have you ever heard that? i have. my friend kyle said that to me when i told him about my heritage. i'm cape verdean.
for those that dont know, cape verde is a group of islands off the coast of west africa. my grandma's parents were immigrants. i'm 1/4 from there, 1/2 south carolina creole and 1/4 whatever my people from rome, ga are.
but back to my story. people tend to get this, "oh, that explains it" sense of clarity when i tell them of my family history. apparently i dont look like the average black girl. africans ask me how long i've been in america. when i start speaking spanish it really throws them off.
honestly i dont know what i am racially. the islands were a major port for the slave and spice trades, as well as refuge for people run out of their home countries. think of a country. make it real obscure. yep, they were there.
so ethnic is right i guess. generally ethnic. i have my theories as to my heritage: my grandma said her grandma was a jew, so we could be spanish- they fled during the inquisition. i think i look ethiopian, but i'm the only one who does in my family.
i philosophise that since i am so racially mixed i should be accepting to all other races and cultures. i may very well be insulting myself and my people. i think that african americans- the ones born here- should be mindful of that theory because we really dont know where we came from originally. not to sound all "world peace" or anything, but it could make us better people.
did i mention my boyfriend is french? our kids will be so hot.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
5 comments:
LMAO! You think it's hard to figure out your heritage? Try mine. Did I mention I just found out I'm also Greek? It's never ending with these people LOL
i'm reading this book called sex and race. i've never been more convinced of how thoroughly mixed i am. how bout my friend from hu's father's from cape verde... she was the first person i ever knew w/cape verdean haeritage. interesting.
oh yeah.. and she posted abt "what are you?" she hates that question. its hilarious. her name's miss ashli.
Ya look black to me...lol.
But seriously. White people don't go looking for their black ancestry (and considering how many people 'passed' back in the day, we know they have it). Why do we look so hard for our non-black ancestry? (Your case excepted, b/c you have the whole immigrant thing.)
-The 1/4 English, 1/4 Irish, 1/2 Jamaican, 1/2 African American.
the funny thing is, i dont necessarily care if i had white ancestors, i just would like to know what my history is. but as one of the darkest people on my mom's side, i'm sure the portuguese had a hand in my creation. my great aunt used to pass.
Post a Comment