Not African. Not American. Not Haitian.
Ahpaly Coradin, Pembroke Pines, FL. It is easy to forget that discrimination, ostracism and prejudice are not the exclusive currency of the white race. As...
Are both your parents from Cuba?
Barbara Rodriguez, Florence, SC. Yes, they both are Cuban. The look of shock never ceases to amaze me. Is it because I’m blonde and have...
Wow, so you speak African right?
Yasmin Igal, Seattle, WA. Africa is a huge continent made of 1000s of languages and assuming I speak African because I’m Somali doesn’t makes no...
We are such stuff as dreams
Winnie Wamboi, Kenya. I don’t get the big deal with being either black or white. I am African and I love it after all there...
You must be Cuban or something.
Jesse Hernandez-Oliver, Modesto, CA. I’m Mexican, African and Native American (Apache and Cherokee soecifically) with ringlet curled hair that resembles finger waves of the 1920s...
“Black” enough for slavery, still “White”
James Cannon, Sacramento, CA. I’m forbidden from appreciating my African English grandmothers experiences and how they contributed to my outlook on life, or sharing this...
One drop rule says I’m black.
Gerald D. Franks, Town Creek, AL. But you wouldn’t know that by looking at me. I’m the typical American mixture of various European ethnicities (aka...
No one believes I am black
Sozit Mohamed, Sunnyvale, CA. Being Ethiopian with Arab heritage in my family, most do not believe I’m black/African. Also, being black and muslim, seems to...
African-American? No. Black-Hispanic? No. Stolen-African? Yes!
Jeffrey Miller, Tampa, FL. Our rich history, our artifacts, our language, even our names were taken from us.
I am not just African American.
Erica Watts, Arlington, TX. Growing up, I believed that I was all African American. My mother was African American and so was my brother and...
Proud to be African born there!
Joan Kalimba, Riverside, CA. Pure African from Rwanda, much of what I get is, do you guys ride on giraffes, and things like do lions...
“You’re to pretty too be African”
Hadja Diallo, Philadelphia, PA. People always say that I don’t look African!? But I ask myself how is someone supposed to look African? Are we...
We all walked out of Africa…
Patricia, Akron, OH. White person: “we all walked out of Africa” Black person: “Some of us got (a) free ride”
My father wanted to murder us.
Alia Laurence Orlando, FL When I was 18, we found out that we were not simply Cherokee and various shades of European pale. (My father...
I AM A BROWN SKIN AMERICAN
Annie Chicago, IL I AM NOT AFRICAN, NEVER BEEN THERE AND DON’ CARE TO GO. I WAS BORN ON AMERICA SOIL. DON’T CALL/LABEL ME ONETHING...
I’m African brought chained to America
Janis Adams Atlanta, GA The older I get, the more I realize how bad colonization is, was, hurts, ruins. Groups of people greedy for resources,...
You’re not Black. You are African.
Sope Lanlehin Columbus, IN Though Nigerian by birth, I still get this said to me quite a bit.
