outside of that, I don't agree with.
I will also say I can agree with Louis Farrakhan in regards to his criticisms of black people and the black community. I still think he is racist as hell.
I think some blacks can be racist, do I hate blacks for doing so? Is saying some Jews can be racist anti-Semitic?
31 comments:
Here is a bit for you before I fly out of here, You'll love it.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sKxnICixF7g
Too bad about Farrakhan, I agreed with him on a lotta points. Just the fact that he was a hard liner earned my respect.
Well not that I'm Jewish, but none of that sounds anti-semetic to me. It all sounds reasonable. Especially about the mother-in-law suing the daughter-in-law. Umm, there are Jewish comics (those who were born Jews) who make jokes about their mothers-in-law. I mean the mother-in-law joke is the oldest joke going for all comics. I'm pretty sure the case will be thrown out.
You are so not anti-semetic -from what I know of you! (I mean, only you can know what's in your heart, but from what I've read, etc. I totally don't see anti-semetic-ness.)
yeah, it seems like hypersensitivity to political correctness(among other things) has led to a backlash regarding people being able to talk about race. jokingly, seriously, sarcastically, philosophically, etc... someone always gets offended, but nobody wants to explore WHY they are offended, or what it means to be racist nowadays. is it discriminating against someone for a job? is it using racial slurs? is it playing on stereotypes for your comedy routine?
as a jew, i don't think you're anti-semitic, but i do think you (and many other minorities, especially in the black community) have a strong aversion to white liberal suburbanites (and other perceived "majorities") coopting racial stereotypes, or engaging in any kind of discussion about black, white, or whatever, in a manner equal to yourselves.
this is kind of sad, because even as we're making such progress in post-obama america, suddenly someone's being excluded from the table; which is ironic, and might seem "fair" in the historical sense, but hardly endears your cause to the world. racism begets reverse-racism (which is just racism) and then all we have is a vicious cycle of hate, never-ending.
to answer your question about, "what is being anti-semitic?" i would expand that further to all peoples and say, "what is it to be prejudiced? what is it to discriminate?
what is it to be a racist?
what is it to hate?"
Well then that makes me anti semitic as well.
I hate the fact that jews can make cruel jokes about blacks, whites, asians, basically ANYONE (sara silverman anyone?) and get away with it.
I hate the fact that if you say ONE negative thing about a jewish person you are a "nazi" or "anti semitic" and you catch hell for it.
You forget that jewish people have struggled to be mainstreem and "white" since 40 + years back and they've finally reached their goal. They are now "white" and do you think they care that she is a converted jew? eh, no. they'd prefer her be a real jew OR a blonde wasp converting to judism.
If she isn't, she will never be considered a "real jew".
The most racist people i have ever met have been jews.
And i know not all are but the ones i've met, and this will sound harsh, makes hitler look like a saint.
Recently on another blog someone expressed her frustration with Blacks inability to teach their children their own history. She cited Jews and their culture of passing on their own history to their children. Someone then called her anti semetic for saying that. Despite her elaborate explanation on the plain simple fact of this practise among Jews, the accuser was relentless. And inevitably the conversation lost direction.
After seeing the anti-semetic label thrown around at the slightest disagreement especially with Israel policy and my own personal experiences, I came to one conclusiom. If what you have to say about Jews is neither in praise or in sympathy, then you are likely to be called anti-semetic.
Just look at any discussions where there is talk about Jews or Israel. If the speaker does not tow one of those two lines, it won't be long before they are labelled Anti-semitic. And because I am not doing that here, I am therefore anti-semetic.
Sunda Croomquist perhaps should be careful about joking about her in-laws in public. I can understand not wanting to be the butt of the joke. Even when my husband puts me on the spot, I feel very uncomfortable, so I can understand the mother-in-law's point of view, although suing her comedian daughter-in-law is a little extreme.
Can Blacks be anti-semitic? Yes. Can Jews be racist? Yes. I believe that unfortunately, prejudice is part of human nature. Everyone has some prejudice - even if they're unable to face it.
Oh and as for her Grand children, what makes you think that woman cares about them? I have never heard of a case where a woman that objected to the race of her son's wife gone ahead and liked the children. This would be a first.
The woman clearly is racist. But to call a Jew a racist is to be anti semetic. And we are back to square one.
