rivertemz
Scribe
The thirst for Knowledge is strong in this one
Posts: 211
|
Post by rivertemz on Apr 11, 2014 22:47:29 GMT -5
ArticleMostafa in 1980s Mostafa today..still fighting for his right. Attachments:
|
|
|
Post by azrur on Apr 12, 2014 0:18:31 GMT -5
when i fill out that census stuff there isn't much choice for me too but i have seen a check mark for african american/black
|
|
rivertemz
Scribe
The thirst for Knowledge is strong in this one
Posts: 211
|
Post by rivertemz on Apr 12, 2014 1:05:53 GMT -5
Is there a clash between the idea of him being entitled to benefits for minorities. ( If there are any in particular beneficial to Black-Americans) Or is it just identifying as an ethnic group?
|
|
|
Post by azrur on Apr 12, 2014 1:26:01 GMT -5
Is there a clash between the idea of him being entitled to benefits for minorities. ( If there are any in particular beneficial to Black-Americans) Or is it just identifying as an ethnic group? i couldn't say though if there is i dont think anyone would stop him checking the box for african american/black
|
|
|
Post by anansi on Apr 12, 2014 20:32:30 GMT -5
I had posted this vid on in the Pics and Vid folder without much response,but I'll re-post it here for the purpose of this thread for it concerns the census,legal and official documents,in the vid is an Egyptian American teenage girl quite frankly self I'D as Black and African but her best friend who is African American didn't see her as such,now you might think this was about her skin tone and hair type alone,but listening closely,her friend didn't think she was Black because of where she was born,the Egyptian girl informed her that Egypt is in Africa but she out right rejected Africans of any shade of not being "Black" her explanation was they didn't share the same experience as Blacks in America and hence not "Black" so some including African American have a very narrow definition of what a Black is,and that it can exclude the very blackest of Africans,allow me a personal story, I am ex Navy and when I was on my first ship straight out of boot camp,I was friendly with folks of whatever back ground, now I had with me books on African history I would causally read on my down time folks were curious why I was such a book worm,one dude nicked named left Nut..White guy,pulled me aside and asked why was I always reading that "black" stuff,your not Black!..shocked at the apparent visionary blindness of left Nut,I stumbled over words to say,he went on.. those guys are Black pointing to a group of brothers in the chow hall,meaning they had a particular swagger and style of talking I had an accent,I had reggae tapes ,their music was ??..well Black music, I finally regained my composure and said..left Nut,do you not see I am Black! he said yes you are Black but not Black Black!,and no he was not talking about skin tone either as I am like most Black folks the world over the dark chocolate majority,his definition like the African American girl friend of the Egyptian was remarkably similar,long story short I proceed to teach him the history of Jamaica,the slave trade and how we ended up in the New world. Now how does this relate to the story the Egyptian girl was asked to fill out her college form a legal document,her passport and other legal document would likely have Caucasian in it,imagine the headache of attempted fraud she would have had to go through had she done otherwise keep in mind Mr Hefeny is a teacher and adult,she is/was an 17/ 18yr old just trying to get an education,what would be the simplest thing to do,just check Caucasian and be done with it or fight it probably lose your spot for being brave..what would 17/ 18 yr old you do.
|
|
rivertemz
Scribe
The thirst for Knowledge is strong in this one
Posts: 211
|
Post by rivertemz on Apr 12, 2014 21:18:08 GMT -5
I had posted this vid on in the Pics and Vid folder without much response,but I'll re-post it here for the purpose of this thread for it concerns the census,legal and official documents,in the vid is an Egyptian American teenage girl quite frankly self I'D as Black and African but her best friend who is African American didn't see her as such,now you might think this was about her skin tone and hair type alone,but listening closely,her friend didn't think she was Black because of where she was born,the Egyptian girl informed her that Egypt is in Africa but she out right rejected Africans of any shade of not being "Black" her explanation was they didn't share the same experience as Blacks in America and hence not "Black" so some including African American have a very narrow definition of what a Black is,and that it can exclude the very blackest of Africans,allow me a personal story, I am ex Navy and when I was on my first ship straight out of boot camp,I was friendly with folks of whatever back ground, now I had with me books on African history I would causally read on my down time folks were curious why I was such a book worm,one dude nicked named left Nut..White guy,pulled me aside and asked why was I always read that "black" stuff,your not Black!..shocked at the apparent visionary blindness of left Nut,I stumbled over words to say,he went on.. those guys are Black pointing to a group of brothers in the chow hall,meaning they had a particular swagger and style of talking I had an accent,I had reggae tapes , their music was ??..well Black music, I finally regained my composure and said..left Nut,do you not see I am Black! he said yes you are Black but not Black Black!,and no he was not talking about skin tone either as I am like most Black folks the world over the dark chocolate majority,his definition like the African American girl friend of the Egyptian was remarkably similar,long story short I proceed to teach him the history of Jamaica,the slave trade and how we ended up in the New world. Now how does this relate to the story the Egyptian girl was asked to fill out her college form a legal document,her passport and other legal document would likely have Caucasian in it,imagine the headache of attempted fraud she would have had to go through had she done otherwise keep in mind Mr Hefeny is a teacher and adult,she is/was an 17/ 18yr old just trying to get an education,what would be the simplest thing to do,just check Caucasian and be done with it or fight it probably lose your spot for being brave..what would 17/ 18 yr old you do. Very interesting, I've watch that documentary before and Your experience is interesting too from a Caribbean perspective. Most young adults seek the need to identify with a certain group in society, so I really wont blame her for wanting what rightfully her affiliation with Africa and America So what about Egyptians and other North Africans in general that would pass as black in public, wouldn't it be strange for them too?
|
|
|
Post by anansi on Apr 13, 2014 0:50:00 GMT -5
Rivertemz
Please keep in mind that the example I gave and that of the young lady is by no means a universal out look or even a significant minority view in the states, however they exist in enough numbers for one to take note and be annoyed.
