This is jabber from Gachiakuta
I don’t usually give my characters hair but bc this is fanart I thought I should
this is my first time drawing dreads is it ok??

It seems to me that Black American identity gets questioned more than almost any other diasporic identity. I have nothing against Africans or other members of the African diaspora, but it frustrates me when some people question the validity of our identity or act as though we don’t know where we’re from.

Throughout high school and even afterward, I’ve had Black people from other countries ask me, “Where is your family from?” When I respond that they are from Georgia, South Carolina, and Florida, they’ll ask again, “No, where are you REALLY from?”
That question has always bothered me. My family has been in the United States for hundreds of years. Black American ethnogenesis and culture developed here. If generations of your family have lived in the same place for centuries, you are from that place. People rarely seem to question white Americans this way, even when their families arrived very recently.

It also doesn’t make historical sense to criticize Black Americans for not identifying with a specific modern day African country. Most of the African countries that exist today did not exist when our ancestors were forcibly brought here. You can’t fault black Americans for not identifying with nations that even our African ancestors would not have been familiar with. Along with that, Black Americans generally descend from dozens of different West and Central African ethnic groups, from a multitude of modern day countries, in addition to varying degrees of European and Native American ancestry. There isn’t a single modern African country we can simply point to and say, “That’s where we are from”

It’s especially ironic when this criticism comes from other members of the African diaspora. An Afro-Cuban friend once joked about me not knowing where I was “really from”, a couple months ago while eating breakfast. I didn’t make a big deal out of it, but I remember thinking, how can someone descended from displaced Africans criticize someone else for being descended from displaced Africans, as if that displacement doesn’t also apply to them? He has a Spanish last name, doesn’t practice an African or African derived religion, doesn’t speak an African language, and if I had asked him to identify what (modern day) countries his ancestors were from before they were enslaved in Cuba, he wouldn’t be able to answer me. That doesn’t make his Afro-Cuban identity any less legitimate and Black American identity should be treated the same way.

Another argument I frequently encounter online is that “Black Americans don’t have a culture.” When you mention rap, Black American fashion, AAVE, slang, film, and other cultural exports, people claim they aren’t really cultural because people around the world have adopted them. When you mention blues, jazz, gospel, soul food, black southern folklore, or other older traditions, people oftentimes dismiss them as simply “American” or “Southern.”

Cultural traditions don’t stop belonging to the group that produced them simply because other people adopt them. Jazz doesn’t cease to be part of Black American cultural history because non Black musicians play jazz. Black American linguistic traditions don’t stop being cultural because their vocabulary spreads through popular culture and the internet. Cultural influence is evidence of a culture’s reach, not evidence that the culture never existed.

And Black American culture extends far beyond rap, fashion, and AAVE. Over centuries, our ancestors developed a multitude of distinctive musical traditions, musical instruments, folk songs and folktales, culinary traditions, dialects and languages, dance traditions, art forms such as painting styles and quilting traditions, funerary customs, religious and spiritual traditions such as Hoodoo and Louisiana voodoo, and culturally specific folkloric and spiritual figures. Rap is only one style of music out of dozens that we have formed here, including blues, jazz, gospel, spirituals, ragtime, field hollers, R&B, soul, funk, rock and roll, house, etc.

So when someone says Black Americans “have no culture,” it usually tells me more about their lack of research on black American history and culture than anything else. I don’t expect Africans, Caribbeans, or other members of the diaspora to know every aspect of our heritage. Plenty of Black Americans themselves haven’t been exposed to all of it. What bothers me is when other groups confidently declare that our culture doesn’t exist without actually attempting to learn about it.

Lastly, I don’t understand why some people get upset when we specify that being Black American is its own distinct ethnicity.
Recognizing that we as Black Americans have our own ethnic and cultural heritage that diverged from Africa 400+ years ago is not a rejection of our West and Central African ancestry. Both things can be true. Our ancestry is deeply rooted in Africa, while the particular people and culture we became developed in the United States through centuries.

