Changing Definition of Afro-Americans

7/23/2019 Changing Definition of Afro-Americans

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Master Course 2 Race and Ethnic IssuesBadji Mokhtar-Annaba UniversityProf Mohamed MAAA

!he Chan"in" #e$nition of African-American

%o& the "reat in'u( of )eo)*e from Africa and the Caribbeansince +,. is cha**en"in" &hat it means to be African-American

/ome years a"o0 I &as intervie&ed on )ub*ic radio about the meanin" ofthe Emanci)ation Proc*amation1 I addressed the fami*iar themes of theori"ins of that "reat document the chan"in" nature of the Civi* 3ar0 the

Union army4s "ro&in" de)endence on b*ack *abor0 the intensifyin"o))osition to s*avery in the orth and the inter)*ay of mi*itary necessityand abo*itionist idea*ism1 I reca**ed the *on"standin" debate over the ro*eof Abraham 5inco*n0 the Radica*s in Con"ress0 abo*itionists in the orth0the Union army in the $e*d and s*aves on the )*antations of the /outh inthe destruction of s*avery and in the authorshi) of *e"a* freedom1 And Istated my *on"-he*d )osition that s*aves )*ayed a critica* ro*e in securin"their o&n freedom1 !he controversy over &hat &as sometimes ca**ed6se*f-emanci)ation7 had "enerated "reat heat amon" historians0 and itsti** had *ife1

As I *eft the broadcast booth0 a knot of b*ack men and &omen8most ofthem technicians at the station8&ere ta*kin" about emanci)ation and itsmeanin"1 9nce I &as dra&n into their discussion0 I &as sur)rised to *earnthat no one in the "rou) &as descended from anyone &ho had been freedby the )roc*amation or any other Civi* 3ar measure1 !&o had been bornin %aiti0 one in :amaica0 one in Britain0 t&o in ;hana0 and one0 I be*ieve0in /oma*ia1 9thers may have been the chi*dren of immi"rants1 3hi*e theyseemed im)ressed8but not sur)rised8that s*aves had )*ayed a )art inbreakin" their o&n chains0 and &ere interested in the events that hadbrou"ht 5inco*n to his decision durin" the summer of +<20 they insisted

it had nothin" to do &ith them1 /im)*y )ut0 it &as not their history1!he conversation &ei"hed u)on me as I *eft the studio0 and it has since1Much of the co**ective consciousness of b*ack )eo)*e in main*and orth America8the be*ief of individua* men and &omen that their o&n fate &as*inked to that of the "rou)8has *on" been articu*ated throu"h a commonhistory0 indeed a )articu*ar history centuries of ens*avement0 freedom inthe course of the Civi* 3ar0 a "reat )romise made amid the )o*itica*turmoi* of Reconstruction and a "reat )romise broken0 fo**o&ed bydisfranchisement0 se"re"ation and0 $na**y0 the *on" stru""*e for e=ua*ity1

In commemoratin" this history8&hether on Martin 5uther >in" :r14sbirthday0 durin" B*ack %istory Month or as current events &arrant8

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African- Americans have ri"ht*y *aid c*aim to a uni=ue identity1 /uchce*ebrations8their memoria*i?ation of the )ast8are no di@erent fromthose attached to the ritua*s of ietnamese !et ce*ebrations or theEastern 9rthodo( ativity ast0 or the ce*ebration of the birthdays ofChristo)her Co*umbus or Casimir Pu*aski socia* identity is ever rooted in

history1 But for African-Americans0 their history has a*&ays beenes)ecia**y im)ortant because they &ere *on" denied a )ast1

And so the 6not my history7 disc*aimer by )eo)*e of African descentseemed )articu*ar*y )ointed8enou"h to com)e* me to *ook c*ose*y at ho&)revious &aves of b*ack immi"rants had addressed the connectionsbet&een the history they carried from the 9*d 3or*d and the history theyinherited in the e& 3or*d1