Just like I am sickened by minority hypocrisy when it comes to playing the victim card while victimizing those with in their community, I am sickened by Jewish hypocrisy that refuses to acknowledge Jewish racism by falling back to their own victimhood. All of a sudden they play the victim to the same person they are victimizing. This woman's case is just a drop in the ocean.
There are very few Jewish voices out there calling out Jewish racism. This is something that is very well swept under the rug. Yet most Blacks almost instinctively understand that anti-semitism is not a choice they can partake.
someone always gets offended, but nobody wants to explore WHY they are offended, or what it means to be racist nowadays. is it discriminating against someone for a job? is it using racial slurs? is it playing on stereotypes for your comedy routine?
All of the above could be racism. I don't think people fully understand that racism goes beyond cross burning and dragging black people behind trucks, it is subtle, it is not always obvious, and sometimes you have to think about it. I think the word "politically correct" is overused and misunderstood. It is politically correct to now call someone what they want to be called, it used to be politically correct to call black people "niggers" and mentally disabled people "retards", either is really acceptable now, and even when misused, are often used as insults. Which is why I am opposed to being called a "nigger" even if it is just a silly word. That word has power that people fail to understand. I won't take it as far as the black hebrew israelite, but I will say it is hard for non-black people to fully understand why that word is hurtful to us because they can't put themselves in our shoes. I won't say they don't see our humanity, but many times, they can't relate because they simply don't want to. Sometimes they overlook the obvious because in their mind it isn't obvious, which is why black people are quick to point out double standards and I think for the most part whites are quick to dismiss them.
as a jew, i don't think you're anti-semitic, but i do think you (and many other minorities, especially in the black community) have a strong aversion to white liberal suburbanites (and other perceived "majorities") coopting racial stereotypes, or engaging in any kind of discussion about black, white, or whatever, in a manner equal to yourselves.
True because the discussion is typically predictable. Questions like "Why don't you get over slavery?", "Why are black people so angry?", "Why do black people act 'that' way?", "Why are black people so racist?", "Why do they let themselves call each other 'nigger", but we can't call them that?"
You have to remember I grew up around white people, I was their "safe negro" and those questions have been asked, and many times when I give them the answer (my own personal opinion) it isn't accepted and they fully don't understand it, nor do they care to. It is like I what I said in a previous, I don't think blacks are exclusionary, but what I do think is that historically when something is embraced or born by black people, when it initially comes out it is made fun of or heckled by the mainstream, and when it is eventually embraced by the mainstream and then we pretend black people have nothing to do whatever has been co-opted or embraced. That can be the only reason to explain Vanilla Ice. It explains why Angelina Jolie's lips and Jessica Biel's booty are considered "sexy", but on a black girl they are considered gross or unattractive. White people don't see the double standard, but black people do.
this is kind of sad, because even as we're making such progress in post-obama america, suddenly someone's being excluded from the table; which is ironic, and might seem "fair" in the historical sense, but hardly endears your cause to the world.
The problem is historically we have reached out to others to share our "cause" and for the most part, it has fallen on deaf ears, and then we are told we are not "able to let go" and get a bunch of questions that people don't want to hear the answer to. Post racial America doesn't exist, since the election of our President, I have seen more blatant racism than I have in a long time. I think it pushed many people over the edge. They feel they lost their country, which explains the numerous movements (birthers, tea baggers, etc.).
@siditty: i agree with you that racism can be subtle, but in those cases, it becomes a personal definition. overt acts like hate-speech, racial slurs, etc are something most people can agree on as being racist. but how can you tell if someone giving a job to a white person - or a black person - instead of another equally qualified ethnic/racial group is racist? it might be... but it might also be completely unrelated to it. subverting black culture and selling it back to consumer might be minstrelsy, or might just be about making money. ultimately, you're talking about your OPINION on what you THINK is racist.
i think saying that white people don't see the double standard is untrue. we do, and we point it out in things such as affirmative action, linguistic privilege over who can say "nigger", and even small things like black power versus white power signs.
white people see a new double standard emerging that is biased against their participating in the evolution, the conversation of race and racism in america.
don't let your personal experiences dare i say... color? your perception of the fact that we are ALL people. don't condescend that we can't understand you because we are not black, or let me assume that you can't understand being white or jewish because you aren't, but believe that we can all understand each other because we are all human. isn't that the point of everything we are discussing? to move beyond such stupid distinctions as skin-color? if you take the cop-out that i've heard so many times before (even on this blog) that we can't understand one another, then fundamentally you're giving up on race-relations. you're assuming we will always be strangers, instead of countrymen. and that is sad.
because your cause IS my cause. hate is infectious, and spreads like wildfire. to enslave one people or commit genocide against one people affects us all. you think the situation of "black america" has fallen on deaf ears yet things change, things have changed, and things are STILL changing. every people on earth has at some point in their history been treated unjustly by another. but to me, it is YOU are in danger of not-listening, because you're too busy telling me that i can never understand... when in fact we know all too well.