About how North Africans could pass for Black in public finding it strange that they are classified as being Caucasian my guess it depends on the individual,however being classified a Caucasian is all good and well on paper but the stop & frisk guys may beg to differ,matter of fact the last thing you want is some Black dude sounding like he is from some where over there,not only were you walking while Black you just compound your problem with an Arabic sounding name and an accent to boot so now you are a terror suspect.
|
|
|
Post by truthteacher2007 on Apr 13, 2014 1:24:28 GMT -5
I had posted this vid on in the Pics and Vid folder without much response,but I'll re-post it here for the purpose of this thread for it concerns the census,legal and official documents,in the vid is an Egyptian American teenage girl quite frankly self I'D as Black and African but her best friend who is African American didn't see her as such,now you might think this was about her skin tone and hair type alone,but listening closely,her friend didn't think she was Black because of where she was born,the Egyptian girl informed her that Egypt is in Africa but she out right rejected Africans of any shade of not being "Black" her explanation was they didn't share the same experience as Blacks in America and hence not "Black" so some including African American have a very narrow definition of what a Black is,and that it can exclude the very blackest of Africans,allow me a personal story, I am ex Navy and when I was on my first ship straight out of boot camp,I was friendly with folks of whatever back ground, now I had with me books on African history I would causally read on my down time folks were curious why I was such a book worm,one dude nicked named left Nut..White guy,pulled me aside and asked why was I always reading that "black" stuff,your not Black!..shocked at the apparent visionary blindness of left Nut,I stumbled over words to say,he went on.. those guys are Black pointing to a group of brothers in the chow hall,meaning they had a particular swagger and style of talking I had an accent,I had reggae tapes , their music was ??..well Black music, I finally regained my composure and said..left Nut,do you not see I am Black! he said yes you are Black but not Black Black!,and no he was not talking about skin tone either as I am like most Black folks the world over the dark chocolate majority,his definition like the African American girl friend of the Egyptian was remarkably similar,long story short I proceed to teach him the history of Jamaica,the slave trade and how we ended up in the New world. Now how does this relate to the story the Egyptian girl was asked to fill out her college form a legal document,her passport and other legal document would likely have Caucasian in it,imagine the headache of attempted fraud she would have had to go through had she done otherwise keep in mind Mr Hefeny is a teacher and adult,she is/was an 17/ 18yr old just trying to get an education,what would be the simplest thing to do,just check Caucasian and be done with it or fight it probably lose your spot for being brave..what would 17/ 18 yr old you do. It's confusing as hell. I got the same thing when I came to the US. I was supposed to be black, but i wasn't really black enough. Meaning, I was expected to reject my heritage and embrace Afro American urban culture to be okay, plus being lighter skinned was a double strike. No matter how you looked at it I was damaged goods. Then there was the confusion dealing with white people who couldn't undestand how I could be related to my own brother and cousines because they were darker than me. It got to be a real pain in the ass explainig it all the time. Then trying to explain that I was black to people from other countries... a nightmare, because I didn't look like their stereotypical idea of a black man. When I started getting it from Africans I was done! This is why I identify as a person of African descent and not black. Everyone has a different idea and opinion of what it means to be black. Identifying as being of African ancestry means just that, my ancestry originates in Africa. Being mixed or light skinned doesn't change that reality. The other thing is I don't trust the government or the dominant culture. Why do they need to put people in boxes? Why isn't it enough to just be american or of whatever ethnic origin? I think its a way of identifying who is in group and who is out and who gets to have a few more crumbs. To me this sort of thing is a tool to be used against us. Just consider the fact that 1 black ancestor is all it takes to be black. But if you're Native American, its just the opposite. Unless you can prove that you have a certain percentage of Native ancestry, you're not native. Why? Because if a person isn't native "enough", then the US governments has the right to confiscate their lands and the resources on it. So for blacks, no amount of mixing can make you unblack, thus maintaining the servant class. If you are Native, then mixing carries the threat of erasing you and making you a non entity. The same trick is played against Hawaiians because so many of them mixed with Asians. Therefore, their culture and rights to their ancestral lands is constantly under threat. To me Hefny's case is a glaring example of what racial classification is all about. Maintaining the status quo. Their method is divide and conquer. They want to divide Africans against each other. They want to prevent political and social coalitions from forming. Anything that could potentially threaten their hold on power. So if they grant Hefny blackness, then where do you draw the line? This is why, no matter how illogical it is, they have to hold the line. Keep the blacks, particularly the American blacks on the bottom. Isolate and alienate them from all the other ethnic groups in the country. Do everything you can to make sure that they never gain any real political or economic strength. To show you how important this is to the ruling class, when I signed up for Obamacare, when I got to the page for race, it said you could check as many as applied to you, but, doing so was optional. So I chose to skip it. It wouldn't let me go to the next page till I chose a race. I've also seen applications that said identifying race was optional, HOWEVER, If you didn't choose one, one would be choosen for you based on what the interviewer thought you were. What fucking arrogance. Who gives them the right to treat us like lab specimines that they can label and place in boxes?
|
|