by Geraldine Amakihe, Contributing Writer
Ethiopian Liya Kebede
I didn’t know I was African until I left Africa.
A loaded statement coming from a Nigerian; an Igbo girl. Nonetheless, it is exactly the way I used to feel, before my family relocated back to the States from Nigeria. Before I left the confines of my father country, declaring me an African person was redundant- a statement of the obvious – so I never had to consciously think about it. In Nigeria, particularly in my Igbo culture, my father’s name and my education were the two most important cultural indicators.
When I moved back to the US I quickly realized that I was now “African” and was constantly expected to represent a billion people. And that being anything other than “that African girl” was considered an upgrade.
Countless numbers of people thought they were complimenting me with reassurances that I didn’t “look African”. Some would wonder about my last name, and upon discovering that I was Nigerian, would give a range of responses;
“Oh wow! You’re African??”
“I thought you were just ‘regular’ black”.
“Oh! So, THAT explains your features!”
I remember an instance when a teacher told me that he just knew I was African because of my “big features”. I also remember cringing inwardly as he emphatically stressed that my African look basically boiled down to my full lips. That day, as I sat in his classroom, I fiercely wished that I could be the complete opposite of what he thought was the African look. I wanted to be thinner lipped and lighter skinned, solely to force him to recognize that his so-called African look, as dominating as the idea was, was a fallacy.
Whenever the African phenotype is mentioned, the stock image is usually the stereotypically flat description of dark skin, full lips and backsides, wide noses, and highly textured hair. To delve into the misconception even further, let’s lay out all the cards and attach “poor”, “dirty”, “backwards” and “starving” to the description. People seem to find it difficult to reconcile the notion that there are just as many people who might look this way, as there are people throughout the continent who don’t, but still identify as African, and that these people fall into all levels of social status. It’s irritating when we allow ourselves to mindlessly gorge on misinformation dispensed by myths and media, and continue to dismiss people for not fitting a narrow margin of the supposed African look.
Shouldn’t it go without mention that different people identify as African, and the current categories should be expanded? However, common sense ideas often seem to be the hardest to understand or implement. For instance, with a country like Nigeria, which is an arbitrary amalgamation of hundreds of ethnicities from Fulani to Igbo, facial features and body types vary incredibly. If we step outside of Nigeria, Alex Wek and Liya Kebede are both from East Africa.
They look amazingly different, and yet, by looking at them, people would assume only Alek as the “pure African”. None of these regions are homogenous, and prevailing features run the gamut from the deepest to the fairest of complexions.
Let’s continue to extrapolate that example and apply it to Africans in the diaspora; Colombians to Canadians, Americans to Argentinians and the catch-all African phenotype begins to dissolve. The African look is a multi-dimensional one, and we shouldn’t rely entirely on the media to provide accurate information. We should constantly challenge ourselves to think outside the proverbial box and to question ourselves, because in doing so, we can expand our familiarities, and in turn, challenge the status quo. It is also our responsible, as black people, to stop associating certain African features with poverty and backwardness.
We need to totally rethink Africa and, by extension, our perception of African beauty.
143 Responses
There is a lot of ignorance in the diaspora and as someone who is born in England to West Indian parents we thought we knew what Africans looked like until the recent influx of Africans, which shows the diversity of shades, features and hair textures. We are one people.
Thank you for a very good article.
These kinds of stereotypes even amongst Africans either encourage the wrong kind of pride or lead to low self esteem.
In the age of technology it baffles me why people are still ignorant on various African features.
Ive never seen someone from west african who looks east african. But Ive seen eastafricans who look like west africans. Fase wise though Because we arent built like west africans. We have more slender or smaller bodies usually. I guess its similar to westerners and asians. Asians are built smaller than europeans. Maybe western people are larger in general. I envy west africans because they dont seem to age and out of all west africans i find nigerians are the nicest to me.
Aw thanks, im nigerian. Where are you from?
I am an African American with direct roots to Liberia, West Africa. You wrote a very good article. People have said that I didn’t look African. Africa is a diverse continent and Africans vary in skin tones, hair textures, and facial features. For example, you may see a person who looks like they are from East/Horn of Africa but they may actually be a West African. Or you may find someone who looks like they are West African but they are really from Central Africa.
interesting perspective. i am afro-am and i always have ppl telling me that i can’t be american and i must be from africa. i simply don’t get it.
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I’m Cajun but a lot of my black and African friends think I’m ethiopian or of ethiopian decent. It upsets me when non-black/African people say I don’t look african. I love that I am ethiopian decent and I say I am Cajun because I’m not one thing, I’m acknowledging all my heritage. And when I hang out with people who are from Africa there is kind of a bond, and we can relate. It’s hard and frustrating because my family isn’t very american, and we aren’t very african we’re caught in the middle. However it does make things a little easier having some cultural identity.
i always get that i don’t look african by non-blacks and blacks alike and honestly it disappoints me, its a sick stereotype that is carried that all africans have a “LOOK”, when africa is a continent with over 20 countries each one with people and tribes with different facial features and colours.
I love being African American! Wouldnt change it for anything in this world. My mother is from Nigeria, the way we can tell if someone else is nigerian is by facial characteristic, high cheek bones is a big one. If i’m in a cab and the guy ask are you Nigerian? it’s a great feeling to know that I’m distinguished amongst everyone else and at that moment i have a bond with my brother and we carry on conversations about food and family. Wether we are from the same country or not I believe we have a bond with our race that most other races don’t.Being African is a beautiful thing!
As the author indicated, there is no universal “Nigerian look”, so high cheekbones are not the dead giveaway you believe them to be. I’m Nigerian as well, with one Igbo parent parent and one Yoruba parent, and I pretty much look like everybody; I’ve been told I look Fulani, Igbo, South African, African American, and others I no longer remember. I always try to explain to those who need the education that Africa today is pretty much like black America today–in some places, there’s been some blending.
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I appreciate this article.
It reminds me of the ignorance of a phrase I truly hate to hear or read: “she looks like a white girl dipped in chocolate.”
The fact that we are even having this conversation is disappointing. It makes you realize that no matter how good you are as a person, you are only judged by aesthetics. People around the world are being programmed…They are being fed images of what our ‘Black” culture is really about. How can this be an insult when people of Africa are the most resilient, strong, diverse, beautiful, and driven people on the planet. As an African American woman, I feel a bit cheated because I know I am a ‘hybrid’ African. I wish I could claim Africa to be my homeland and feel connected to the people REALLY! We need to wake up. We should be saying these things to those that have trespassed against us and used our ancestry as a ‘dirty word’. The worst of it all is we do it to one another. I have been told by all different people that I look like or favor one group or another but the truth is, we all have one common ancestry and that is Africa so we all need to embrace it. Its where the oldest human was found. People are always looking to categorize one another…its part of human nature. We all need to realize that we are one race…
THE HUMAN RACE!!! Now digest that, LOL
if you think its negative then its negative. but if you know being african doesnt really have that much to do with your features, then why gie it the time of day. most people dont mean any harm when making such remarks
I am African. My mother is from South Africa (the country not the region)and my father is from Ghana. I suppose I have had the exact opposite reaction of most here that have posted. I have always been told that I don’t look African and I take it as an insult. This is upsetting to me because I have always been the odd ball in my group of African friends always having to prove that I am African to outsiders who think I am trying to be African by hanging with Africans. Weird! I associate “looking African” with looking exotic. I have never associated it with “particular features”.
well, if i see someone who has what i perceive to be west african features, then usually i’m spot on when i assume they must be from west africa. there are african guys in the math department at my college, and they “LOOK” african. So i wasn’t surprised to find that when they introduced themselves, their last names (and accents) confirmed what their phenotypes had already proclaimed loud and clear. So i mean, let’s not act brand new. When someone says someone looks african, we all know what they mean. It doesn’t mean anyone is hating or saying someone looks ugly, because i happen to find most people who “look” african to be attractive. It simply means that their features correlate with the features we know to be common to a particular region on the globe. that’s just like if someone looks eskimo, there’s a good chance they’re probably from the tundra. not many people could pass for eskimo. So why would that person get mad if i assume they are from the artic region simply because they obviously look eskimo? or an australian aboriginee getting mad because i identify, correctly, based off phenotype that that’s where they’re most likely from? or a simoan that they must be from hawaii considering that the majority of simoans are likely to be found there? all of these groups have specific ethnic identifiers, and it’s no shame to be identified by phenotype. the problem only becomes when people begin to discriminate based off those assumptions. merely noting them is not the problem.
i worked at an airport, and i worked with countless ethiopians. I know africa is a very diverse continent. the only person i’ve ever met from south africa happened to be a white girl. the only person i’ve ever met from kenya happened to “look” like just an ordinary black person in the USA. So yeah, africa is hecka diverse- though when someone says “african” usually they mean west africa along with what we consider “strong” features like what was described in the article. it might not be a politically correct term, but at least we know who’s being described unless otherwise is inferred. if someone says ethiopian, then the image that pops into my head is someone who is medium brown or lighter, with hair that’s fairly loosely curled, and they have small facial features. I have never met an ethiopian in real life that i hadn’t guessed accurately was ethiopian. in fact, i’ve even had the reverse happen to ME plenty of times, where plenty of ethiopians have randomly encountered me and told me that I looked ethiopian, even though i am not. All this going on and on to say that the people you encountered were rude, but i know what they meant with what they said. this coming from someone who has worked in an airport and has encountered HUNDREDS of people from the african continent- all to conclude that YES you can usually identify where someone comes from based off what they look like. the exception to that is probably melting pot america lol
I am proud to be African.