@all: i see a lot of the comments on this post saying anything slightly derogatory against jews gets you slandered with labels of anti-semitic. but i ask you, when i have made MY contrary opinions about "black america" have you not called me racist? haven't you thrown labels and slurs and other epithets at me? many in the black community are quick to make the same hypersensitive slanders at people who outside the community who call them out for their wrongs and hypocrisies. yet now you play the victim for being called anti-semitic so quickly? welcome to what it feels like when i try to talk about race.
S says that jews can make fun of ANYONE and get away with it (citing sarah silverman as an example) but do you think black comics or, for that matter, any color comics do anything differently? comedy holds all peoples equally ridiculous, from george carlin to margaret cho to whoopi goldberg to dave chappelle. nobody is above being laughed at.
i'm not saying jews aren't racist, or bigoted. we have words in hebrew that are clearly derogatory, and have in many instances sacrificed our dignity to "blend in" (much the same as light-skinned in the black community). we are not above hate, but from your actions and words... apparently neither are you.
and that is what i take issue with, that the victim becomes the victimizer, that people engage in the old biblical tenet of "eye for an eye" so let's all be blind. instead of becoming a survivor and changing things for the better, you turn around and do what's been done to you, knowing how horrible it is. you become the hate you seek to eliminate.
so it goes.
The truth is, the Comedienne's in-laws probably never accepted her to begin with. Many Jews believe that a person cannot convert to Judaism - either you're born or a Jew or you're not, and the heritage is passed through the mother. So, basically, they don't accept her and they don't accept her daughters. Also many traditional and orthodox Jews shun members of their communities who marry non-jews - they are supposed to be considered dead to them. So this lawsuit is probably just a culmination of years of swallowed angst on the part of the mother-in-law against her son's choice in spouse. I can only image the awful, pent-up things the mother in law and other members of the family now feel free to state as a result of this open rift.
Sometimes I feel like our language is lacking, or is in need of update.
Many say there is no black community, but when we talk, for lack of a better way to describe things, when we want to talk about BF we say the "black community".
Also, some folks may truly be upset at various things done in Israel, but they are not aware that the new covert antisemetic way of talking is to bash Israel (and by extension all Jews). For the haters, the truly anti semetic ones, they hid behind a pretended hate towards a country because that looks more valid than to say "I hate this whole group of people."
So, often if anyone says wrong about Israel, a Jew has to take the time and read between the lines. Also, AAs in the case of the "black community" and other words.
I don't think there was anything wrong with what the comedian was joking about, and I don't think you are anti Semitic because you criticize Israel. I like what the comedian said about the lawsuit having to do with Obama winning the election lol maybe it's payback from the mother-in-law? Who knows. I think this lawsuit has nothing to do with a sudden realization that she is offended by what her daughter in law is joking about on stage and everything to do with her finally making her feelings towards her son's marriage known. It's so petty and stupid.
She is hilarious. I usually don't find many women comdiens funny.
Basically, anyone who criticizes Jewish racism or Israel is an anti-semite. I agree with the posters who stated that everyone can be offended except Jews. Example, we speak of how black women are portrayed negatively in the media. Who controls the media? Jews. Arabs, Islam, Christianity, nonJewish whites are portrayed negatively at times, but are Jews? I haven't seen "Inglorious Bastards" but I hear it's graphic. Will we see something similar about Jews? We know that blacks owned slaves, but is it true that Jews participated in camps where German men, women, and children were tortured in the name of revenge (after the Russians arrived--would still like to confirm this)? If someone were to dehumanize or advocate the killing of Jews, that's vile anti-semitism of course. But pointing out Jewish racism is not.
As for Croomquist, some of her comments (from MSNBC) offended me. But her mother-in-law obviously never liked her in the first place.
I know Sunda and went to High School with her. Even back then she when she was just beginning her craft, she was so funny and sweet at the same time. That whole thing with the mother in law...just wow. :-) Love your blog btw Siditty. :-)
Zek, I completely agree with you.