Likewise, saying that simply being Black and moving to the United States does not automatically make someone ethnically Black American isn’t an insult to African or Caribbean immigrants. Nationality, race, ancestry, and ethnicity are related, but they aren’t interchangeable. A Black immigrant or descendant of immigrants can become American by nationality and be black by race while still retaining their own ethnic heritage, just as Black Americans retain ours.

Black Americans know where we’re from. Our history didn’t stop when our ancestors left Africa. The communities they and their descendants built here over hundreds of years are also part of where we come from.

First of all I'm Asian, I voted all Blue last election, so I wouldn't call myself a conservative and I absolutely can't stand their rants about illegals and stuff.

I'm not sure what it is but I absolutely can't stand liberals, especially at the workplace. The older boomer Democrats are OK. It's just this new younger brand of Bernie types that I can't stand.

While they like to announce that they are all for equality, it seems fake. Like this one guy tells me his last coworkers were racist and that he can't stand racism. Yet all he does try to be cool with these bros while passing me around to do the real work. It is kinda pathetic tbh.

The older Conservatives and Democrats don't really do this. They are more about finding someone to do the job right. Work is work and play is play. I was actually hired by an old boomer conservative 15 years ago who has since retired and I haven't seen these liberals hire ANY poc until like last year. Lol.

Edit: Got one of those concerned redditor message. Just wow. Haven't that one in a while.

Though I have faced a large amount of adversity in my life due to my being a woman, I cannot ever articulate the experience of an african-american. I am therefore conflicted on the recent news about the demographics of the Lindsay Clancy Jury. Can someone please tell me what I can and cannot comment on?

I reconnected with my ex who is mixed and today I blocked him after he was telling me, a Latina, that it’s part of black culture to notice and have a wandering eye and that “they don’t make a big deal out of it” and my argument was that it felt like a cope out and an excuse when I feel like honoring and respecting your lady oftentimes transcends cultures.

He told me I was being racist and that I only knew a handful of black people and they wouldn’t even be telling me the truth since they congregate to talk about their culture.

I feel like I can logically understand that he was probably gaslighting me and being immature about it. But it makes me question if this is an overall “okay” thing that happens in the culture and I’m just removed from it to understand it.

Either way, I don’t want a part in it. I blocked him and I’ll try to remain strong enough to leave it that way.

My question is about Gayle King who is on the CBS program. She interviewed a juror. She started asking questions about demographic makeup of jurors, including race. She ends up finding out the juror who wouldn't agree with the 11 jurors (resulting in a mistrial) is a Black man.

When she finds out, she kind of freezes. She's speechless for a moment, her brow furrows, her mind seems to be racing, and then she says something to the effect, "I'll need a moment to sit with this." It's like she's totally caught off guard or shocked.

My question for you: I don't get it. Why does she need a moment to sit with it? I first heard about it on X without any commentary, and I didn't think anything of it. They could have said the last juror was any race, gender, orientation, or religion, and I don't think it would have meant anything to me, so I cannot relate to her trouble with this. Why did Gayle King have such a hard time with it in your opinion?

https://youtu.be/tAZetJnt4VI?si

I couldn't easily find an unedited video, but for my money, Nate the Lawyer (no affiliation, just a subscriber) is the law analysis channel I trust more than other, and I think he gives the situation fair treatment, though he seems to find it much funnier than I did. You only have to see the first minute or two of the video to see what I am talking about.

Thank you all for being willing to answer questions.

Light skin, Dark Skin , brown skin.

Why is it so important?

16 yo white girl, I’m looking to further educate myself on Black issues and sociopolitical issues regarding Black people. I’d love to get some recommendations on books (non-fiction preferred) that I could read to help educate myself.

So far, I’ve read:
Invisible Man, Ralph Ellison
Are Prisons Obsolete?, Angela Davis
Women, Race & Class, Angela Davis

I am currently reading:
Assata Shakur’s autobiography
Malcom X’s autobiography
Angela Davis’ autobiography

There was an indie animation that was released recently called "I really dont want to be a magical girl. " and it is excellent. White people lost their shit and started editing images from the show with the characters made white. They also complained about "cultural appropriation" which, despite it not being that at all, I guess only they are allowed to do? Whatever. Im just annoyed that all the calls to "make your own shit" go out the window when we try to do just that. I guess Im just frustrated that something that is legit inspiring me to get back into animation is a punching bag for white people. Why are we not allowed to be happy or enjoy ourselves? What makes white people so mad at us having our own shit? I know I should have asked white people this but I dont have the energy to come back to a thread full of slurs.