I’m half African (2nd generation)and half white — and it’s funny because when I tell other Africans that I am Cameroonian they question me because of my lighter complexion. Africa, though, is the most diverse continent in the world. The word “African” is pretty vast and undefinable. With the people of Africa alone, it would be possible to repopulate the entire globe. It’s where human life originated. I agree — it’s ridiculous to say someone does or doesn’t “look African.” EVERYONE is African deep down.
Brilliant artlce and very well put forward.We need more educational artlices like this.
The problem is with media they like to DEFINE how we see life and how we should act etc…
Once a stereotype is shown to you it is HARD to forget it.The key is to have an open mind and not be so set in our ways and mindsets and to replace what the media says with the truth.
John 8:32 – “and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.”
I am of Congolese descent and have been told that i don’t look African o_O ,so next time i hear that i will say something to challenge that. 🙂
Unless we challenge attitudes/thought patterns we don’t change.
I have always been told that I do not look African and I get told this just because of the simple fact I have small facial feature. Even with my very African name people still never guess I’m African they say you can’t be Nigerian or you don’t look it. I think to myself I do look African because I’m African and this is what me as an African looks like I am 100 % Nigerian just born and raised in England.
People can be so ignorant . Africa is a diverse continent , so African comes in different Shades. I am Liberian ,and when I tell peopel that I am African they are shocked, their first response is you don’t look African I thought you were from the Island. They always assumed that My mom and i are from the Island. I ask someone that last time what she meant that I did not look African ,and she said my features were not like the average African that she encounter.
I can’t begin to say how many times I’ve dealt with the “OMG you’re African?” “You don’t look African”…Or the “You’re pretty for an African” (I guess that’s supposed to be a compliment?). Despite being born in America, I’ve never hesitated to let any one know that I’m Nigerian, or to be more specific Igbo. Those roots are what define me.
It irritates me how the ignorance and misconceptions about Africa as a whole and Africans still prevail to date.
When people learn we have high rise buildings and high-ways in Nigeria, along with cars and houses that would rival some of the ones seen in the States its amazing.
It never fails to amuse me how some folks upon learning your “African” (that term annoys because it is so broad), can’t wait to tell you about the trip they took to Africa, but never seem to mention a country as if Africa is one big country, and you should know about the things they’re talking about.
In this day and age there is no excuse for ignorance. Knowledge is power.
Everyone that is Black is of African heritage. Separating Blacks into groups based on where they are from just makes Black as a people more separated.
That is definitely not true. There are people in Asia who have been living there for thousands of years that are coal-black. That doesn’t mean Africans are more related to them than to e.g. fellow Europeans.
The natural color of your skin is determined by how persistently your ancestors were exposed to UVB sun rays, nothing else. There is no “Black as a people”. There are more than 3300 ethnic groups in Africa alone! Look at their genetic profiles and you’ll see the similarities are only skin deep.
To divide the human species into subspecies and subsubspecies based on something as superficial as skin color is what’s truly separating us.
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What the hell is “regular ” black! lol please tell me, the pereson who made that statement is so ignorant about Africa and themselves.
Africa is sooo diverse, its a shame that people think there is “one way ” to look African as you described. I am AA and i can pretty much tell when someone is African, mind you it isn’t always their “look” but it can also be how they carry themselves, for instance, it seems more Africans use oils than perfumes as fragrance.Africans often look more “serious” and its just something i sometimes know by living around many of them .
It could be the mannerisms or the way their eyes are shaped, i know that sounds crazy. I can pretty much tell if someone is from Senegal/ Mali/ Guinea. sometimes Ghanian. There is no one way to look AFrican, some of you look like us AA and vice versa and not all have broad features and are very dark skinned. I am often mistaken for Guinean myself here in NYC. specifically a Fulani or Mandinka.
I find it fascinating how diverse the continent is. I am already pretty interested in African cultures and I am discovering alot of things about the Continent. Unfortunately people’s images of how Africans look is pretty drilled into their heads, and when Africa is showcased why is it never a big urban city or everyday people , but its always some tribesman or someone half naked? that really urks me.
I think the new generation of Africans born here and young Africans such as yourself will really challenge alot of people’s misconceptions about what being African is,and hopefully for the better.
I am an African-American male that just happen by and I love the posting and the video. What I like best is the pride you have in self you are wise beyond your years.
ALOT of people are filled with ignorance. they just need help getting out of the closeth and exploring what they dont know 🙂
Many people think that im not African in fact I have had one person who tried to correct me saying that I am African American, well in a way, yes, because I was born in America, but I refuse to classify myself as that.
I am NIGERIAN not African American and I would never see myself as African American due to the culture differences. If I go to Nigeria, I have family there, we speak Igbo, wear different attire, eat different foods and have traditions that tie a stronger knot within our family. And if I say I am African American it removes the cultural aspect from my name.
Yessss oh preach I hate when my friends are like no Ur African American like we are I’m like no I’m Nigerian two different things!
I am African American (meaning that my African ancestors were stolen from Africa and brought here to America). Altough I don’t have a problem saying I’m African American I wish I knew which country/tribe I descended from. I agree with you HappyKinks when you say you’re Nigerian and not African American because you have solid connections to your Nigerian culture – and that is very important. As an African American I have strong connections to the American culture; Yes I love it and I love being American but I also wish I could have connections to my African culture.
This article is very well written in that it captures the way that Africa is still today viewed as a homogeneous mass not the diverse CONTINENT with more than 50 countries!
As an African I find it surprising how some people say: “you don’t look African” and fail to see it as essentially an insult smdh
I guess the only way to overcome such ignorance is as my lecturer put it is to ‘demystify’ Africa and the myths associated with it, of course the media images of Africa do not help as the words “starving” and “poor” have become synonymous with Africa.
here is an interesting video on this very topic: httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uHLadVZyofM
it made me laugh as only the ignorant comments about Africa can sometimes do 🙂
On different occasions i have been asked: if i had seen sliced bread/ if i had ever seen a car; how come i could speak english so well when i had just come to the uk; did i live in a hut; if i had lived with lions etc (you’d be surprised i could go on and on)
although i must admit when asked the last question i did say i had had a lion named simba and rode a zebra to school
(sad thing is i think they believed me smh)
It’s funny because I always get Africans who come up to me and tell me that I look African and I don’t look American. They say I don’t act like I’m American because I’m really nice, polite, smart and set a positive example. I’m like Whaaaaa? Are you friggin serious..lol. They don’t seem to realize that America is a melting pot of cultures. And there are plenty of positive respectful people in America I know plenty of them.lol. I just find it funny.
i so agree sis, i guess we both have our stereotypes about each other ( continental africans and African American). i get the same thing.
I’ve been told for many years that I “look african” and I think it means 1 of 3 things. First off, the person could be plain-out ignorant and can’t tell black people (for the lack of a better term)from African people. Secondly, they might be refering to the way one might carry themselves with pride and dignity. Thirdly, the truly ignorant use it as an insult to say you look dark and rough. Personally, I don’t care what they mean by it nor am I insulted or flattered. Plainly-put..I’m NOT African. If I were African maybe I’d care about whatever that person may have been trying to allude to. I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t irritating though.
