Edward, why do you think Africans and Caribbeans should immediately align themselves with black people in the US?

The only reason you think so is simply because of the similarity in the color of your skin. You are not surprised when Asians, Latinos, and other ethnic minorities do not align themselves with African Americans. Which means you are obviously falling short of MLK’s dream where people would not be judged on the “color of their skin.”

Tamara, there is no such thing as one “Black culture”. Black people are not one big homogeneous group, and to keep insisting that they are would always keep the racial divide alive. “Regular blackness” may be imposed by external forces, but a tacit acceptance of “regular blackness” by black people breeds narrow mindedness. It gives others the carte blanche to assume all black people are the same– which is obviously not the case.

i had a similar experience at school. What i thought should be one Black community was actually broken down into African students, Caribbean/ West Indian students and those of us who actually came to be called “Regular Black”. As if there is something mundane about Blackness as opposed to Africanness or Caribbeanness. What i blame for this separation is the pigmentocracy of the united states. There is a stigma attached to being Black in the US. And claiming Blackness almost always puts a person at a socioeconomic disadvantage. So i almost don’t blame African or Caribbean students for attempting to distance themselves from the stereotypes.

What i will hasten to warn them is that membership in “Regular Blackness” is imposed rather than chosen. It was imposed on us Black americans and it will be imposed on them as well. It has nothing to do with self-identification and everything to do with melanin. So they can claim Africanness and Caribbeanness but when it all comes down to it, majority rules. And the majority will always lump us all together, regardless of how we classify ourselves.

Next thing i’d like to add is that there’s a bit of a cultural element involved as well. i have friends who have stated that they hold on to their Africanness because of a lack of “Black culture”. As if Blackness lacks a notion of culture. i guess my point is that perhaps for them, Africanness and Caribbeanness is a point of cultural or racial authentication.

i love that you are engaging this idea because it is important and i look forward to the rest of the conversation.