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Ethnicity v. Race
While perusing the thread "Educators Shed Light on Northern Slavery", I was led to a link of the definition of Mulatto by Wikipedia. At the bottom of that page they listed famous "mulatto" people including Halle Berry, Shemar Moore and Bob Marley. What I found interesting is that they listed their ethnic make up, not their racial make up [Alesha Dixon, (1/2 Jamaican - 1/2 English) British Singer/Dancer].
Now I've gotten into a number of discussions with people about this very thing. Jamaican does not automatically mean black, one of Bob Marley's baby momma's was a white Jamaican. Some folks get annoyed or upset when I say that I'm not African American. They see this as me denouncing my race or something to that effect. I am doing no such thing, I am a very very proud black woman. However for me, African American is an ethnicity with its own culture, while it is a very rich and vibrant culture, it is not the culture that I was raised in. I am West Indian, 100%. We eat different foods, enjoy different music and speak differently. While we share similarities due to the institution of slavery, we also possess a number of differences that makes our specific cultures unique (and no less great). I wanted to see other people's thoughts on this.
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