Your right Kurly…. i was told i looked African by 2 members in my church! my reply was ‘well we are all African descendents!’ And yes while I am not insulted or flattered… i am finding it as irritating as hell! Hence this reply….
I’m not dark, not rough as the above reply quoted, I had just sang a solo was being served in the kitchen, was having a conversation about going to Jamaica for a holiday….2 people members suddenly piped up….’we thought u were African!’ I couldn’t believe it!! Maybe there were other factors that irritate people – who knows!
Just because someone has high cheek bones and smooth features it doest give u the right to put them in a box!! We were an enslaved race of people and our features are many…
I agree that people, even I’m guilty of making assumptions about African features. Some Africans from certain countries don’t look any different from African Americans. Then there are some Africans that have distinct features according to what country they’re from. I hear alot that I look Ethiopian which I’m not offended by, but my family is not Ethiopian, we’re Americans. I have a pointy nose, high cheek bones, and almond shaped eyes and I guess that means African to some.
But black people no matter what our nationality have a million different complexions, features and hair types. Some people are only used to seeing black people that look a certain way.
I got into a heated conversation with my somalian friend today about what is considered an African look. According to her, African look is when u are dark, with nappy or tuff hair and flat nose. I was not only shocked but also appalled that these narrow discription was coming from a fellow African. I tried to tell her that Africa as many diverse looks and that it was wrong to put the look of a whole continent into one basket of the bantu look. I think she was trying to say East and North Africans don`t look like Africans but she couldn`t say it, realizing how stupid and ignorant that will sound. The sadness of the whole discussion was how upset she got from me trying to explain to her that Africa as many looks, from being dark skinned to light, from nappy hair to having straight hair from having a flat nose to having a pointy one, all these looks and more, makes up the true African look. Africa as the most diverse looking people when compared to other continents.
I have always wondered y some Africans and African Americans think because they are light skinned, have a straight hair and nose, they don`t look African? Could it be that they are ashemed to be seen as Africans? I guess we are still suffering from the effectrs of slavery and colonisation.
We shall overcome someday.
That’s so stupid she would think that bing a Nigerian girl with east African friends I noticed how they want to look so white sometimes it’s funny cuz whites don’t even want them n when they come to America they are still referred to as that African stopp denyng Ur history jare!
I don’t think it’s shame. I’m Ethiopian, I think it’s genuinely the way others treat you and without realizing it you embody it.
I’ve heard my whole life:
“you’re African? Wow you’re beautiful”
“Ethiopian women are the most beautiful of Africa”
“You guys are watered down Africans” (my Nigerian teachers)
And this isn’t even from White people, who honestly cannot tell the difference. It’s rather from Black people in America who exoticize us. I’m not one to allow such backward thinking to affect my self-image, but not everyone is as evolved.
Also, NO ONE in East Africa thinks they are White. We have less interactions with Whites than any other region of Africa.
I am both Ethiopian and Black American, but I am most often perceived as Ethiopian by other Africans and those familiar with the stereotypical Ethiopian look. From everyone else, I always get the question, “What are you mixed with?” It’s something that never ceases to annoy me because it shows just how much Americans, both black and white, have a very narrow concept of blackness in general, let alone a concept of “African”ness. People find it hard to believe that there s such a thing as a light-skinned Nigerian, or that a black person can have a loose curl pattern without being biracial or having some Indian in their family. Africans look like everyone from everywhere because Africa is the birthplace of mankind. It is beyond illogical that we should all look the same the continent over.
I am born black in America; my father is scot/irish & African American, my mother is African-American, light-skinned, european features. Get over this nonsense! The 1 drop rule still reigns. If you’re mixed you not IN as anything other than your dominant race which will always trump your precious “mixtures.” I have aquiline features and my skin color is called “beige”, a ridiculous description of a skin color. More like ginger according to a photographer/artist whose judgement I trust. I identify as an “African-derived” person. I almost NEVER mention my mixtures. I also hate the fact that Europeans have so divided blacks in the diaspora that we’re incapable of getting beyond the divisiveness, the puerile notion that to be white-identified is to be better. It’s about POWER, folks, and until Africa gets rid of it egomaniacal despots and its woeful tribalism , blacks, wherever we are, will suffer from the perception that we’re tainted. Europeans vary in phenotypes based upon geography. Southern Italians are treated like dirt by Germans and nordic types. Get over the silliness, unite and create a better world. Bye.
“are you AFRICAN?”
I am darkskinned with very high cheekbones, full lips, a fleshy nose, and almond eyes. I am African-American, meaning my parents and grandparents are Black and were born here in America. Growing up, people told me I looked African or joked about me being African, because they associated that identity with ugliness. I was never called ugly though, some ppl even told me I look like an African princess. And other people who are African have asked me where I am from. People still ask me am I African. I don’t hate the fact that they ask me that, I am proud of my heritage and to be a descendant of Africans, but people place stigma on African-ness because they are ignorant and I find it insulting that they use it as a joke. People need to enlighten themselves about their history. It bothers me alot.
I have had this problem all through out my school up till now..people dont have the decency to ask about my background so they just write me off as just being black in colour and nothing else. I am nigerian both parents are fully. people have thought that i am half indian and half ‘black’..or somalian or carriabean. all which i dont mind, but having such defined features doesnt mean that your not african, puh-lease dont argue with what i do know.
Totally posting late here but I can totally relate to the OP. I’m from Kenya, now in the U.S., and I’m constantly told here that I don’t “look” or “sound” African. I look more like Liya Kebede w/r/t features and complexion than Alek Wek. It’s funny how people who’ve never set foot anywhere on the continent feel qualified to decide who looks “African.” It is refreshing to see so many BGLH posters who understand that we come in a wide variety of skin tones, hair textures, facial features and body types … without twisting our desire not to be stereotyped into some sort of bizarre slam against African Americans. It’s happened before. *smh* Thank you, Geraldine Amakihe, for this post.
@ChellBellz African Americans haven’t lost their African-ness because of mixing. Yes mixing went on, but during slavery Africans weren’t allowed to speak their native languages or hold on to any cultural identity they had from their countries because slave owners knew that if they didn’t have their culture they would truly be a broken people and better for enslavement. There was also no record of where each individual slave was from. Why would there be? They didn’t care as long as they had one to work their crops. So how about you open up a history book.
@ Sheal. You know what else is ignorant? That people think that Native Americans were all wiped out and that there aren’t anymore Natives here in the US. *Sigh*
@telle, i understand what you’re saying and i do know a lot about SA and Africa as a whole and i am an active supporter of all things African to the extent that I’ve dropped my foreign name because i feel i don’t need it.
yes, it is true that most European countries see the blacks/Africans there as dirty immigrants but why should we do the same here. why don’t we be the bigger people and accept them even though we are 100% certain that they are too stupid and ignorant to understand and accept that we are all human beings.
the truth is we as a people; black people, should start taking care of ourselves and develop ourselves…that’s the only way we are going to get our respect. fighting and retaliation would just make them open their mouths to insult us the more. this is the reason why i am angry with African leaders and youths. the earlier we start to do things together and grow together, the better for us. (hint: look at the Asians)
so you know, i am a Nigerian, born in Nigeria, raised in Nigeria and currently schooling in Nigeria though i might do my post grad abroad.
