Q: A reader commented on our article ‘You Must Have Voted for Obama’: 5 Things NEVER to Say to Blacks. He quoted a portion of that article and made an observation that makes for a good teachable moment. 

“Don’t assume all Blacks are African-American; there also are people who are African, Afro-Latino, Afro-European, Afro-Caribbean, etc.”
Thank you for posting that. One of my best friends in high school was Black but traced his ancestry back to France. It bothered him whenever someone referred to him as “African-American.”

On the flip side, one of my son’s best friends in high school was born in America, but both of his parents were born and raised in Africa. He could legitimately be called “African-American” but probably never will be since all of them are Caucasian.

Just goes to show, you can’t judge a book by its cover … or a person by his/her color.

A: Yes and no. I acknowledge that you posted your comment with positive sincerity; however, I agree with your first point, but not the second.

“African-American” refers to descendants of enslaved Black people who are from the United States. The reason we use an entire continent (Africa) instead of a country (e.g., “Italian-American”) is because slave masters purposefully obliterated tribal ancestry, language and family units in order to destroy the spirit of the people they enslaved, thereby making it impossible for their descendants to trace their history prior to being born into slavery. This was all in an effort to prevent enslaved people from organizing and revolting their bondage (look up Nat Turner).

Enforcing illiteracy of enslaved people (by law, with severe penalties—including death in some cases—for teaching an enslaved person to write) and obliterating any sense of history or familial ties was a tradition in our country starting in 1619 (before the Revolution) and ending after the Civil War. (One can argue that this practice continued into the 20th century.) This is why our African-American fellow citizens cannot trace their heritage past the continent of Africa. I’ll re-emphasize this point: Their personal and family history was purposefully obliterated by people who enslaved other people.

For purposes of respect, as well as providing context to current-day events and economic realities, it is important to acknowledge and understand this part of American history. America is unique in having people who are African-American. For a personal insight into what all this means, I suggest you read Frederick Douglass’ autobiography My Bondage and My Freedom. In addition to learning history in a very real and first-person way, you‘ll also learn things about our language—for example, the bone-chilling origin of the common phrase “sold down the river.” For an outstanding overview of the repercussions of slavery in the modern-day era, I most strongly recommend Michelle Alexander’s recent book The New Jim Crow. She will be speaking at our next DiversityInc event.

In the case of your son’s friend, post-slavery immigrants from a country in Africa can readily identify themselves by where they came from—it’s on their passports. Black immigrants from Africa can identify themselves by country and tribe (keep in mind that country boundaries in Africa are chiefly colonial constructs). A modern-day immigrant from Africa may refer to him- or herself by a hyphenated identity—“Sudanese-American,” for example.

A special note for the people who email me about their white ancestors who were enslaved: Virginia codified slave laws to be exclusive to Black people in 1705 (establishing white supremacy), and indentured servitude was ended by the early 1800s. Comparing indentured servitude of white people to the history of African-Americans is insulting, in my opinion, and I won’t entertain it in this publication.

The post Ask the White Guy: Is a White Person From Africa an African-American? appeared first on DiversityInc.

An article about a white immigrant from Mozambique, Paulo Serodio, who describes himself as an African American, was forwarded to DiversityInc.com by a reader who asked, “What is your opinion?”

This is a simple answer: Serodio is NOT an African American, he is a Mozambican American. Since he is white, he is most likely a descendant of the former colonial occupiers from Portugal. If he were Black and recently emigrated, he would be able to identify himself by country or native ethnic group–for example, Macua American.

African Americans are descendants of enslaved people brought here against their will. We must use the broad description of a continent (Africa), rather than the specific description of a country (for example, Mozambique), because American slave owners purposefully broke up ethnic groups and families as a means to break the spirit of the people they enslaved. Since it was also illegal in many states to teach an enslaved person to read and write, it became impossible for African Americans to pass down history from their homeland.

The use of the term “African American” became a popular SELF-descriptor, popularized by the Rev. Jesse Jackson. It is a term of pride, documenting the achievements and culture of a group of people uniquely oppressed and uniquely American.

Serodio is suing the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey for suspending him after he revealed that he identified himself as an African American. By doing so, he wishes to stand on the shoulders of the many African Americans who fought and died to attain freedom, in order to benefit from programs that are in place to redress past wrongs. His court suit is frivolous. His ignorance and lack of sensitivity indicates that he’d make a horrible doctor.

Luke Visconti’s Ask the White Guy column is a top draw on DiversityInc.com. Visconti, the founder and CEO of DiversityInc, is a nationally recognized leader in diversity management. In his popular column, readers who ask Visconti tough questions about race/culture, religion, gender, sexual orientation, disability and age can expect smart, direct and disarmingly frank answers.

The post Is a White Immigrant From Africa Really an African American? appeared first on DiversityInc.

You’ll find that out—and more—if you are lucky enough to talk to Dr. Jacklyn Chisholm, vice president of planning and external affairs for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum (Rock Hall) in Cleveland. This position, which she’s held since 2005, lets her combine her unique background as a cultural anthropologist, her love of music and her need to give back to her community.

Dr. Chisholm is proud to emphasize the music’s—and the nonprofit Rock Hall’s—strong connection to the African-American community.

In the 1960s, white disc jockey Alan Freed was in Cleveland and wanted to expand his rhythm-and-blues show to get more white appeal. He was looking for a new name, “and that’s how ‘rock and roll’ was born,” she says.

A native Clevelander, she worked in higher education (most recently at Case Western Reserve University) for 16 years but wanted to do something else.

“I’m a spiritual person and I was praying about the where,” she recalls.

A mentor told her that the Rock Hall wanted to create a position to increase community involvement, and the fit was just right. Dr. Chisholm has been instrumental in the Rock Hall’s continuous efforts to help both the Greater Cleveland area and the global community through educational programs for children, music therapy and merchandise for nonprofits, to name a few of the efforts.

“We average over 400,000 people in a year from 50 states and 100 countries. Our economic impact in the 15 years we’ve been around is $1.6 billion,” she says.

For the Cleveland community in particular, the augmentation to local arts programs is important because of decreases in state funding. They even teach a financial-literacy class, sponsored by KeyBank (one of DiversityInc’s 25 Noteworthy Companies) in which students are the tour managers for a rock band.

She relates on a personal level to adult learners, first-generation college students and low-income students who need a chance. She was one of three daughters of a single mother who constantly struggled to have enough money. “My mother kept emphasizing education, education, education. That was the way out,” she recalls.

For Dr. Chisholm, music is also critical to expanding horizons. “Music is a language we speak. From the African-American perspective, a lot of people are angry about the history that they know about white artists covering songs and making lots of money. What they don’t understand is that the museum celebrates music of all kinds and definitely includes the African-American perspective. Come and see that we celebrate it every day here.”

The post What Rock and Roll Really Means appeared first on DiversityInc.