In +,.0 Con"ress )assed the otin" Ri"hts Act0 &hich became a critica*marker in African-American history1 ;iven o))ortunity0 b*ack Americans voted and stood for o@ice in numbers not seen since the co**a)se ofReconstruction a*most +DD years ear*ier1 !hey soon occu)ied )ositionsthat had been the e(c*usive )reserve of &hite men for more than ha*f acentury1 By the be"innin" of the 2+st century0 b*ack men and &omen hadtaken seats in the United /tates /enate and %ouse of Re)resentatives0 as&e** as in state houses and munici)a*ities throu"hout the nation1 In 2DD,0a b*ack man assumed the )residency of the United /tates1 African- American *ife had been transformed1

3ithin months of )assin" the otin" Ri"hts Act0 Con"ress )assed a ne&

immi"ration *a&0 re)*acin" the :ohnson-Reed Act of +,20 &hich hadfavored the admission of northern Euro)eans0 &ith the Immi"ration andationa*ity Act1 !he ne& *a& scra))ed the ru*e of nationa* ori"ins andenshrined a $rst-come0 $rst-served )rinci)*e that made a**o&ances for therecruitment of needed ski**s and the uni$cation of divided fami*ies1

!his &as a radica* chan"e in )o*icy0 but fe& )eo)*e e()ected it to havemuch )ractica* e@ect1 It 6is not a revo*utionary bi**07 President 5yndon :ohnson intoned1 6It does not a@ect the *ives of mi**ions1 It &i** notresha)e the structure of our dai*y *ives17But it has had a )rofound im)act on American *ife1 At the time it &as

)assed0 the forei"n-born )ro)ortion of the American )o)u*ation had fa**ento historic *o&s8about . )ercent8in *ar"e measure because of the o*dimmi"ration restrictions1 ot since the +<FDs had the forei"n-born madeu) such a tiny )ro)ortion of the American )eo)*e1 By +,.0 the United/tates &as no *on"er a nation of immi"rants1

#urin" the ne(t four decades0 forces set in motion by the Immi"rationand ationa*ity Act chan"ed that1 !he number of immi"rants enterin" theUnited /tates *e"a**y rose shar)*y0 from some F1F mi**ion in the +,Ds to1. mi**ion in the +,GDs1 #urin" the +,<Ds0 a record G1F mi**ion )eo)*e offorei"n birth came *e"a**y to the United /tates to *ive1 In the *ast third ofthe 2Dth century0 America4s *e"a**y reco"ni?ed forei"n-born )o)u*ationtri)*ed in si?e0 e=ua* to more than one American in ten1 By the be"innin"

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of the 2+st century0 the United /tates &as acce)tin" forei"n-born )eo)*eat rates hi"her than at any time since the +<.Ds1 !he number of i**e"a*immi"rants added yet more to the tota*0 as the United /tates &astransformed into an immi"rant society once a"ain1

B*ack America &as simi*ar*y transformed1 Before +,.0 b*ack )eo)*e offorei"n birth residin" in the United /tates &ere near*y invisib*e1 Accordin" to the +,D census0 their )ercenta"e of the )o)u*ation &as tothe ri"ht of the decima* )oint1 But after +,.0 men and &omen of Africandescent entered the United /tates in ever-increasin" numbers1 #urin" the+,,Ds0 some ,DD0DDD b*ack immi"rants came from the Caribbeananother DD0DDD came from Africa sti** others came from Euro)e and thePaci$c rim1 By the be"innin" of the 2+st century0 more )eo)*e had comefrom Africa to *ive in the United /tates than durin" the centuries of thes*ave trade1 At that )oint0 near*y one in ten b*ack Americans &as animmi"rant or the chi*d of an immi"rant1

African-American society has be"un to re'ect this chan"e1 In e& Hork0the Roman Catho*ic diocese has added masses in Ashanti and ante0&hi*e b*ack men and &omen from various Caribbean is*ands march in the3est Indian-American Carniva* and the #ominican #ay Parade1 InChica"o0 Cameroonians ce*ebrate their nation4s inde)endence day0 &hi*ethe #u/ab*e Museum of African American %istory hosts a i"erianestiva*1 B*ack immi"rants have joined "rou)s such as the E"be 9mo Horuba ationa* Association of Horuba #escendants in orth AmericaJ0the Association des /KnK"a*ais d4AmKri=ue and the KdKration des