Africa needs help and that help has to come from us Africans; in Africa. not from an external source because we are the ones that actually know where the shoe hurts.
i am a Motswana student in Canada, BC. through the cooperative education programme my uni offers to its students, i have first hand experiences with student life across campuses-the highs and the low associated with my heritage- what in some circles is referred to as africanism, blackness, exoticism, or alienism. you cannot fathom the depth of the last statement but before i explain what i mean by that and tie it to the topic at hand, let me first extent a heartfelt apology to Mek on behalf of that individual for his careless use of words. Mek wrote, “My most hurtful experience with looking African was with an African student from Botswana during college.” such encounters -i have observed- have a tendency to damn not just the individual -and rightly so- but a people. As a people, that does not define us. on the contrary, Batswana are a loving people by nature and origin. this in itself is a sweeping statement but in it is a truth. and that young man needed a hug! LOL. if i run into him on one of my visits to Botswana, i imagine i will have a sign-post written in bold letters: FREE HUGS and he will oblige me!
my uni, and its hosting city, is predominantly white. when i first arrived, i felt like an alien. in many, if not all settings, i felt -which i think i continue to feel to this day but i have learnt to ignore without even realising it- the stares, shielded the ignorant questions, and entertained the silliness to a point. even now, 3 years later it does not seize to amaze me that even my friends dont know any better. mind you these are a mozaic of sorts- wrt to race, religion, education and gender. and no setting is except- home (the roomies, landlord), school (the professors, students), the church (the sinners and saints alike), etc. its comments that were meant to be a complement but are biased that sting more than those that were meant to humiliate. but all the same they are hurtful. im currently based in calgary, AB and there more blacks represented in different capacities and the experience is not the same as in uni but its totally not that different.
if it was not for what Mek said, i would have read through the article and the comments assuming the victim part. being an african, i am somewhat guilty of that thinking about african americans. in more occassions than one, i have taken offense to being called black and offered plenty of reason as to why its only proper to refer to me as an african as a way of excluding myself from some of the -ve stereotypes attached to being black (read african american). personally, i would be hard-pressed to find africans in the diaspora who did not suffer from this bias from time to time. by no means am i justifying it, but exposing it for what it is.
depending on the day, my being an african is a + or a -.
@ seekandushallalwaysfind
+1
Wonderful post Geraldine..it introduced a subject that should be discussed more often and also created an interesting dialogue judging by all the comments. Great Job sis!
The problem with black Americans identifying with Africa is that it’s not a “natural” thing. It is something that we must consciously remember to “keep alive” within ourselves. If most of us were to go by how we feel on a day-to-day basis, we would not feel any authentic connection to Africa, at all. Additionally, most blacks in America have not a clue where in Africa their ancestry originates. I remember when I was growing up, and from what I gathered, most of the adults around me were under the impression that Africans did not identify with (and shunned) American blacks almost as ferociously as any white society in the world. Coupled with how we, as Americans are conditioned to view black Africans as a whole, on T.V. and just in our culture, period, its mainly poor, un-hygenic, starving, tribal and diseased — those of us born in the U.S.A. are systematically discouraged (conditioned) from identifying with Africa from infants. To reflect on it all brings up so much sadness (and anger) within…
one thing that worries me about some of these comments is that most african kids born in the states and in europe call themselves more european or more american than african! i am zimbabwean and my name is french i hate it because i am african not french… 100% african no matter where i grew up! integration doesn’t mean forgetting where you come from. you don’t see white men with african names! yes just let them take over! we have already lost our customs and traditions! they keep theirs alive! wake up africans!
@kechy well we are not accepted in europe! Britain is the only country that recognizes africans born in the uk as british. the rest like germany, italy, france etc still call us DIRTY negro inmmigrants and other things! they always say we don’t belong here! well i’m not saying the british are not racist! but anyway why do we have to accept caucasians as africans just because they grew up in africa?? when they don’t accept us or acknowledge us no matter how good we are at what we do? why do we have to justify them? and i don’t know how much you know about SA.. but the country is run by the europeans! and that’s what maria is objecting to! WHITE SUPREMACY!!!
@maria, Charlize Thereon is a face of Africa. just because she is WHITE doesn’t mean she is not. its like saying that it is an insult for all other races except the Native Americans to be considered American. she is an African. I am a Nigerian and I take offence to people thinking that every other race except black isn’t African. this is 2010 people. we to starting accepting the fact that no one race owns a particular geographical region as much as they want to.
great post by the way
Good Afternoon to all, I think that everyone needs to remember that BLACK is a color just like white, not a race. The next thing we should all remember is that every person that looks black do not come from Africa. Please have a wonderful day.
I can related to what she is saying. My parents are from Ghana but I myself was born in the states. Most people think I am black american but when they find out my parents are from Ghana then all of a sudden they see the “African” features in me. Some people have told me, “You are not black black”. I have never heard the term “black black” before. Both black americans and non black people look at me differently after they find out I am Ghanaian American. I don’t get it. I was born and raised in the states. I am more American than I am African!
She is right that Africans look so different. I can tell if someonee is from the West, vs the South vs the East for the most part. As for the pure part no can assume because someone is from Africa that they are pure. I used to think I was pure myself until I did some digging around in some family pictures. Both my great-grandmother and great-great grandmother were very fair. I don’t know why I even assumed we were pure anyway because on both my father and mother’s side they have English last names. I just assumed that because Ghana was colonized that some family member just adopted the last name. I always get asked why I have an English last name.
And no my parents do not speak Swahili or African. 😉
finally
a great post
a real post
thankyou
no none has ever asked me if i’m african. I’m very dark full lips the nose, butt and hips.but people don’t believe im Yoruba Nigerian. But my hair is grows fast. People (mainly africans) assume I’m Senegalese or Hausa. and my family joke and a say i have “indian hair”
I’ve always understood the difference between the people groups in africa. and an Ethiopian look as African as a Ghanaian
Dalu Geraldine Amakihe!
I enjoy reading your post and I am happy you wrote about this topic at BGLH.
@BishopCorbett The thing is, with MOST of us “African-Americans” is by the time we get to this current generation of “blacks” that have, who’ve had 5-6 (or 7)generations here, we are likely mixed up with SO MANY DIFFERENT cultures and nationalities that we are no longer just “African” Americans. Most of us have some part Native American, some French, German, Irish, Italian, to the Caribbean and further south, etc. This is why our president spoke so much truth when he said we are literally “mongrels”… Almost NO two “African” American families can claim the exact same heritage/ethnic lineage…. That’s the nature of OUR unique experience here in the Americas — for about 5,6 centuries now… The same goes for the black people of Canada and Central America. The Europeans infiltrated (and mixed with) the Native land/culture, at the same time bringing over our “pure” African ancestors with them, to be mixed even further… We can’t authentically claim any one culture as our own, at this point, historically. However (good or bad), we now have this mixed-up heritage that we now must claim as our own — as blacks FROM (born in) America. We are about THE MOST “mongrel”-ized people in the world, if you think about it. Most of us are quite removed from Africa by now, genetically. This is now our culture, as blacks in the American experience, like it or not…
I’m Ethiopian and I’ve heard it all…It used to bother me when people tell me that I cannot be African and attempt to come up with what I really am. LOL..but now I simply try to educate everybody that I happen to interact with that questions my ancestry, especially for African Americans who have been for hundreds of years denied their connection to Africa.
i’m african-american and i’m just considered black.. lol.. you are from the “MOTHERLAND” so maybe that’s why ppl are so amazed.. you actually have a culture and a language.. I feel like we were robbed of that..
After reading these blogs, I just had to chime in. No, I am NOT satisfied, as a Black “African-American” that I don’t know where my ancestry begins. I have always said that my heritage was either stolen by the White man or sold by the black African. I have many African friends and I am truly jealous of them. I am jealous because they can reach back hundreds, thousands of years and know their history. Mine was cut off when my Great-great-great-great grandparents set foot on this land. One day, I hope to visit Africa, I don’t care what continent or part. Then I can die satisfied and whole!
I’m reading more and more comments and I’m truely understanding the throught process of my grandfather so many of you who can relate to this story prove his theory right, and “some” Black Americans need to pick up a book and start researching their backgrounds maybe to give them an identity. It’s funny because my friends of different colors would never give up and say oh I’m Regular Indian, Chinese, Japanese…if they know where their family is from they rep it, not matter how many generations have lived here. But i also wonder if Black Americans since they just don’t know where their family comes from they are just content with it. I wouldn’t be…i never was as a child. I knew my family was special and not really grounded in DC.
I’m West Indian which to me is just another way of saying my African Ancestors were dropped off somewhere else. I never understood why a African American couldn’t embrace that they are of African Descent. this “regular” black I get it, okay if you were born in America and have deep roots nine times out of time there was some mixing and mingling and loss of identity. I’m fully aware that people have different looks but when it boils down to it, people get on my nerves when speaking of Africa as a whole country. To refer to you as just African is annoying. I mean there are tons of different looks in African Nations. I think that people need to realize it might do them some good to just open a book, or turn to an international station.
My African friends get so much grief, as well as me for saying I’m West Indian even though I was born in D.C. My family is well traveled and saying I’m born in DC but West Indian is such as damn issue for black people who have no clue where their African roots lead to. I partly think its a mental thing that oh you still “a ni**er” which i have been told by American Blacks. It’s fustrating because they are dead serious. My grandfather told me not to bother trying to figure out the American way of thinking because you’ll wonder for days.
africans come in all colors. There are white africans as well.
