African Somalis and Ethiopians should ask the ones abroad if they are black or not. Outside of Africa, unless you are white African, the rest of the world views you all the same. It seems to me that the Ethiopians and Salamis think that west Africans are beneath them, thus the need to be separate. Where I come from, an African is and African and is of the black race when it comes to identifying them, no matter if its East, West, South, or North.

I'm African American, but felt obligated to defend Ethiopia against negative, derogatory comments made by white co-workers. It was my African Ancestry and slight knowledge of some African countries that prompted me to do this.

My co-workers thought that Ethiopia was the "poorest, diseased" country in the world, but I guess they can attribute their ignorance to those "Feed the Children" Commercials that come on here.

somalia3:

agreed. black is more of a culture, history, and a certain look. genetically somali, ethiopians, eritreans, sudan, djibouti are their own race that is not negroid.


if you call somalis, eritrean, ethiopians black...than all you have is just black and white...but 100 million ethiopians, somalis, eritreans, sudanse, cant be combined with negroids...negroids claim us mostly out of insecurity and to strech the meaning of black so that not all blacks look ugly.

I don't understand your statement that "ethiopians, somalis, eritreans, sudanse" are good looking. You have ugly and pretty people in in both East and west Africa.

Your statement is really insulting. I have seen beautiful women all over Africa from dark to light, from nappy to straight hair.

I think its silly for me to even comment on this. It's apparent that the person that I'm commenting to has probably never stepped foot out of their own country.

somalia1: black is a color. not a dna...not a race, not an ethinicity.


Somali is an ethnicity. Somalia is a country.


You guys are negroid. We are not. We are somali. not good to claim people.

I am not African and am confused by your statement, this is truly learning for me. Basically, my understanding is that people are of African, European, Asian, Indian, American, or Middle Eastern Descent, regionally. (Maybe I left a few out.) And in Africa, you have of black/indigenous Africans, White/European/Caucasian Africans, Asian/Chinese Africans, and Middle Eastern/Arab Africans. Which of these would categorize samoli people if asked by someone abroad?

Usually the word black is used in other countries to identify someone with African ancestry, White is used to identify someone of European Ancestry, Sand colored/Brown/ Middle Eastern is used to identify anyone from Iraq. Arab, Iran, etc., and Asian is used to identify someone from, Japan, China, Taiwan, etc.

So maybe, to be politically correct, people should refer to indigenous Africans and people of African descent as being of the African Race and not the black race?... Although, in countries other than Africa, African descent = black.

somalia1: the word black and empire dont deserve to be in the same sentence. unless if you consider somalis, ethiopians as blacks.

Everyone else in the world thinks they are black. Please fill me in?

igbo2011: Think about it, whenever it is black or dark it is always bad. Black list, blac ball, black sheep, black out etc. Those are all bad things. Dark is always evil. The dark side (bad side),

Definition of black: http://www.thefreedictionary.com/black

5. Soiled, as from soot; dirty
6. Evil; wicked
7. Cheerless and depressing; gloomy
9. Marked by anger or sullenness
11. Deserving of, indicating, or incurring censure or dishonor

The only time black is good when its Black Friday. When you are in the black that means: On the credit side of a ledger; prosperous.

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Definition of dark: http://www.thefreedictionary.com/dark

6. Characterized by gloom; dismal


7. Sullen or threatening

10. Lacking enlightenment, knowledge, or culture

11. Exhibiting or stemming from evil characteristics or forces; sinister

in the dark
2. In a state of ignorance; uninformed

As long as we use black and dark to describe us this is bad for us. We must change our official language to a better language. Maybe hausa or Swahili.

I totaly agree with you! I'm AA and this subject was covered by Macolm X and MLK before they were assassinated. It's obvious that when you reveal the truth, you become a threat to "their (European)" ideals and way of life.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Suw_CQ3zfTY

Dr. MLK speaks about the word black and the word white in the English dictionary towards the end of the video.

ROSSIKE:

Colonialism is the cause my brother. When the colonialists came, they seized all economic resources and diverted same towards those who embraced christianity. They condemned traditional religions as heathen, and eventually they got the Pavlovian reaction they sought among the Africans.

Only now are we starting to re-examine this poisonous colonial inheritance.

I'm actually a girl.

vislabraye: It would be ridiculous for the BA to beef the Africans and vice versa. We Africans know our roots and have a culture. The BAs happen to be in a society where many things work well.

