Do you say African-American or black?
I was having a discussion with my sister about what we would prefer to be called. I understand some of you may call us derogatory terms, this conversation isn’t really for you.
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bijouxbroussard · F
With me they’re interchangeable. But then I remember how the term came into being, back when most of us had no idea which countries in Africa those ancestors came from, so we couldn’t say Nigerian-American, Congolese-American, etc. the way people say they’re Irish- or Italian-American, Mexican-American et al, back at a point when people were interested in embracing their roots and hyphenating. Now DNA tests provide a lot of that information, but people still use the term (African-American). I refer to myself mostly as “black” even though technically I’m biracial, because when you see me, you see a black woman. I figure, why complicate things. 😊
basilfawlty89 · 31-35, M
@bijouxbroussard That's another reason I get pissed when people say "why is there a black pride day and not a white"...because slavery stripped African-Americans of their ethnic identities, so black pride is like Irish pride or Italian pride.
bijouxbroussard · F
@basilfawlty89 I would love to be able to find out if the Nigerian ancestry I discovered through DNA is Yoruba, Igbo, Hausa-Fulani, or one of the others. I had older family members who practiced Vodou, so that could be a hint. 🤔
basilfawlty89 · 31-35, M
@bijouxbroussard Likely it means you do have Yoruba or Fon ancestors. Especially if you're family came in part from the Louisiana area. I dunno how much you know about voodoo/vodou, but it's really fascinating actually (and not "evil" like Hollywood tried to make it to be).
bijouxbroussard · F
@basilfawlty89 I grew up with it. Both of my parents are from New Orleans, but Pop’s relatives were from the 6th Ward. People used to visit one of his aunts for different rituals. As far as I knew it was just part of the “old religion”, nothing to be afraid of. But I learned not to speak of it with everyone because so many were (are) frightened.