Sen. Kerry's Wife Claims She Is An African American

I don' t know if this was posted on here (couldnt find it anywhere), but I thought this article from BET was interesting. What are your opinions? Most of the opinions was that she said nothing wrong, But do you think most may question this and could it affect the black vote? And what about the GOP?

First Sister?

Posted August 13, 2004 – The GOP is beginning to play the race card.

In a bold move to attract African American voters in key battleground states, a group of Republicans calling itself People of Color United, has begun running radio ads on Black stations in Cleveland, Philadelphia, Milwaukee, St. Louis, Mo., and other urban areas with large minority populations.:: AD ::

The focus of some of these ads: Democratic presidential nominee Sen. John Kerry’s wife, Teresa Heinz Kerry. In one ad, the announcer says “his wife says she’s an African American. While technically true, I don’t believe a White woman, raised in Africa surrounded by servants, qualifies.”

According to news reports, in the 1990s, Heinz Kerry described herself as an African American. But William Marshall, Jr., director of African American media affairs at the Democratic National Committee, says that Heinz Kerry has not described herself as an African American in recent times.

But the issue does come up on the campaign trail. He said that at the recent Democratic Party convention, “a number of female delegates began shouting ‘an African American woman in the White House, an African American woman in the White House.’ That happens a lot whenever she encounters large groups of African American women. Out of love and respect for her, they address her that way.”

Heinz Kerry was born in Mozambique, in south-eastern Africa, to Portuguese parents, and at the convention she affirmed her African roots.

People United, based in Washington, D.C., is the latest in a number of nonprofit groups that is taking out ads to influence the outcome of the upcoming Nov. 2 elections. The group shelled out $70,000 for the air time on the Black stations, and one of its backers, J. Patrick Rooney is the former chairman of Golden Rule Insurance, Co.

Rooney, who is white, told The Washington Post in an e-mail, “I support [the] group because the genuine word for the Black community should be heard, not white folks saying for them.”

In her adult life, Heinz Kerry has become a powerful woman, who like many African American women, is known to speak her mind. She is the head of the $1.2 billion Heinz Foundation., which funds programs in the environment, urban revitalization, the arts and education. Her personal fortune is estimated to exceed $1 billion.

Are you offended that Heinz Kerry is being described as an African American, and by the GOP ads that tell Blacks who qualifies to be African American?

[CrimsonTide4]

Wow. I'm going to have to come back and read this fully and process it more.


Thank you, UM Girl, for sharing this.

[allsmiles_22]

It's obvious from her skin tone that she didn't mean AA it in that way. So I don't really see what the big deal is. The reason why some black people don't refer to themselves as African American is the same reason why she feels she's African American. I wasn't born in the Caribbean, but was raised in the culture. I refer to myself as Caribbean American.

Overall, I'm not offended. I think I'm more offended by the Republican group-People of Color United- using her statement as a way to get black people upset, not vote for Kerry and/or switch sides. I need them to do better and not insult our intelligence.

[CrimsonTide4]

Heinz Kerry was born in Mozambique, in south-eastern Africa, to Portuguese parents, and at the convention she affirmed her African roots.


So she is a Portuguese woman born in Africa? Okay.

Ditto with AllSmiles' last paragraph.

[ladygreek]

Originally posted by CrimsonTide4
[i]
Ditto with AllSmiles' last paragraph.

Ditto. ditto

[Paradise359]

That article makes me laugh & insults me. It makes Black Americans seem stupid & simple. African-American does not automatically make you black. As a matter of fact the term can only be used to describe a person of African(nationality) descent who now has ties with America. To further clarify. I can not be called African-American although I am black. This is because I am not American. Too often this term is used in the place of Black, where Black is pretty much the term for people of Black African descent despite their present nationality. African-American is only applicable if you are also American(nationality).

All this to say that Mrs. Kerry being African-American is not an opinion. It is fact. She was born in Africa...she is African. She now lives in America & I think is a citizen. Therefore she is an African-American. Only someone who does not understand the concept that Black & African-American does not mean the same thing anywhere else but the States, would have a problem with her statement.

To think that she means it as being black is to be simple.