People are so diverse in Africa from the darkest to the lightest. And I’m not even talking about those who are mixed. People need to do some research and educate themselves,really
I think it’s funny your said “Regular Black” because my best friend and I use the word “RBs” to describe African Americans. Africans have a look and I myself can spot a full Nigerian from anywhere. I think maybe because there are so many looks to Africa and most people from the specific countries can only spot their own peeps so you can’t expect others to do the same so they just say you look African.
@ Nana – I hate that ‘sounding/acting white’ jab as well. As if every black person on the face of this earth is supposed to speak slang (i.e. not sound white) and, as I’ve realized from spending time on the net, supposedly wanting to do well in academics over athletics is ‘being white’. *eye roll* It’s bad enough when non-blacks have such backward concepts of black people, but it’s worse when the ignorance comes from members of your own race.
We all will have different opinions (as witnessed here) based on our own personal experiences, however… they are just that, “your own” personal experience. As entertaining, sad and down right heartbreaking some of these stories may be, it clearly proved,(to me anyway) that not only do “We” need to learn about us but so does the rest of society. As much as we may not like to admit it, we are ALL “mixed” so to speak. Of course some more so than others but not one of us can claim to be “pure.” I’m far from an authority on the history of the Black race, I’m just simply a brother that loves to read and do research on such. If anyone SERIOUSLY cares to learn, for starters, may I suggest two books written by J.A. Rodgers, Sex & Race vols. 1 & 2 and anything else this profound and well traveled historian has written.
heck… i wish people asked me was i african : / what a compliment!
although, i am african-american –but i remember when my sister was dating this nigerian guy and when he brought us around nigerian ladies that were only speaking their native tongue, i asked him “do you think that they know that we (me and my sister) dont speak their language??” he said “oh yeah, they know you all are not african”
..just my luck lol. but i wonder how do they know?!
but when i think to myself “she’s looks like shes from africa” i dont mean full lips, dark skin etc persay.. actually it’s usually the bone structure that gives it away lol. and that goes for all africans :]
take it as a compliment.. a huge one.. cause i’d give anything to know where my ancestors were from in africa
I’ve recently begun to envy Africans. Working in my schools African Student Union really taught me to appreciate the diversity in music, food, and appearances of the different groups of Africans (east, west, north etc.) When people say someone “looks African” the uninspired stereotypical reasoning behind it is the coarse hair, dark skin, or fuller features. But if you look at the different countries, really look at the people from different regions, you can find a lot of similarity in their features. The same way Koreans, Australian aborigines, and many more racial sub-sects share similar features. As a black woman, I can’t help feeling robbed when I look in the mirror and see muted features linking me to…me.
Could have been an interesting story & feedback, but unreadable because the advertising overlay made about a third of each screen unreadable. Is looking African a function of using certain devices for your hair? That is the message the layout gives.
This was very interesting. I’m not too bothered whether people say I look African or not because that is their opinion which does not necessarily define me. In fact, as I get older I am learning to love my features as they are. Unfortunately I find that as black pleople, we tend to judge each other harshly on several issues. One of the problems I have to deal with is I get judged for the way I speak. I am African but went to a British school as a child. There are so many times I’ve been told,”You are so white” or “You sound so white”. I think we need to learn to embrace each other as we are. The only way inter-racial relations can improve if black people judge each other a lot less.
At Sheal, thank you for the little insight into the South African background. I also felt it an insult that Charlize Theron is looked on as one of the many faces of Africa. She is as European as her name.
This is a topic on which many Black folk need to educate themselves on. It’s so embaressing to hear how ignorant we are of one another. I don’t get the ‘Regular Black’ comment either, why aren’t other people of African descent considered regular? When i think about it that word i would associate with plain. We as a people stand out among others we are anyting but ‘Regular’. Also, none of us have originated from America, the Caribbean or any other place you may find us living today alien to the African Continent.
Africa is the most genetically diverse continent. Any facial feature you can think of is also found in Africa. I wish people would expand their minds and do some book learning (just google it).
Great article!
@MissyD: I can relate to your story. I’m also from Charleston, SC; when I moved to GA and NC everyone also asked me if I was African because of my features. As a matter of fact, I met the writer of this article because people thought we were the same person.
Some of the comments here are shocking in their ignorance so let’s discuss Charlize Theron, why not.
She is as ‘African’ in race & culture, which is what this discussion is referring to, as George Bush is native American, which is zilch.
Afrikaans is the name that the dutch imigrants to South Africa in the 18/19th century called their native European dutch dialect. Why change the name of their language? As an insult and gesture of contempt for the black natives. In calling their european language Africaans they were stating that Africa belongs to them and not to ‘the blacks’. That was the dream of white supremecists in Africa, of a day when to belong to mother Africa means to be white not black.
And if they had had their way black African people would have been almost completely wiped out just like the native American Indians.
Some of the comments here are shocking in their ignorance so let’s discuss Charlize Theron, why not.
She is as ‘African’ in race & culture, which is what this discussion is referring to, as George Bush is native American, which is zilch.
Afrikaans is the name that the dutch imigrants to South Africa in the 18/19th century called their native European dutch dialect. Why change the name of their language? As an insult and gesture of contempt for the black natives. In calling their european language Africaans they were stating that Africa belongs to them and not to ‘the blacks’. That was the dream of white supremecists in Africa, of a day when to belong to mother Africa means to be white not black.
And if they had had their way black African people would have been wiped out just like the native American Indians.
Wake up people!!!!!
i could’ve written this piece…story of my life! “you don’t look African.” my own people want to throw me out of the club!
honestly, the best thing to do is to turn it around and ask them, “well what exactly does an African look like, darling?”
it shuts them up every time.
One foot in, one foot out…
@SiaNyorkor_NJ
what people really need to understand is that human life originated in africa and every phenotype and genotype is simply a mutation or evolution of the darkest skin and eyes and highest textured hair based on where subsequent generation migrated to and settled. dark skin and kinky coarse hair is a trait designed to protect people from the hot sun…so as early humans migrated away from africa and the equator…they evolved to not produce as much melanin (skin hair and eyes) and their hair became less textured because the climate was not as hot and humid. This is why we see that early Europeans had blonde silky fine hair and blue eyes because they were not exposed to the sun as much therefore they didnt not need to produce as much melanin to protect from the UV rays and heat. its ironic that those features are considered the “most beautifull” (not by me but in general) because in actually they suffer more often from sun damage and in turn skin cancer.
If I had a dime for anytime I’ve heard that “But you don’t look African” comment. I am of Ghanaian descent and many people wouldn’t know unless I told them my name. They would ask where my name originates from and then sparks the dialogue. Mostly other Africans know that I am African without having to ask. They would look at my last name or my features and automatically know exactly where I’m from. I have the full lips, wide nose, dark skin, high cheekbones and big butt, but I still get that perplexing question, “You’re African??? Really?” It’s crazy to me.
MissyD, Ayanna and mek summed up so much for me. I just want to say that I’m enjoying reading these comments and I’m learning a lot from the various experiences. Thanks BGLH and Geraldine for putting this out there.
Do any Africans get grilled by other Africans abou tnot “looking” or “being African”? I get that A LOT. I’m at a point now where I have to fake a “Ghanaian accent” around Africans just to avoid being questioned about MY being from Ghana.
Oh, and not Ethiopian but I get tired of hearing people try to put them all in the same box in terms of features, etc. as well. I’ve heard people insist that they all have the same hair and skin tone and make silly comments about that. So I’ve heard people told that they were too dark or their hair was the wrong texture to “really” be Ethiopian or Eritrean…
Well, just to chime in, it goes both ways. Recently in grad school I heard an African classmate on many occasions refer to some of the lighter-skinned girls with long hair as being mixed(they are definitely not). She saw a picture of my mother and said the same thing(again she is not, and the picture shows my whole family, including me and my sister, also with long hair). I overheard her and another African girl (each from different countries) discussing my (rather long) hair. I think that to her, seeing my mother’s picture cleared it all up. They were asking me questions about “What kind of hair I had” when it wasn’t straightened (I’m dark-skinned so I guess I disrupted their theories). I wasn’t supposed to have long hair b/c I was dark, the light girls had long hair because they were mixed. They didn’t learn that from any of us, it’s what they really believed.
