How has the African American understanding of their own African heritage evolved in your lifetime?
I think that, by and large, Africans and African Americans know each other very poorly and this comes at great cost to both of these groups. Each has the potential to be one of the other’s greatest resources in so many respects, but after a period of very hopeful connections forged mostly in the 1950s and ’60s, much of the sense of mutual identification and common cause has dissipated. This theme will also feature in my next book.
To, umm, some subset of Africans the African Americans are the descendants of the losers who got sold into slavery. Africans are those who collected the money from that.
You know, to some extent.
It’s more that unless you are pushing some political agenda (Marxism, anti-colonialism etc) Africans and African-Americans have basically nothing in common.
They aren’t each others greatest resource at all. Africa has almost nothing to offer anyone, sadly, except resources. And it’s not like African-Americans have the capital — human or financial — to develop those resources.
Having similar melanin isn’t really something to base anything much on.
“Having similar melanin isn’t really something to base anything much on.”
And if it were then Adolf had a point (for clarity, no, he didn’t).
Decades ago one or two black American jazz men formed a sentimental desire to go to Africa and teach the locals.
The lovely clarinettist Edmond Hall was one. Leftopedia: “But his attempt at a music school failed. He was unable to get students to practice, and their lack of discipline and interest motivated his return to the U.S.”
There is surely great potential for co-operation between Afrikaners (yes, they are Africans) and African Americans. The former have the experience to assist with the revival of segregation that many of the latter are promoting in America.
Thanks to government intervention, many formerly oppressed groups are just now learning their own history. Black Americans are just now learning that other ethnic groups also experienced slavery. Those with Eastern European ancestry are just now learning exactly what occurred in the Soviet Union.
Michael Malice was born in the Soviet Union and has parents who immigrated from Ukraine, and even he knew very little about Lenin and Stalin before writing his latest book. Thanks, U.S. Dept. of Education!
To be fair,or unfair not sure which, to Adolf – his version of White Supremacy was based on one particular type of white. Slavs and other “Eastern” types fell into the untermensch category and let’s face it, European Jews did not look like they had come straight off of the beach at Tel Aviv.
Skin colour is a social construct – for thousands of years a West African would never have met an East African except at the same slave market in Tripoli or Aden.
Chris, absolutely spot on.
I think that, by and large, Africans and African Americans know each other very poorly
African Americans wouldn’t last 5 minutes in Africa.
Maybe some African Americans could set up a colony on the west coast of Africa and “invite” some of the locals to come and work there under good old-fashioned contractual arrangements.
It’s not that Africans don’t know African Americans. Africans do. But Africans are intensely racist.
Example: Walking through Camden with a Sierra Leone lad. Spotted & commented appreciatively on a bit of black totty “Nah. She Nigerian. Dirty people”
Africans generally regard blacks descended from slaves as lazy & feckless. They’ll have similar opinions of Africans not their sort of African. Which underlies why there’s so much strife in Africa. Africans are tribal.
“I think that, by and large, Africans and African Americans know each other very poorly and this comes at great cost to both of these groups. ”
Arguably this is too broad a brush to paint politically with. There are many different ethnic groups in Africa and many different ethnic or economic groups of African Americans. The assumed common ‘Essence of Black’ is both grossly simplistic and racist.
There are quite a few vids on YouTube showing the reactions of African Americans when exposed to the truth of slavery.
dearime @ 9.24, everyones favourite South American revolutionary / guerilla leader (no, not Simon Bolivar or Fidel Castro, the other one), wasn’t wholly positive about black Africans:
“The blacks, those magnificent examples of the African race who have maintained their racial purity thanks to their lack of an affinity with bathing, have seen their territory invaded by a new kind of slave: the Portuguese.”
“The black is indolent and a dreamer; spending his meager wage on frivolity or drink; the European has a tradition of work and saving, which has pursued him as far as this corner of America and drives him to advance himself, even independently of his own individual aspirations.”
A friend of mine who spent many years in Africa has a very low opinion of Blacks. This is generally regarded as racism. Having spent a few months holidaying with him in Africa I put it down to experience.
I worked for an American firm for several years and met several African Americans. Skin colour is an appalling identifier. It’s like saying all Whites are the same. Pathetic. Some black guys and girls from the USA were charming, sophisticated and intelligent people. Some were knuckle draggers.
I did find it hugely ironic that the BLM organisers behaved exactly how I was warned not to think of Blacks as being a hundred years ago when serving on a jury. They got millions of dollars and pissed it up against the wall on themselves and their friends. Doubtless explains why nobody ever asked where Obama got the $15,000,000 to buy his shortly to be underwater (according to his 97% of scientists) Marthas Vineyard property…
The funniest thing is when African-Americans visit Egypt and pull the “We Wuz Pharaohs ‘n shit” malarky. The Egyptian tour guide then has to politely point out that, no, Mr. Thaquatious Brown does not have Egyptian ancestors but clearly originates from the Yoruba tribe of Benin.
All us wypipo doing the Nile cruise thing were just standing around pretending to look elsewhere and trying not to snigger.
John Galt, surely “snegro”?
“snafrican-american”