[Sistermadly]

She was born in Africa (Mozambique), so technically she's from the continent. She became an American citizen, so she's American.

Sounds simple enough to me.

Does anyone remember the skit with Charlize Theron (South African) and Tracy Morgan on SNL where she claimed the same thing?

[honeychile]

Please excuse me for crashing, but this thread intrigued me enough to call my cousin, who is bi-racial. In her words, "She knows about as much about being an African-American in the United States as I know about being a billionaire!" She had more to say, but I'll leave it at that.

Technically, THK is, of course, an American born in Africa. But it surely doesn't make her what most Americans consider an African-American.

[CrimsonTide4]

Originally posted by honeychile
Please excuse me for crashing, but this thread intrigued me enough to call my cousin, who is bi-racial. In her words, "She knows about as much about being an African-American in the United States as I know about being a billionaire!" She had more to say, but I'll leave it at that.

Technically, THK is, of course, an American born in Africa. But it surely doesn't make her what most Americans consider an African-American.

It's not possible to ever crash.

I think it is comical how folks want to use her to attempt to sway votes away from Democrats and to the Republicans. No thank you, I am still voting for Kerry and Edwards.

[honeychile]

Originally posted by CrimsonTide4
It's not possible to ever crash.

I think it is comical how folks want to use her to attempt to sway votes away from Democrats and to the Republicans. No thank you, I am still voting for Kerry and Edwards.

Me, trying to sway your vote? Never.

Actually, the way Monique had said it to me was so funny, I just wanted to share it.
No voting agenda intended!

[msn4med1975]

Originally posted by honeychile
Me, trying to sway your vote? Never.

Actually, the way Monique had said it to me was so funny, I just wanted to share it.
No voting agenda intended!

Could be mistaken but I don't think she was referring to your post but to the ads attempt to "rile up" African American/Black voters. Not to be rude lol but I can't imagine any INTELLIGENT voter being convinced that from ONE random statement made by Heinz Kerry means Bush is somehow better. And no where in the statement, from what I've seen, did she say she knew what it was like to be an African American just that she was one. Which by the way we define fill-in-the-blank American she is. I'll be very very glad when this election is over and we have hopefully have another Bush out of the office.

[Sistermadly]

Ditto what msn4med said. I don't get the sense that Heinz Kerry ever said that she knew/understood what it was like to be a Black person in American society. I don't think her calling herself African American is as relevant -- or the vast insult -- that folks on the right are trying to make it out to be.

[SIAsensacion]

VERY interesting thread . Personally, I think it's great that she called herself "African-American," because it challenges us to think outside the "boxes" and categories that we force people into.

A few other categories to think about:
What about Black people from Latin American countries? Most people want to look at them and automatically label them "African-American," but if you ask them, they are 100% Latino.

Or what about White people from Latin American countries or Latin American descent? Cameron Diaz, as blonde-haired and blue eyed as it gets, is of Cuban descent (1/2 Cuban on her father's side). But is she just "white"? There are plenty of people out there who look like her and are 100% Latina, but would we consider them "white" or Latina?

What about Spanish people--meaning people from SPAIN? Are they Hispanic, or European-American/White? They look "White", they are from Europe, but they speak Spanish. Are they a different "race" than Italian people just because they speak a different language?

And one category that has had me perplexed for a long time--ASIAN. When we describe someone as Asian or Asian American, we usually mean Chinese, Japenese, Korean, etc. descent, right? Do we include Indian, Sri Lankan, Pakistani people in that category? And what about RUSSIAN people? A HUGE part of Russia is in Asia. If you are Russian, from the Asian part, now living in America, does that make you Asian-American?

[BirthaBlue4]

SIA has it right. All these labels out here are just plain dumb. You end up with sitautions like this. Its not really necessary.

[INS2U]

I've had a few arguments about this on other forums. I believe the problem is that oftentimes people see race and ethnicity as synonyms...and they are not.

I believe Mrs. Kerry is correct in saying that she is African American because this is her ethinicity. Your ethnicity can be just about anything you want it to be and can include your nationality, place of citizenship, race, religion etc.