Compadre Hans, I say "Amen e Insiswatil" to that. Compadre...

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Compadre Hans,

I say "Amen e Insiswatil" to that.

Compadre Hans, a couple years ago, I was invited by a well educated African American woman to attend a conference organized for African American males.

It was during Black History Month.

I told her that I am Not an African American Male and therefore I cannot attend the conference, so I declined the invitation.

However.

I said to her that I would attend if the conference was for "Black" people.

Well, the woman got very angry accusing me of being ashamed to be an African American male. She went on to say that I was ashamed for coming from African.

The woman just went on and on....

I listened to her talked for a longtime.

Finally I stopped her. I explained to her that if I have to be anything I would be a Haitian American but Not an African American.

Why?

Because I am a Black Man from Haiti who came to the United States and became a naturalized US-citizen, and this why I don't meet the qualification of "African American" to attend the conference.

I had to go back making sure she understood that I was not born in African nor that I have ever been to Africa.

She said that "what about your ancestors, didn't they come from Africa?

Yes, indeed, I replied, but still that doesn't make me an African American.

She is a US citizen bor in Georgia of American parents.

But she continued making the argument how proud she was for coming from Africa which earned her the title of African American.

I asked her where in Africa she was from, but could not respond the question claiming that it wasn't important.

Long story short, a lot of African Americans like her think of Africa as a country where everybody knows everybody.

They don't know that African is a continent with about 47 countries in it and each country comes with its own culture, language, and everything else.

Like you said it very well, but I would add that while majority of African Americans seem to take great pride of their African roots/ancestry, they also have great disdain for the true Africans who come to the United States.

They are not friendly with them, they don't want to share the same space with them, and they will go the extreme to stay away as far as they can from from those africans.

This is hypocricy at its best.

Tiba, July 13 2009, 9:53 AM

Topic: Dessalines-Toussaint; at at Kink-Malcom X

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