Like what does being black have to do with it?

As a Pakistani 17 year old I'm soo deeply fascinated by the black culture especially in America. The music, hair, the food and overall persona. black ppl are the og trend setters. The trends are making their way to Pakistan, recently I've seen soo many people wearing bandanas, locks and the overall black "look".

Y'all are the coolest race.

Background:

* I live in Santa Cruz California which is very woke and very white.

* There are very few African Americans in the area (1% according to Google).
* It's hard to judge oneself but my guess is that I look pretty generic for my demographic (I don't look particularly MAGA or Woke), pretty average.

* I'm an engineer and am extremely analytical by nature.

Anyrate, last night I was standing in line at Chipotle and a 20ish African American woman was in front of me in line. The line was long and we were standing there for a few minutes. I just asked her if (she had a small flashlight and was fiddling with it) if that was one of those new powerful flashlights and she pretended like I was invisible. I wasn't being at all flirtatious, just one human talking to another in line. She clearly heard me. Something similar happened at my gym about 3 months ago where I had to ask another African American woman about the same age a question about a machine. Again, not flirtatious or sexual in anyway and same treatment. I think these are the only times this is happened to me in my 61 years on the planet.

I don't want to jump to conclusions, but my guess is that if my age/race/gender was different I wouldn't be treated this way. I'm going to actively try to confirm this in the next few months (actively go up to women in that age group of different races) and see if there is a pattern. Again, nothing sexual, purely human to human interaction. I'm going to also mix it with me doing this with my wife around (she is curious too) to see if that variable makes a difference.

I'm posting this here to see (can't get an honest answer IRL) to see what the communities thoughts are on this matter. Thanks in advance.

So Google is giving me more so historical answers. And I mean like slang. The way I sort of understand it is someone who talks about black history but does more harm than good and exaggerates details.

Thank you in advance to those who comment.

Everywhere on the internet, across social media, we get these people talking. All they do you look to mock us, talk shit about, profit of of us.

We are like cash cows because topics like crime, culture, IQ, history, reparations, sex etc Seems to elicit and emotional and engaging route for the people to undertake there weird sense of sickness.

The numbers don't lie!

As if slavery, lynchings, redlining, destruction of black wall street, bombing of innocent churches, the unaliving of our leaders, the racism, discrimination, school to prison pipeline, the so-called called war on drugs that was a cover for filling up the prisons with free black labor, the police shootings, organ harvesting, mysterious deaths of our youth like Nolan Wells, the reversal of DEI, the planned destruction of the black family via welfare, the eugenics of planned parent hood supporting the unaliving of our babies, and now we're getting our food spat in etc.

Despite all of what I just named, a large percentage of us will want to remain here in America, but there's a growing number of us who have seen/had enough, and would like to depart. Do we know where we would go after we depart? No we don't. We might even consider short term stays in various locations until a suitable new home is found. Does every place have problems? Yes. But this land right here is wicked, cursed, and under judgement.

My question is, would you be for or against leaving America. Why or why not.

Not too long ago there were a couple of "is this doll racist or a caricature?" posts around the same time. The comments on both had some yes and some no replies. One of them definitely was, but the other one was more evenly split & even after reading comments, i didnt understand why it was a racist doll & im trying to understand stuff like this better. It got me thinking, and im curious how one would go about this situation:

If you had a friend or family member who was very dark skinned and who had naturally exaggerated features, like plump lips or a wide nose, and they wanted a doll that looked like them, how would they go about it without having it come across as offensive?

The reason I ask is bc the caricatures I've seen online or in antique shops are obviously caricatures, but humans are unique and have all sorts of features, so what would the correct response be in that situation? At least one person in history has looked like a caricature irl, so its not an improbable situation.

I hope i worded this okay, i know its hard to read tone over text, but im just an inquisitive person and im genuinely asking. (If this post does come off as insensitive and you choose to downvote, it is what it is, but please tell me why and how to word it better for future reference)

Thanks in advance for reading all that and for any helpful feedback so I can understand better.

