What Is Considered Black?

According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, Black is considered “of any human group having dark-colored skin especially of African or Australian Aboriginal ancestry.” There are people in the world who consider other black people not that black enough. What even is black enough? Everyone is black in there own way. There is no such thing as being a particular black. If you come from different backgrounds, then you share different interest. You cannot categorize someone as not being black because they do not share common goals as you or make stereotypes. For example, “James not black because he do not put hot sauce on his noodles!” James may think you are not black because you do put hot sauce on yours. Blackness is how you present yourself to the public. Everyone has different ways of showing and it depends on how you were raised to be. In the psychology perspective, everyone is different.

There has been controversy over if Barack Obama is black or black enough. Well he is black because he is from United States soil, Hawaii, and his dad is from Kenya which makes Barack from an African descent. Even though he has white in him, his skin is considered black and he will be treated as a black human being. People say Barack does not belong with blacks because the way he talks or acts. He brought blacks together and made them realize that anything is possible. He has “changed” the outlook on life because he made the change of becoming the first black president. No matter how he talks, he is still black. Black is not about how you talk, dress, or act. It’s about you being you and not being a part of that stereotype of being black. At the end of the day, be who you are, but do not try to perform an act to fit in the black society. So in politics, you are in a system created by whites. This system is what our world is based on today. So Barack had to get more than just blacks on his side. It is not about being black enough, it is about politics. He is doing it as a whole and not just guiding it towards just blacks. Activist will be considered black enough in the African-American world because they are guided toward blacks and getting a change for just them.

African vs. African-American

Africans are not considered black to some people in the United States. Since they are from different regions, they are considered from different ethnic groups. Black is your race and African-American is our culture. We differentiate from Africans because of the society we was raised in. Their blackness is different from ours because of their backgrounds. Diverse backgrounds bring different personalities to the table. We still have common characteristics with Africans because in a way we are related to them, but the American side is what separates us from them. African and African-Americans share the race, but different cultures. There are African -Americans who do not know about their African ancestry, but they know that deep down somewhere there is a connection with them. Some Africans believe we do not take advantage of our system that the government offers, but at times that is not what us black human beings want because we want to get it on our own and not be stuck in the stereotypes we get portrayed in. We differ from Africans in various ways, but in the end we all are still black and will be as one to others in the world.