This is exactly why I believe in racial seperation. You cannot have cries of "Anti-semitism" in an all-Jewish nation. You cannot complain about the actions of "Racist" Whites holding you down in an all-Black nation, and you cannot complain about the "Bias and double-standards about race that the minorites have" in an all-White nation.
Let the flaming begin.
Lol@ Siddity using "black people". Someone forgot to tell you that the concept of black "people" is now obsolete. Black males and Black females are now treated as two seperate classes in mainstream America.
but how can you tell if someone giving a job to a white person - or a black person - instead of another equally qualified ethnic/racial group is racist? it might be... but it might also be completely unrelated to it. subverting black culture and selling it back to consumer might be minstrelsy, or might just be about making money. ultimately, you're talking about your OPINION on what you THINK is racist.
When you go to an office and see the only black people working there are in "lower" positions. You see it when you managed to get hired and your co-workers with less experience and education make more than you. You see it when your HR department does an audit on salaries and education and note that the few minorities and women who work in the same jobs as their white counterparts have significantly more education and experience, but make less money (happened at my father's job).
Racism isn't an opinion. It happens, and the sooner people quit thinking people make it all up in their heads each and every time, the better, if you can't acknowledge racism in all forms, you are part of the problem as to why racism will never go away in this country, it isn't about political correctness, it is about realizing that although someone is different than you physically, they still have humanity just like you.
we do, and we point it out in things such as affirmative action, linguistic privilege over who can say "nigger", and even small things like black power versus white power signs.
But those really aren't double standards, that is whites bitching and moaning. You are pissed off you can't say nigger? Do you ask yourself why this is? Why are you or countless millions of other whites not outraged at the concept of legacies in colleges and jobs based on who someone's parents were or who their parents knew? Why are white people not pissed off at the concept of affirmative action when it benefitted them? Why are you not pissed off that your white women benefit from the same that minorities do? When you can explain that, then you will understand what I mean by double standards whites in GENERAL fail to acknowledge. If you can't understand the difference between white and black power, I can't help you. Black power doesn't have a history of lynching, murder, rape, and burning of black people and their property. There has never been a Rosewood or 1912 Tulsa riot occur with white people. There has not been the mass appeal to eradicate whites. The black power movement talks about blacks moving to their own utopia, the white power movement believes everyone else should move. Again a double standard not acknowledged by white people.
white people see a new double standard emerging that is biased against their participating in the evolution, the conversation of race and racism in america.
No there was never a double standard there, they just don't want a discussion on race unless it benefits them. That is the honest truth. They were offered many times a chance to participate, some did, but they chose not to, and they like you want to pretend racism is all in the minds of people, and an opinion rather than an actual reality. That is a luxury white privilege affords you.Racism is a reality in my life, and it isn't something I made up in my head, and just because you fail to acknowledge it doesn't make it any less valid.
don't let your personal experiences dare i say... color? your perception of the fact that we are ALL people.
We are all people, but all people in this country are treated equal and that is a fact you can't deny.
don't condescend that we can't understand you because we are not black, or let me assume that you can't understand being white or jewish because you aren't, but believe that we can all understand each other because we are all human.
I would love to think that all white people think of me as human, but in reality, many don't think that way. If they do, they think of me as less than them, and all while they think I am less than them, they have the audacity to believe that they are non racist because they now HAVE TO tolerate me a lot more than what they used to. It is painful to admit, but I know it is true for many people who are white. I see it all the time.
if you take the cop-out that i've heard so many times before (even on this blog) that we can't understand one another, then fundamentally you're giving up on race-relations. you're assuming we will always be strangers, instead of countrymen. and that is sad.
I never said we can't understand each other, we don't want to, that is the cold hard truth, you show me this by talking about the double standards of affirmative action, the word "nigger" and being upset you can't use it, or feeling excluded in the race discussion. Why are you upset you can't say "nigger", why do you think "affirmative action" is a double standard? Do you ever ask yourself those questions? I didn't give up on race relations at all, I have given up on a realistic discussion where people don't automatically assume racism is an opinion, something made up, and not a reality.
because your cause IS my cause.
I would like to believe that is true, but I know it isn't. You don't fully understand my cause I don't think.
to enslave one people or commit genocide against one people affects us all.
We can't deny it affects one group more than another. It has significantly.
you think the situation of "black america" has fallen on deaf ears yet things change, things have changed, and things are STILL changing.