We’re such a hodgepodge…different ethnicities, different racial mixes (and let’s not ignore the influx of people from the Arab world into parts of Eastern Africa…it’s what spread Islam across the continent and into Spain after all). And Tutsis were favored by the Belgians for their “straighter” “European” features, and the resentment from that lasted well over a century and into the genocide in the early 90’s.
I just get tired of people acting like the ignorance only comes from Black Americans. We all make silly assumptions about each other.
I forget where I read this, but: There is more DNA diversity in the African continent alone than in the other six continents COMBINED. Regardless of where you fall on the evolution-creationism scale, if you think about it, this makes a lot of sense.
I am dark-skinned with Afro-textured hair, full lips, and a full butt that’s starting to droop with age. 🙂 I also have high cheekbones and a straight nose, which people have claimed as evidence of my non-African ancestry. I tell them, “Maybe so…and maybe not.”
I never got the “Are you African?” comments until I went natural, and then it would be from other Africans who would tell me I looked like their little sister back home. I lived in Chicago for many years and sometimes black Chicagoans would ask me if I was from Africa because they said I had an accent. Um, no…it’s called standard English. (No offense…but that used to piss me off though.)
I do find CollegeChick’s comments very interesting…and I’ve witnessed that same thought process as well working in a university. Even though I’m staff, I do sometimes think I’m treated differently because I “look African.”
The media does influence but how shallow would we all be if we allowed the media to be our ultimate source of information. I too am Zimbabwean (located in the southern region of Africa) and have experienced many interesting situations… the surprising thing is that it mostly comes from other black people. I hope for the day when we could all embrace each other in truth and not ignorance.
I’m Ethiopian and I can soooo relate to this. I always get that “Oh but you don’t look African” type of comment. Some people need to understand that Africans are extremely diverse, they can be lightskinned, chocolate, short, tall..it dont matter!
You took the words right out of my mouth.
I live a Kenyan living in Sweden and someone once told my fiance that I have european features and don’t look African at look.
It blows my mind how some people love to dwell in their ignorance!!
“Oh wow! You’re African??”
“I thought you were just ‘regular’ black”.
smh @ “regular black”- LOL! if that’s not ignorant I don’t know what is- some people just don’t realise how ethnically diverse Africa is.
Whats ironic about Alek representing Sudan is that you can tell that she is from the South. Liya on the other hand could pass for a Sudanese but from the North.
DBCO
That must have been a very embarrassing experience. Its happened to me before. Especially when you are wearing a head wrap. It is very insulting and crude.
@CollegeChick
I think you might find this article interesting.
http://www.dailyprincetonian.com/2007/03/07/17622/
I’m Jamaican (born and raised for a few years) and I’ve heard the “You look African thing too” but because I grew up with relatively few negative opinions on Africa (somehow… or maybe I just ignored them?) I was always confused/took it as a compliment. Two incidences stick out the most to me:
1. I was walking through NYC when a black women stops me with my friends, stares at my fro and then looks me in the eye and asks me what part of Africa I’m from. I just stare back, a bit shocked at the random question and respond that I’m Jamaican. She turns to her friend as if expecting something and just walks away. It was very odd and my friends found it amusing, though we were all confused about she would have done if I had said I was.
2. A very light skinned black guy stops me in a line at Mickey D’s and asks me where I’m from and since I thought he was a creeper, I refuse to answer until he says Africa? I shake my head no and he says You’re American? I shake my head yes just so he’ll leave me alone and he gives me an odd and strangely disappointed look and replies “It’s odd, you *really* don’t look American” before walking away.
I find when people gauge that question with me, it’s either because of my hair (and what I guess they think Africans look like?), the way I dress isn’t really typically American (?It’s more bohemian) and with guys who ask (rare to begin with) I find when I say I’m not, they seem sad. Maybe African girls are a hot commodity? lol
Still not sure exactly what makes people ask but I’ve always liked the way my face looked, so I take it as a compliment to be honest.
Great piece! I really can’t stand the fact that the people still don’t realize that Africa in itself is not one entity–it is made up of different countries, cultures, customs, looks etc. Even within one country, you will find hundreds of ethnic groups. But even more so, I hate that even to this day there is a negative association with Africa.
Well-written post and interesting comments. My experiences with “looking African” have been quite different though. Where I’ve lived, it is viewed better to be/”look” African than “regular black,” because to be African from Africa is to be exotic, and exotic is good, plus there are positive connotations associated with the mentality of Africans as opposed to African-Americans, who are stereotyped as stupid and lazy. This is frustrating for a whole load of reasons, one of which being that it shows how fragmented and complex African identity is among African-descended groups and non-Africans alike.
I am American with no recent familial ties to any continental African cultures. I was raised in a pretty diverse community with a lot of immigrants who’ve excelled in the US, while most of the blacks are still pretty bad off. I went to college in a predominantly White, small New England town and in both environments people would ask me where I was from and America was never a suitable answer for them …but being a “regular black” that’s really the only answer that I had. Both white people and black Americans tried to exotify me and when they realized what I was they seemed to be disappointed. One black girl once told me that I look exotic and I could be Ethiopian, as if there was something wrong with just being me! That is not to say “looking African” was never used as an insult to people in my community—but it was only applied to darker-skinned Africans and African-Americans.
My most hurtful experience with “looking” African was with an African student from Botswana during college. This kid asked grilled me about my ethnicity and when he found out I was as American as they get, he looked at me with disgust and proclaimed that I didn’t have an African identity whatsoever. it really pissed me off because i interpreted it as meaning that my African community is deemed non-African for whatever reason, be it phenotypic or cultural or a combination thereof. It really saddens me because even though my family is not from X country in Africa and I don’t speak Y language or know my family’s history in Africa, black Americans and blacks everywhere, from Brazil to Saudi Arabia, have had to pick up the pieces of shattered families and marginalized cultures in order to make something of their own that perhaps isn’t “100% African” because it wasn’t made in Africa, but that doesn’t mean we have gotten rid of our African identity. There has been a lot of back and forth between Africa and the rest of the world and today no culture operates without outer influences. On a happier note, my darker-skinned “regular black” friend who has phenotypes that are “more african” (full lips, wider nose) went to Morocco and she had a very positive experience as a black American. People would address her as “Mama Africa” because of her looks, and even when she told them she was black American, the Moroccans would end up telling her that they shared an identity in Africa with her. This struck me because North Africans are oftentimes painted as being ashamed of their black African ancestry, but these people, who don’t “look African” were very much aware of the fact that they ARE African to the point that they would tell someone who they thought “looked” African that they were one in the same.
I think the fact that African-descended groups show so much diversity is amazing and I hope that one day we can embrace it all. I was in Indonesia last summer where there were like no African people, and being natural many people thought I was from Papua New Guinea. But whenever I met someone from Papua or another Pacific Island and told them I was African-American, we used our phenotypic similarities as a stepping stone to navigate our vast ethnic and geographical differences, much like my friend in Morocco’s differences lead to a common ground with the people she met there. I pray that one day, us people of African descent who find ourselves spread across the world with phenotypic differences and similarities, will acknowledge the common thread of our shared, complicated history. That is not to say that there aren’t important differences between African cultures because there surely are, just as all Europeans are not all the same. But given all of the crap that we’ve had to endure, I think we need to stand together in order for any of us to be uplifted. It needs to start within us and right now there is a lot of self-hate :(.
Thanks for this post. The comments are always are a good reminder that we are sisters in a boat TOGETHER! My mother is Ghanaian and my father is black American and I have experienced both sides (too african/not african enough).
Then, of course, I went to Ghana and saw family members who ran the spectrum from black as night to almost white as snow and that showed me that “African” is so many things. This post also reminds me of Kodwo Eshun’s book “Black Gold of The Sun”. He went back to Ghana looking for his “authentic” Ghanaian experience and history and got a real shock to find Europeans (and maybe even Arabs) in his “pure” African bloodline. Everything is everything! If people don’t want to know the true, then that’s their loss!
