AFRICANS IN AMERICA " IDENTITY CRISIS " Written by : Shawn Raleigh
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It can be said that our biggest issue in the African American community is an " IDENTITY CRISIS !" And it all began the very moment we were |
rounded up to be shipped to a foreign land forcibly and stripped of our " IDENTITY ". Any attempt to maintain even a small piece of who we were resulted in harsh beatings and cruel punishments . Eventually we found ourselves in a submissive state , giving into whatever and whoever they said we were . WE WERE BROKEN !
Let ' s take a look at other immigrants that are in North America , who actually came by choice and not by force . THERE ' S A DIFFERENCE ! When you are choosing to leave a place of residency you have the choice to bring along anything that ' s yours . But when you are made to leave with force , you leave with nothing but memories . And even they fade away ! However referring back to the other groups , they all were able to bring with them their identity . Which is vital to survival as a people .
One of the hardest things for African Americans to embrace is the fact that all other immigrants have been able to
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capitalize economically at the expense of African American ' s . We go to one group of immigrants for our gas . Another for our beauty products . Another for our tires . We even go to others for approval or acceptance . This is not to come against other immigrant group but to show the difference in being able to maintain your " IDENTITY " in foreign lands . Each one of these groups were able to come here and utilize skills acquired in their homeland . They systematically position themselves to give their " IDENTITY " longevity by having the opportunity available for those coming behind them to come along for the ride . This is how they solidify themselves .
Look at how the " IDEN- TITY " of African Americans ( called today ) have changed over the years . Started as Africans , then slaves , then blacks or coloreds to African Americans . There is deep psychological confusion in this misadventure . As a result we have been scrambling around for hundreds of years
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trying to find " OUR " place in this world . And the confusion of it is obvious . So obvious until in many cases we have become our own worst enemy . The confusion runs so deep that African Americans are aware of this but have become so bogged down by it until Its just easier to only be concerned with individuality rather than the " IDENTITY " of who we truly are as a people .
To sum things up the question must be raised who , what , when , where and how will the process began in finding " OUR IDENTITY " as not former slaves , colored or black , or African Americans in America , But rather as AFRICANS IN AMER- ICA ? I have come to the conclusion that a great starting point would be to build our " IDENTI- TY " from a term that best fits it . It is quite clear and obvious that we are from AFRICA residing in AMERICA . The closest I could come to identifying " OUR IDENTITY " would be to say that we are AFRICANS IN AMERI- CA !
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