It changed because we fought for it to change. People were beaten, lynched, burned, and tortured for this change, this change didn't come peacefully. It was demanded, and even with that change, people are upset because they see the right to be treated as equal means taking away their privilege or rights.
every people on earth has at some point in their history been treated unjustly by another.
Every people on this earth don't have the recent history to refer back to when they talk about the injustice, nor do all people relate or understand the injustices that happen now.
but to me, it is YOU are in danger of not-listening, because you're too busy telling me that i can never understand... when in fact we know all too well.
You're right, I do quit listening, because it is the same song different day. I expect nothing less from people. You aren't talking to someone unaware or out of touch with those different than me, I live amongst white people, some of them great friends, but I know and expect them to say something crazy, and I have learned I can't educate people, and people only want to believe what they have always believed, and denial is the response I usually get when I talk about race with people who don't look like me, not always, but it is the majority of the time. I no longer have patience like I should, I openly admit that.
This is exactly why I believe in racial seperation. You cannot have cries of "Anti-semitism" in an all-Jewish nation. You cannot complain about the actions of "Racist" Whites holding you down in an all-Black nation, and you cannot complain about the "Bias and double-standards about race that the minorites have" in an all-White nation.
Let the flaming begin.
We are about 400 years too late for that to ever happen. You forget, most of us blacks aren't pure, we have been mixed, we have no where to go, and if we did, where would it be, there is no way of knowing where we came from.
I can't believe that anyone would label you as anti-Semitic, but perception is reality to some people, even if it is distorted. I don't think the comedienne was being hateful, I just think that she was taking her real-life painful reality of living in a family that doesn't accept her and spinning it into something that could be funny, because if you can laugh at the things she has experienced, it takes the sting out of it. The Mother-in-law probably didn't like to be called out for being the way that she is, that's what she's mostly upset about.
At the same time, I remember Billy Crystal, a well--known Jewish comedian from the old days of "Taxi" and "Saturday Night Live" used to perform a blackface imitation of entertainer Sammy Davis Jr. who, I think, converted to Judaism after his accident. Sammy was a man who experienced hardcore racism when it was at it's peak, but he still thought that Crystal was funny, not offensive, and never took himself too seriously. If someone does not have the ability to laugh at themselves, then they obviously have a problem--meaning that they can't face their human frailties. I agree that there are some White people who cannot or will not see the humanity of Blacks or any other minorities, but I think that it alienates the White people who are actually trying to make a difference by not subscribing to that point of view. I do believe that there are some well-meaning people out there who want to discuss race, who want to understand, but are afraid of being labeled. How are we ever going to come to any understanding if we are all going to continue assuming that the other side doesn't "get" their plight? I don't want to get into the comparisons of which group has suffered the most and has therefore earned the right to make jokes about certain things, because it is futile. I just remember the words of MLK saying that "We must learn to live together as brothers or perish together as fools." But we can't do that if we are not willing to listen with an open heart and mind. Otherwise, there will always be this divisive attitude of "It's fine if we can make fun of ourselves, but you can't."
We will just continue to go around in circles and get nowhere.
See, this is why you have a blog and I don't, and why your readers keep coming back. After a lifetime of listening to privileged, entitled claptrap from the likes of Zek, my response these days is to sigh, headdesk, and dismiss. I don't have the emotional or mental wherewithal to do that work with people who are so dedicated to holding on to their entrenched sense of aggrievement that talking to them is, as Barney Frank told that LaRouche nutter at the recent town hall, "like trying to hold a conversation with a dining room table".
You're just as sick of having your own experiences, and those of your family, friends, and larger community, dismissed and casually invalidated, waved off like an exasperating gnat as your "opinion" "sensitivity", or a "choice" that you can supposedly to ignore, if only you weren't such a "victim". But you don't unload on the oblivious fools who shovel that crap at you, even as you see the vitriol stirred up at the town halls, the tea party protests and by the birthers, and know they have nothing to do with healthcare, taxes, or whether Obama was born in Hawaii, Kenya, or on the bloody moon.
You still try to explain, even though you know that if your opponents would take their heads out of the anecdoctal clouds, they would be hard pressed to explain the persistent Black-White wealth gap, even when you control for income, the persistent Black-White employment gap, even when you control for education and experience, the persistence of housing segregation and discriminatory lending, even when Blacks and Whites have equitable incomes, credit histories, assets and collateral, the persistence of racial gaps in access to and the affordability of healthcare, the increased likelihood of blacks to be stopped and searched by police even though whites are 3 times more likely to have a weapon or contraband, the greater likelihood of locating hazardous waste facilities in minority communities, regardless of the affluence of that community, etc., etc. on and on ad infinitum. All this information is easily sourced and can be researched by people who truly claim common cause with people of color. But instead, we get admonishments about why whites can't say "nigger" and blather about affirmative action, even after at least two decades of research has continually shown that white women have been the primary beneficiaries of affirmative action, not minorities of either gender.