I am West Indian and I actually get EXCITED when anyone makes a reference about the ‘African-ness’ that they might be read in me. In DC this summer, a Nigerian guy asked me if I was African and said he guessed I might be from Sierra Leone. Some years aback, again in DC, an older East African man thought I was East African. I really do have a craving to connect to my people and roots which were lost during the transatlantic journey to the Caribbean and when I hear things like these, I wonder what they are reading in me and what they might reveal about a whole unknown family tree or connections. I mean, I don’t really have a lot of answers either! And I have no money for conclusive DNA testing like the celebrities. The Nigerian guy, I actually asked to explain why he thought so. Much of it was phenotype and body type. (He was also trying to holla but whatev) Whatever the case, for me personally, I love it. It doesn’t happen a whole lot but when it does, I perk up some more–smile and think wonderful thoughts about who my people might be.
igbo kwenu! as i’m getting older, more and more people are telling me i “look african”, probably because i’m natural now, but it makes me happy. I am 100% Nigerian (raised in the States) but i never used to look especially Nigerian. the fact that now people are recognizing my features as African brings me lots of joy.
Greetings Everyone!
Thank you all for commenting on the article the way you have. I’ve dealt with aspects of this issue my entire life, and I knew that there were other people who would probably identify very closely to it. The BGLH readership is so intelligent and sharp, so I was eagerly waiting to read all of your thoughts.
@DBCO and DaliSalvadorAde: You both concretely illustrate the point of the article.
@serenissima: Initially, I actually was going to include Charlize, but I felt that her case was a pandora’s box, and perhaps, needed its own article.
@HR Professional: I appreciate your comment. The article wasn’t stating that there was anything wrong with having “stereotypical features”, instead, it was discussing the necessary inclusion of other people who might not look this way, but who still identify as Black or African.
Again, I really appreciate BGLH, for the opportunity, and the readers for all their insightful comments.
Igbo Kwenu!
Africa Kwenu!
Uwa n’ile Kwezonu!!
Sorry, couldn’t ignore this:
“If we step outside of Nigeria, Alex Wek and Liya Kebede are both from East Africa.”
This happens to me all the time. It’s like a chapter out of the story of my life, but I deal with it. I don’t have a problem with people assuming that I don’t look African because I understand their predetermined notions of what an African looks like and where they come from. I can’t fault that. What I don’t like is when people refuse to believe me and try to tell me what I am supposed to be. “You’re too light to be African”. Both my parents a Nigerian (Igbo). Just accept me as I am.
@serenissima …well to be clear, sure Charlize Theron is African in the realm of nationality, maybe even under the umbrella of ethnicity (although, knowing many South Africans white and black, they make a big distinction between black africans and british, afrikaans, etc.) And as an aside, Afrikaans is 95% dutch (read dutch)…let’s not be confused. I just think it’s silly to bring her up in the context of this article. There are races in this world…namely African, European and Asian. Each has many varieties. To say Charlize Theron is an African variety is ridiculous.
Thanks for the article, I even understand where you are coming from, however all the things you list as being stereotypically African, happen to be things most Black people (American and continental)are ashamed of having.
There is nothing wrong with being perceived as stereotypically Black. If Black people were considered beautiful or our features were referred to as classic or refined we would take pride in them.
Sorry, I am not downing your article or even saying that people are not wrong for ignorantly assuming, but I really find nothing wrong with having the majority of the features some rail against. It is actually a reason to say I am a part of a larger group. A group that looks somewhat like me.
This post was well written, I especially agree with your statement in some situations:
“Whenever the African phenotype is mentioned, the stock image is usually the stereotypically flat description of dark skin, full lips and backsides, wide noses, and highly textured hair. To delve into the misconception even further, let’s lay out all the cards and attach “poor”, “dirty”, “backwards” and “starving” to the description.”
I am 1/2 Ethiopian and 1/2 Kenyan and before I went to College and people ( really just Black people)made those same assumptions about me because I was African. But once I entered College being African was a totally different thing those misconceptions disappeared and other’s arised I got ” highly intelligent”, “hard-working”, “more civilized” and “a more serious student”. I had several professors tell me to my face ” I figured you were African because you are so smart” or “Oh you are Ethiopian and Kenyan, that explains why you do so well in my course” and these weren’t any African studies course. In College, professors and even some students seemto think the fact that I am African I am academically superior to “regular” blacks which I know is full of shit lol.
Being that I live in Harlem,NYC which seems like the mecca of all brown immigrants, I do understand why people say “regular black”, but I think its rude! Being called Black in America (at least here) means you’re not an immigrant or decendent of, english is your first and only language unless taught by school, and you don’t have any other blood relatives that originated from other countries. (I’m not talking about a cousin or uncle that married a Jamaican and moved to Jamaica. lol) I mean all your family originates from America. I take pride in being Black because I know there’s not one single race like it! BTW- Black American history is written in the Bible if anyone is interested. But before you go searching you must dismiss the notion as if man knows the beginning of time and be very intelligent. There is so much to say about this topic but I leave with this “read, read, and read! I hate conspiracy theory type notions but if you read the Bible like a history book instead of a book of religion, you’ll know a lot more about “Blacks aka Hebrews, Isrealites, and Gentiles” over anything else! You don’t have to agree, just food for those who eat!
” Countless numbers of people thought they were complimenting me with reassurances that I didn’t “look African” i couldn’t agree anymore. I don’t know why people think that saying that is a compliment.
I’m congolese girl living in the UK but most people tend to tell me ”oh u don’t look African” or ”u look Jamaican or carribean” and the best one is ”oh u r too light skin u can’t be 100% African tell he truth” and I had a bajan/guyanese classmate who used to nag me for 3yrs to tell him what am mixed with bcs i couldn’t possibly be pure bred African i don’t look it. And then when he found out i was a 1/4 something else he was like ” i knew u couldn’t be 100% African it’s impossible Africans are mostly dark-skinned with big butts, lips and LOUD” can u imagine my shock at that comment. Africa is very diverse when i look at myself, my cousins, my Nigerian friends and my algerians friends we’re all called Africans but so different in everything. I wish people will learn more about Africa other than what the media portrays. Great article
It angers me when anyone makes a distinction between African and black people. There is no difference! You are an African-American — a person of African descent whose family has settled in North America. The use of the words “black” (Negro), “white” (Caucasian), “yellow”(Asian) and “red” (Native American) stems from an ignorant system of human classification created by ignorant European individuals. Stop calling yourselves black. That term was used for the sole purpose of creating inferiority in comparison to Europeans. Black is always deemed scary, dangerous and untrustworthy (Children are always afraid of the dark, right? People are warned not to go outside when it’s too late, right?) We as African Americans must stop categorizing ourselves with words that have such a hateful and degrading meaning. You are, unknowingly, perpetuating the cycle of self-hatred amongst our African-American community. Stop it!
+1
*first
@ RB: why isnt charlize theron African? Her frist language is Afrikaan and she lived in South Africa until she was 16… I actually think she’s the PERFECT example of why this whole ‘looking African’ thing is an ignorant mess…
Great write-up. As an Igbo woman born and raised in the states, I’ve been the recipient of all sorts of comments that indicate that I am different, “the other.” As a secure adult, I take pride in how my heritage in all the ways in which it manifests itself, both physically and culturally, regardless of the ignorance i might encounter. In furtherance of this theme, is the must see TED talk of the Nigerian author Chimamanda Adichie who discusses the “danger of a single story,” specifically in what it means to be an African.
I have gotten these kinds of “you must be African” statements all of my life because I have full features and wear my hair in its natural state. The funniest/saddest incident that happened to me based on other people’s ignorance was at a music festival in Atlanta a few years back. Some “Afrocentric” dude saw me sitting with three other sistas and started doing some weird bowing and scraping with fist pumps, Egyptian hieroglyphic-like movements to me b/c I suppose he needed to acknowledge me as the “African Queen” because I am dark-skinned with Afro-textured hair and the other sistas did not share these features. The irony of his behavior was that two of my friends were Zulu women from South Africa but because they were lighter in hue than me, he did not even acknowledge their “Africaness.”
Thanks for such a timely and spot-on piece.
Yes! this article hit it right on the tip of the nose! Growing up people always said to me oh..u dont look african u look like a regular balck girl. Until they heard my last name then they would start to ask questions.But now as i get older people are always asking me what my nationality is..
Yes! To everything! I usually feel especially disheartened when black people (from across the diaspora) hold this exoticised, imperialist view of Africa. I remember when I first moved to the UK, a popular insult among the black school kids was ‘you african!’ (cue my confused face).
Great article and I agree with the conclusion. I do want to play the devil’s advocate though.