I think your belief is so ridiculous. I for one don't look down on Africans, but after reading this type of non-sense, I can't help but feel sorry for people like you (Not all Africans). How can you even compare? I'll ask you a few questions.
1.) Are you or have you ever been discriminated because of your color in your country?
2.) Do you even know that the vast majority of AA in prison are a result of creating a system to keep them enslaved. Ever heard of the chain gains.
3.) Have your ancestors worked hundreds of years for free? (Trick question... We both have African Ancestry)
4.) Why do white people own most of the resources in Africa?
5.) Why is are Middle Easterners conquering and taking rule in countries in Africa, and no other African country comes to the rescue?
6.) Why does the African woman in a Sudanese documentary say that "The white man will come save us".
7.) Why is there Extreme Rich and Extreme poor in Africa?
8.) Why do say we don't have a culture when it's a known fact that HIP-HOP is storming the nation!... and every other nation likes it, even Africans.
9.)Do you really know anything about AA? We are multi-cultured people. There's a different culture in the South, West, East and North. We make great music, food, and believe it or not, some of us are wealthy.
10.) Why do Africans like you think that the white man made it better for us? We made it better for them. We cleaned their houses, worked hundreds of years for free, raised their children, and to add insult to injury, they took our inventions and claimed them as their own. We AA are a strong race of people. Wanna know why? We are survivors. We endured the worst treatment, the worst living conditions, No education, No respect, beat, raped, hung, we weren't even considered humans... But we're still here and we're as strong as ever. It's amazing how the descendent of a slave can become an engineer at one of the most prestigious companies in and outside the US (me) . So please save it, there are tons of us (AA) that are doing extremely well and we will help our community over come the humility that was bestowed upon us and still lives in us, and look at is as an obstacle that we can overcome instead of a scar.
PS... If you were white and America and blessed with all that they took from us, you'd appear pretty prestigious and well off too.

Negro_Ntns: If you look in any African American neighborhood in US you will notice that the economy is usually around the following types of services - gas station and corner store, laundromat, cash checking place, bill payments and payday loans, fast tax filing and returns, hair, nail and saloon, barber shop, hotels and motels, pawn shops, restaurant and churches.

Apparently you haven't been to thriving black communities in the USA. For example, there are many neighborhoods in Atlanta, GA that are filled with successful doctors, lawyers, engineers, real estate agents, etc.

I'm an African American Female Mechanical Engineer, so I speak from experience. If the media and others would portray these parts of America, there would be more positive influences.

TisaBone:  

You are a victim of the American establishment which has effectively convinced blacks that they are worthless. Hell, the Africans immigrate to the states even believe these stereotypes ,that they are spoon fed via American televison programming, about about AA's.
   And what's this about you not liking your natural hair? Chile please. I have dreadlocks and do you know how many compliments I get from both black AND white people? Just today I was walking to school, and a boy called out to me "Hi Ms. Natural."Another man called out to me "Hi Queen." So you see there is nothing wrong with being black. It's all in how you carry yourself and what you think of YOU. You care too much about what other races think of you. So what, let them say what they want.
 
For centuries, black folks have been cleaning up after white folk's mess. After the Bush fiasco, who did they choose as the next president? A proud black man with the charisma and fire of a southern preacher, who could make you believe that the sky is green. That's what we needed to boost the American morale;a black man.

So all in all, what I am trying to get at, is that you really need to know your history. Honey, what I need you to do is look up some of these people:


Also, may I suggest that you go and buy some video's of the comedian Paul Mooney. I love him because he pisses white people off =) he even made it on CNN!


You need to wake up,but more importantly, LOVE YOURSELF!!!!!

This was the perfect reply, I can't think of anything better to say!

I agree with most African Americans and Africans being ignorant of each other and this can be mostly blamed on the media. Most Africans learn that African Americans are lazy, violent, and poor. This is also what white America teaches us about ourselves. Furthermore, the media only shows poor and famine stricken places of Africa.
There is a misconception that African Americans are allotted the same opportunities as their white counter parts. Here in the US, we have what is called zoning laws. These are laws that force you to attend the school in your "zone" which is usually poorly funded by the government and they can't afford good teachers. Once the USA allows equal education opportunities, then and only then will African Americans be given a fair chance to compete. Furthermore, African Americans lived in a place where it was illegal for them to read. It's important to remember that the same parents that were brought up in ignorance, also produced ignorant offspring. There's a lot of work to be done in the USA and it starts with education.

http://www.waitingforsuperman.com/action/

Now-a-days, with access to the internet and forums like this one, I don't understand why there is so much confusion between us. I would expect us as blacks to see that the most powerful weapon against us is division. Ever heard of the phrase "divide and conquer"? Black people need to stop sleeping and start building one another up for the greater good of "our" people.

Ptolomeus:
On this type of presentation, it strongly influences the Christian power, whose struggle is based on the disqualification, demonizing and discrediting of others.
I

I agree with this 100%. There should be some sense or pride, respect, and preservation of the traditional/ancient religions.

I'm not Nigerian, but was amazed at how Nollywood's portrayal of traditional religion. I can't believe that someone would consider the religions of their ancestor as something evil that is triumphed by a Christian God. My question is, what is it that makes the Euro-centric religion the right religion, and that of your ancestors the wrong/evil one. Why does their religion serve the one true God and yours, the devil.
As an outsider looking in, it seems like self hate and acceptance of something that does not naturally belong to you. Also, I whole-hardheartedly believe that religion is an integral part of culture. Culture cannot exist without religion. If you remove the traditional religion, you begin to alter the authenticity of the culture.
It's like traveling from the US to Nigeria to get a McDonald's Hamburger instead of pounded yam. It wouldn't make sense. When people Nigeria, they want to see Nigeria and all the things that make it unique to all of the other cultures of the world; all the things that makes it one of a kind.