To continue...
But actually knowing what you're talking about is not required, nor apparently, is honoring the uniqueness of human experience while still trying to find points of connection. I am quite confident that you are not anti-Semitic, particularly because you actually ask the question and invite the opinions and contributions of others. Unlike the knee-jerk denials of racism that don't allow for other perspectives or are too concerned about asserting what isn't true than examining what is, you are actually questioning yourself, seeking input, and acknowleging that you can't speak to the Jewish experience because it is not yours. Most people would think you were presumptuous at best or deluded at worst to insist that you could, yet we are supposed to accept that people who dismiss and invalidate our experiences and knowledge as "opinion" can understand us because we are all "human"? How can I say this politely? Puh-leeze....
Oh, and don't forget that its we divisive, whiny minorities that are keeping racism alive because we keep "playing the race card", initiating "reverse racism", and exercising our "linguisitic privilege" (snort) over the apparently deeply precious word "nigger". Damn it! I know I should be off somewhere improving race relations, but I just keep on not listening, forgetting that we are all people, and treating my countrymen as strangers. If only we would stop excluding people from the table in this post-Obama America, but I swear, its just easier to keep taking the cop-out that we just can't understand each other. I think I'm gonna stick with that, because actually working for social and economic justice and advocating for communities of color to have greater access to education, healthcare, employment opportunities, legal resources, voting rights, media visibility, environmental justice, local governmental representation, etc., just seems to be too much work.
Siditty Wrote:
We are about 400 years too late for that to ever happen. You forget, most of us blacks aren't pure, we have been mixed, we have no where to go, and if we did, where would it be, there is no way of knowing where we came from.
Ehav Ever's Response
Actually African Americans who don't know their exact ancestry do have places they can go. In 1994 there were a group of diverse West African leaders who had designated land in parts of Ghana for African Americans who are willing to return and build their own communities. One of the organizations that are leading up this effort is Fihankra International. You can see their web-site here. Further information about this can be found here and here.
Actually African Americans who don't know their exact ancestry do have places they can go. In 1994 there were a group of diverse West African leaders who had designated land in parts of Ghana for African Americans who are willing to return and build their own communities. One of the organizations that are leading up this effort is Fihankra International. You can see their web-site here. Further information about this can be found here and here.
But how will I be treated when I get there, as an African or as an African American. I share nothing culturally with Ghana. I can learn the culture, but will I be accepted into it or seen as an outsider?
Siditty wrote:
But how will I be treated when I get there, as an African or as an African American. I share nothing culturally with Ghana. I can learn the culture, but will I be accepted into it or seen as an outsider?
Ehav's Response
Based on the inforamtion on the websites I have seen about it, the issue is that the AA who are talking hold of this opportunity are forming physical communities there. i.e. they are building AA communities in Ghana. I think the AA as outsiders thing, is an American myth used to keep AA and Africans from uniting and coming together in reconciliation. The stories I have heard about the AA taking this offer, they have not regreted it at all.
Also, the fact that this was initiated by Ghanians for the sake of AA's seems to me to point to their willingness to make the first step to make a connection with AA's. I have met a lot of West Africans who are more than willing to do this. I once met a group of Igbo Nigerians who were adopted AA's into their families.
You can always contact with them, make contacts, visit, and see if it may work for you. You can at least make the contact, and you may find out that you are not that different than they are. Who knows, if you do a DNA test you may be able to find out where the African side of you family came from. Similar to these videos here, here, here, and here. The tools are now avaible for AA's to find connections.
Here are a few more things on the DNA issues that are available to AA's.
Family Tree African American DNA Test
African American Lives: African Ancestry 2
African American Lives: Euro/African Ancestry 1
African American Lives: Euro Ancestry
Yeah now I have been accused of being anti-Semitic.
http://jazzybecauseisaidso.blogspot.com/2009/09/van-jones-i-miss-you-already.html
Here is another site about the opportunity for AA's to find their ancestry through DNA testing.
http://www.youtube.com/user/AfricanAncestry
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