Nationality Does Not Equal Identity

Maybe it’s just me, but I fail to understand why some Black people feel ashamed to identify themselves as Black or African American.  I don’t get it.  Well, I do.  Black people who seek to have their identity be equal to their American nationality are only doing so to appease white people because white Americans are the only group of people who can get away with mixing the terms without anyone questioning them or looking at them funny style.  The term American is basically code for white.  The American nationality is deeply engrained with the default white identity that has shaped America since its inception to the point where they are virtually indistinguishable.  Basically, this country was formally setup for white people and since white America is the dominant society simply due to sheer numbers alone, it’s a safe bet that when a foreigner says the word “American”, more than likely they are referring to white people & not us knee grows who only make up about 14% or so of the population.  Hell, Native Americans don’t even refer to themselves as strictly Americans. They separate & identify themselves by tribes too.

“This is my country.  My mother, my grandmother, my great-grand folks, we busted ass to be here.”

First of all, most of our ancestors had no choice but to “bust ass to be here” considering most African Americans descended from people who were forcefully brought over here against their will…you know…those slaves the history books are attempting erase from existence.  Those who were born here during or after slavery had no choice but to “bust ass to be here”.  Where else were they going to go?  Seriously.  This country was all they knew.  African Americans have been “busting ass” non stop since day one building this country so other cultures (white folks) can reap the benefits & so far, we’ve yet to achieve the exclusive American dream of freedom & equality.

“I’m an American.  I’m not an African American…I’m an American.”

American is a nationality.  African American is an identity.  Don’t confuse the two.  Here let me explain it another way for the slow population out there:

I served in the Army on active duty for 13 years.  I was a part of the overall military industrial complex (America), but I identified with the Army branch of the military (African American/Black).  I never ran around saying, “I’m a military person.  I’m a military man.”  I would always state, “I’m in the Army” just like every other person who has served in the Army has done.  It’s not a knock against the other branches, it’s just when I signed up to join the military & elected to join the Army, I adopted the culture of that particular organization & made it apart of me while I was serving.  Same thing in regards to identity.  Me saying I’m African American is not a knock on the American nationality.  It’s simply me saying I’m a part of the African American culture/identity of which I was born into.  A black bear isn’t any less of a bear than a polar bear.  At the end of the day, they are still both bears, but they are not the same type of bears or else they would either both be black or both be white.

For those of you who fail to see what’s going on here, Whoopi is basically attempting to practice colorblindness.  She’s attempting to discard all of the fucked up shit about this country in regards to racial issues & convince countless white people who mainly watch her show that “Hey guys, I see no color, we are all one.  We are all American.”  Unfortunately Whoopi, all Americans aren’t treated the same.  If that were the case then maybe Trayvon Martin, Sandra Bland, Tamir Rice, & others would still be alive if we were all just AMERICAN.

Just maybe.

Let’s ask Ted Danson…