Regular Black

Okay, so at the forum the other night (Black Caribbeans vs African Americans) I told the story of how when I got to FSU, and I introduced myself as African American, the Caribbean students said that I was "regular black" and all laughed. I told the group that it was one of the most offensive things I had ever been called, and people looked puzzled. Last night, at another workshop, I overheard some of the girls from the forum discussing my comment, and they said "I don't understand why he was insulted, there are so many other things he could have been called."

Here is my explanation, for those who need it...

Many Caribbeans are taught by their parents and culture that African Americans (i.e. non-Caribbean, slave descendants) do not have culture. That we lost our history through slavery, and so, we don't have knowledge of self. That notion is one that pervades the minds and conversations of many Caribbeans, and though they may not say it for political correctness, it affects how they view me and others who identify as African American.

So to call me "regular black" in my mind suggests that I am generic to them. As if my culture is bland, and that I have no cultural flavor simply because I can't name an island to claim as my home. It is tough enough in America knowing that other racial groups think lowly of African Americans, but for other Blacks to make a distinction like this is demoralizing, no matter what other terms I could have been called in its place.

Let's face it...the major reason why people claim their cultures so much in America is because they are not in their homelands. No one who lives in Jamaica is trying to prove to everyone that they are Jamaican. No one from Trinidad has to really brag that they are Trini while they are there. It is when you get immersed in a land that is different from yours that you have to identify yourself. Hell, it wasn't until I got to Florida State that I felt the need to SAY that I am African American due to the large number of Caribbeans...before then it was just understood. And because of that, it seems that there is so much MORE pride from Caribbean Blacks, but that's not because of a lack of culture or history for African Americans, but because they HAVE to identify themselves since they are not in their homelands. (And I know African Americans are not in our homelands either, but for now, America serves as our reference point.)

The other thing is that I feel Black Caribbeans often view African Americans through the same channels as other races do, and that is through the exaggerated and exacerbated stories in the media. To be honest, when Caribbeans are in America, and they are surrounded by African Americans, a lot of times, they feel the need to talk about their history and their culture because it is novel to the listener. But if you try to tell them about African American history, they assume they know it. (This adds to that generic notion about where African Americans derive.) So the conversation is usually one-sided, with Caribbeans speaking about their food, music and stories, and African American stories being shelved as understood.

I wrote all of this as clarification for why I felt insulted by being called "regular Black." To reduce someone's history and culture to a generic story, to me, is harmful, especially when that mindset is what led to most of the history that group has. We have to be careful with the words that we speak, and what we are really saying when we speak them, especially as it relates to race, culture, and history.