I think that when you adapt to a foreign country (I am Kenyan living in UK for ages!), you essentially become part of the community. I have never not once been handed an immigration form when entering UK from another country. The hostesses always say to me that the forms are not required for British citizens. Do I regard this as a negative? Actually no this is a sign of a progressive nation where skin colour, facial features and hair are not determinants of nationality. I think the fact is my accent sounds British so they assume me to be.
In Kenya most people actually identify me as American because I am apparently ‘too confident’……..so what is that about?
In short I think that we don’t always have to judge people’s misjudgements as negative. I take great pride in telling people that I from Kenya and it is always a great conversation starter.
Great article!
So very true. Africa i one of the most diverse continents ever and we are not all born from the same ‘Mama Africa’. Even being Igbo and living in the UK, I get similar comments.
Got a similar comment from an annoying aquaintance, and I said ‘of course I look African! My parents and grand parents are African dumbass!’ What the hell am I supposed to look like, Chinese???
I guess I offended them but they need to think before they talk. I guess they meant it in a derogatory way. I am proud of my full lips, big nose, thick hair and thick hips. It is who I am and I am very proud of my ancestry.
The funny thing is that one usually hears these ignorant comments ONLY/MOSTLY from other ‘black’ people. Will peoples pereptions and ideas ever change?
What’s more, I must COMPLETELY agree with what you mentioned about how the media conditions our minds to percieve a certain group of people. The woman who I consider my adopted sister is from Ethiopia, and she looks nothing like the “stereotypical” Ethiopian woman (tall, thin, big and curly hair, thin nose, thin lips), and she finds it frustrating when people don’t believe her when she tells them that is where she is from. Such a shame. We are all such beautiful women but our minds have been distorted to think otherwise.
” Countless numbers of people thought they were complimenting me with reassurances that I didn’t “look African”.”
Yep !
Great article! I too am Nigerian (Yoruba), and when I was younger I found myself struggling with the “african” in me as well. Your article summarized well the stereotypes Africans have to deal with; stereotypes that pay no regard to the wide diversity that is seen on our beautiful continent. Interestingly though, I have had somewhat of an opposite experience than you. Whenever I meet someone, they automatically assume that I am “African”, I have never been told that I look like Black American. I believe that it was a mix of my demeanor and how I dressed that lead people to this conclusion, but when I was younger I would be jealous that I wasn’t like the “other black kids”. Now, however, I love my high cheek bones, well-shaped lips, kinky hair, and regal brown skin and I see it as a worthy testament to my people. And of recent, some have told me they love the fact that I look “African” and not like everyone else. So, I guess it could be both a good and a bad thing, its just that for either party, generalizations do not end too well in the long run.
Its not until you leave your home that you realize how different you are. I’m from Charleston, S.C. my people are called the Gullah/Geechee and it wasn’t until I left S.C. that I realized that not all Black people looked like me. From the moment I arrived in N.C. EVERYONE asked me “why do you look so African?” I didn’t understand what that meant until I was in college. I didn’t understand why people asked me that as if it were a bad thing. I would stare in the mirror, study faces of my realitives, and study the faces of pictures of my family and wonder why other people didn’t look more like us.
Part of the reason why I went natural was to look “More African”. I wanted to be an Exotic Beauty. I didn’t want to be like the Black girls I went to school with who told people that they were part Cherokee and that they didn’t want to be in the sun so not to get more Black. I joined the African Students Organization in my college and learned that there are many beauties out of Africa, all over the world, that come in all shapes.
Okay, A Simple Thing, that was the best satire I’ve read in quite some time. All I could do was laugh on the inside while shaking my head. Thanks for that link; I’ll have to look at that site more often.
STORY OF MY LIFE! Great job on this article.
this igbo gal living in the states agrees 100%
Although I agree with so much that has been said thus far
@Vonnie, I believe characterizing Charlize Theron as an African in this context is a bit of a conflation. A Chinese-Jamaican IS Jamaican. That doesn’t make him or her African or European. He or she is still racially Asian. I think the author was trying to say that “African” is often pigeonholed to “one” look…The Congo if you will. I have often heard West Africans described as dark-skinned with flat noses, etc. Many Igbo, Fulani would be such a confusion to people who buy into such characterizations. And vise versa…many Sudanese, Somali, Kenyans, Ethiopians are quite dark skinned. These silly notions keep Ancient Egypt out of Africa….the age old debate…just idiocy.
It’s odd, I am black American and my father(I realize out of love)praised me for being dark-skinned, since most of my family members are lighter and taught me that being “black”(African descent) is beautiful. So, whenever I thought of Africa, I used to think of shaved bald or braided beauties with full cheeks(although this is a stereotype too). It’s all about perception and what we are all taught.
Ugh, this is SO true. The amount of times I’ve had to correct people on talking about Africa like it’s a country…like it doesn’t have a diverse range of people. I though Binyavanga Wainaina’s article “How to Write about Africa” is a brilliant satirical piece on this topic. You can find it here: http://www.granta.com/Magazine/92/How-to-Write-about-Africa/Page-1
I’m appreciated reading this because I’ve recognized this for a while. The older I get the more I appreciate the diversity of the African continent. Some people don’t realize Africa is a continent, so there’s a long way to go in changing the minds of many.
I suppose I fall in the “regular black” category (whatever that is). I cannot definitively trace my heritage directly to one particular tribe or culture on the African continent. However, I also abhor the lack of distinction given black Americans in that we are often lumped together and not recognized as individuals. I’d go as far to say that there are differences among us depending on what part of the U.S. we’re from.
“Whenever the African phenotype is mentioned, the stock image is usually the stereotypically flat description of dark skin, full lips and backsides, wide noses, and highly textured hair. To delve into the misconception even further, let’s lay out all the cards and attach “poor”, “dirty”, “backwards” and “starving” to the description.”
Funny…that same description is applied to black Americans too. I point this out not to minimize/generalize what you said, but rather b/c I’ve been labeled the same way. I feel like, in the end, people need to understand that not everyone is alike. But I guess that’s wishful thinking. Thanks again for the article.
This is so true. I’m 1/2 Ghanian and 1/2 Swazi (Swaziland is in southern Africa) and people are always telling me I do not look African. But if anyone knows the features that are associated with various African countries you can dissect my body and tell which part came from which parent and African region.
Thank you for this post! It always disturbs me when someone implies “looking African” as a negative thing. I’m sure if I said “oh you look European” to one of my weaved up and/or relaxed relatives they would not be offended at all! SMDH.
I had a man stop me a few months ago and said are you African I said no he said what are you then? I said Philadelphian…I had to LOL because I was serious (what does Philadelphian look like!).
So many countries in Africa with so much variety it is something how my look would be defined as what Africa looks like but not Liya.
LOL, I find this post to be so ironic b/c I can relate.
My mom is from Trinidad and my dad (RIP) is from Grenada. My family originated from Montserrat. My father was mixed black and Asian. I was born in Brooklyn, NY. I have had people come up to me and ask what country I’m from b/c I look foreign. The classic one I get all the time “But you don’t look American! Where your parents from?” Given the history of the United States, please tell me what is an “American” supposed to look like?????
WELL WRITTEN!!!
im 1/2 nigerian and when i was transitioning i told my cousin that i was gonna cut all my hair off and she was like “oh you really gon look like a african now”…i laughed it off, but in my mind i was side-eying the mess out of her.
yeah i’ve had people think i was “regular black” WHATEVER THAT MEANS! lol
African is as descriptive as saying European. NOT VERY! From British to Russian?!?! totally different people. Kenyan (me) to TUNISIAN? lol different people!
i have blood relatives that look COMPLETELY different than me! Darker, lighter, tight coily hair, loose curls, and we’re all related and “african”.
*sigh*
great post!
Well-stated. This post forces all of us to think beyond the proverbial box. I would hazard it to say that even many Black Americans possess a stereotypical image of what African is.
Well said.
so much cosign! Iman, Alek Wek, Liya, Charlize Theron are all from Africa, do they look the same? No? People are astoundingly willfully ignorant and AIM to stay that way it seems. I’m packing now to move to a box in the middle of nowhere so I can escape the idiocy.
http://socialitedreams.wordpress.com
“I thought you were just ‘regular’ black”…i got this all the time in middle/high school…and my 1st & last names are very igbo…
and when i went natural ppl (and evn other naijas) accused me of having a curly perm/texturizer/jheri curl or being “mixed” just b/c my curl pattern was looser than what they thought a nigerian’s should be…smh