The recent events that transpired with former child actress Raven-Symone the past day have left many in the social media realm outraged at her comments as well as polarized. Her decision to not conform to the labels of African American as well as gay left many angered and others confused. On a larger level there were many who agreed with her stance, arguing she was not casting aside her ethnic background but more so acknowledging and embracing a more inclusive identity, while others saw it as a deep betrayal. Ultimately I found myself caught in the middle of both views which led me to the overall conundrum: Are the terms we use to describe blacks useful anymore or are they antiquated and no longer applicable?
African American typically is used by people as a political correct way to refer to people who are of African descent living in America, but with the changing social climate in America there exists a permanent divide on whether or not the term is inclusive as well as useful. On one hand individuals such as Raven Symone clearly have African features but are composed of many other racial identities which reinforces her plea to not be limited by color. Color has proven to be an ineffective tool in distinguishing people as the nation and world shifts to a multi-racial face and so it makes sense that many blacks choose not to use this term.
On the other hand there exists a prevailing attitude that African American has a semblance of dignity that black alone cannot encompass and in a sense of source of racial pride and identity which still has its place. Unfortunately America is far from the post racial society it professes to be and so there are many blacks who see the label African American as strong enough to encompass the gravity of the black struggle. While there are obvious fallacies in this logic it nonetheless persists as a useful construct for many.
But what this incident and other incidents show us are that there needs to be serious dialogue on identity and labeling as well as an acceptance that no one word or label can ever define any one single group, especially one as varied as blacks. Truly this issue reinforces the confusion we have as a people in what is deemed treachery and what is deemed expression and so it would behoove us to see the overall beauty we possess and worry less on defining and categorizing this beauty. Just my thoughts.
Signed An Anomaly
Wright World 