I can see the point about xenophobia, but I don’t think Black Americans descendant from US chattel slavery getting recognized for our unique history in this country is a bad thing. I think that gets mixed up in people’s problematic views about people from other countries though. https://twitter.com/sarah_ogun/status/1340075785433038856

There’s nothing wrong with saying that my experience as a Black American and the legacy that I come from is different from that of an immigrant or descendant of an immigrant. Saying that doesn’t erase colonialism or slavery in other countries, it just looks at the US context.

I’ve actually been in a few CH rooms run by African immigrants/first gen Americans about this topic, and even they (those in this room) acknowledge this history and understand the need for Black Americans to be represented in a specific way.

This doesn’t take away from other struggles. It’s nothing wrong with saying that Black Americans descendant from American slavery deserve reparations. That’s a historical fact. And if we did get reparations, there’s a good chance people in other countries would as well.

When we think about the civil rights movement in the US, that directly inspired similar movements in different African and Caribbean countries. There’s a deep history of collaboration across the diaspora that can’t be ignored or forgotten in this country.

We can’t forget that it’s Black Americans that helped advocate for Black people from across the diaspora to be allowed to immigrate the the US either. Are struggles are intertwined, but they’re not the same. Saying this shouldn’t be a problem. The problem comes with xenophobia.

And I can agree that a lot of people who rep ADOS and FBA are xenophobic. That’s why I don’t personally identify as a member of the movement, even while agreeing that Black Americans descendant from slavery should have specific categorical reference.

Another point to remember is that Black Americans are often thought of as not having a culture or being lost or being lazy by other members of the diaspora. I think the movement also tries to push against that.

By having a specific recognition for our specific struggle in this country, there will be no choice but for folks across the world to realize those stereotypes are not true. We do have a culture. We’ve been here for 400+ years, that’s longer than Nigeria has existed as Nigeria.

Meaning Nigeria as a colonizer state by the Europeans. Let’s not forget that majority of Africa has been colonized, so it’s not like y’all are completely removed from having your history and legacy stripped from you. This isn’t just a Black American problem.

Everyone across the diaspora has been impacted by white supremacy and colonization. No one is exempt from that reality. Yes Black Americans can be xenophobic, but a lot of y’all across the diaspora don’t think too positive about Black Americans either. Let’s call a spade a spade.

And to be clear, I don’t think Blackness is just reserved for Black Americans. I personally use Black American as my ethnic identifier because I don’t like African-American. That name has never made sense to me. You can be Black in America and not be Black American.

Black Americans have a different history w/ ethnicity because most people’s ethnicity is tied to their nationality. For ex, a Nigerian Americans ethnicity would be Nigerian American while their nationality is American. Black Americans don’t have a specific landmass that’s ours.

We use Black or African American or Black American. That doesn’t erase anyone else’s Blackness, it just shows how complicated out history is here. Me saying Black American is me saying that I’m a descendant of American chattel slavery and my culture and history is tied to that.

Other people have a privilege in having their ethnicity be tied to a specific landmass, even if that land was/is colonized. Jamaicans, Haitians, Ghanaians, Nigerians, etc. Black Americans don’t have that. We have America, but we’re still colonized in this land.