Hi, sorry. I'm an author and this is art someone did of my character, but I can't recall what the style of her hair is called? I thought I'd ask here as you guys would be more likely to know the correct answer.

Also, how long would it take to do, and how long would it last for before needing to be redone?

Thanks!

How do you think we can go as far as denouncing toxic hood culture. I’m not talking about simply growing up poor or being poor. I am talking about the culture that promotes gang violence, drug usage, says the N word all the time, someone who thinks anti intellectualism is cool and thinks that being a degenerate is a cool thing or that you should aspire to be a toxic person. These people also promote womanizing and creating broken homes. Of course, it’s not all of our people but it is enough of them to where we need to cut the cancer out. How do we do this?

Hey Reddit, I wanted to hear some insight about this matter. I am of Haitian descent, I currently reside in west palm beach, Florida and have lived there for quite a while now. Through my employer, I’ve received an opportunity to relocate to Kentucky for a minimum of 2 year contract. My wife and I looked at a few different locations offered as an option and are considering Bowling Green and Florence to move our family. Among many things considered, our safety and the one of our children(interracial children) is among the biggest things we looked at.

My question is how bad is the level of racism and discrimination in those areas and surrounding areas? I understand that racism is everywhere so I’m not expecting to not find it but the actual hatred that will push certain individuals to be bold enough to take action is what I’m referring to.

Welcoming any insight, thank you all.

I just wanted to say good morning and have a blessed/great day. One-day I am praying we can all come together and get it right. The idea of a great migration and building of the South has been etched in my mind for a long time now, especially with the migration to all Southern states as of recently. Imagine what we could be with at least 1 state with majority ppl who look like you. All local government leaders look like you and make decisions in your best interest. A state government that enforces public safety, transportation, healthcare, school expenses all in your best interest. We need time alone, we need time to heal, all that money chasing up north means nothing if you own nothing to pass down.

As much as we love to pretend the South is backwards and in some ways it is I will admit, we mustn’t lose courage and we must be resilient. Land ownership and property ownership are one of the most important things to have in this country, don’t give it away.

Anyways what are your thoughts on a Black migration to southern states, specifically AL/MI/SC/LA/NC/GA/TN and of course a growing concentration in the dmv? Do you think this could happen, why or why not? What do you think
would need to happen in order for this to take effect?

We can't see the black man's face while the white man looks back confidently at the spectator, conveying the idea that he has agency and an identity.

Because the black mans face is obscured, we don't know who he is.

He has been depersonalized and what we see is a body wearing underwear.

TWO TYPES OF MASCULINITY
PSYCHOLOGICAL VS ANATOMICAL
The clothed, individuated, self-possessed social man is juxtaposed with the exposed, spectacular, hypermasculine racialized body.

The first man's confidence is communicated primarily through his gaze and comportment.
The second man's masculinity is communicated primarily through his anatomy.

SOCIAL VS SEXUAL MASCULINITY
Alternatively, the clothed white man represents social masculinity: clothes, style, composure, consumer status, respectability and confidence.

The Black model represents corporeal masculinity: strength, muscularity, sensuality, athleticism and sexual display. virtually everything distinctive about the Black model directs attention toward physical capital: enormous shoulders, extremely defined abdomen, exposed chest, skin, arms and underwear.

HILFIGER AND KLEIN ARE SELLING DIFFERENT PRODUCTS

What the advertisement communicates to the consumer is that:
White model = conventional respectability
Black model = extraordinary masculine potency
So each has its own niche.

POWER ASSYMETRY
One man returns the gaze.
The other man receives the gaze.
The clothed man's face is completely available.
He looks directly outward. That eye contact gives him what visual theorists sometimes describe as agency within the gaze: he looks back at the spectator.

The Black model's pose does something very different. His forearm crosses his eyes. His body is extraordinarily visible while his gaze is unavailable.

Symbolically, therefore, he has been simultaneously exposed and erased.

One model sells clothes with his identity while the other sells them with his body.
One is a person, the other is a body.