Associations RK"iona*es %aLtiennes *4Ntran"er rather than the AACPor the Urban 5ea"ue1

!o many of these men and &omen0 :uneteenth ce*ebrations8thecommemoration of the end of s*avery in the United /tates8are at best anafterthou"ht1 !he ne& arriva*s fre=uent*y echo the &ords of the men and&omen I met outside the radio broadcast booth1 /ome have stru""*edover the very a))e**ation 6African-American07 either shunnin" it8dec*arin" themse*ves0 for instance0 :amaican-Americans or i"erian- Americans8or denyin" native b*ack Americans4 c*aim to it on the "roundthat most of them had never been to Africa1 At the same time0 some o*d-

time b*ack residents refuse to reco"ni?e the ne& arriva*s as true African- Americans1 6I am African and I am an American citi?en am I not African- AmericanO7 a dark-skinned0 Ethio)ian-born Abdu*a?i? >amus asked at acommunity meetin" in suburban Mary*and in 2DD1 !o his sur)rise anddismay0 the over&he*min"*y b*ack audience res)onded no1 /uch discordover the meanin" of the African-American e()erience and &ho is andisn4tJ )art of it is not ne&0 but of *ate has "ro&n more intense1 After devotin" more than FD years of my career as a historian to the studyof the American )ast0 I4ve conc*uded that African-American history mi"htbest be vie&ed as a series of "reat mi"rations0 durin" &hich immi"rants8at $rst forced and then free8transformed an a*ien )*ace into a home0becomin" dee)*y rooted in a *and that once &as forei"n0 even des)ised1 After each mi"ration0 the ne&comers created ne& understandin"s of the

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African-American e()erience and ne& de$nitions of b*ackness1 ;iven thenumbers of b*ack immi"rants arrivin" after +,.0 and the diversity oftheir ori"ins0 it shou*d be no sur)rise that the overarchin" narrative of African-American history has become a subject of contention1

!hat narrative0 enca)su*ated in the tit*e of :ohn %o)e rank*in4s c*assicte(t From Slavery to Freedom0 has been re'ected in everythin" froms)iritua*s to sermons0 from fo*k ta*es to ! docudramas1 5ike Booker !13ashin"ton4s Up from Slavery 0 A*e( %a*ey4s Roots and Martin 5uther>in" :r14s 6I %ave a #ream7 s)eech0 it rete**s the ni"htmare ofens*avement0 the e(hi*aration of emanci)ation0 the betraya* ofReconstruction0 the ordea* of disfranchisement and se"re"ation0 and the)ervasive0 omni)resent discrimination0 a*on" &ith the heroic andu*timate*y trium)hant stru""*e a"ainst second-c*ass citi?enshi)1

!his narrative retains inca*cu*ab*e va*ue1 It reminds men and &omen thata shared )ast binds them to"ether0 even &hen distance and di@erentcircumstances and e()eriences create diverse interests1 It a*so inte"ratesb*ack )eo)*e4s history into an American story of seemin"*y inevitab*e)ro"ress1 3hi*e reco"ni?in" the rea*ities of b*ack )overty and ine=ua*ity0it neverthe*ess de)icts the trajectory of b*ack *ife movin" a*on" &hat #r1>in" referred to as the 6arc of justice07 in &hich e()*oitation and coercion yie*d0 re*uctant*y but ine(orab*y0 to fairness and freedom1 Het this story has had *ess direct re*evance for b*ack immi"rants1 A*thou"h ne& arriva*s =uick*y discover the racia* ine=ua*ities of American*ife for themse*ves0 many8'eein" from )overty of the sort rare*y

e()erienced even by the )oorest of contem)orary b*ack Americans andtyranny unkno&n to even the most o))ressed8are =uick to embrace asociety that o@ers them o))ortunities unkno&n in their home*ands1 3hi*ethey have subjected themse*ves to e()*oitation by &orkin" *on" hours for*itt*e com)ensation and underconsumin" to save for the future just astheir native-born counter)arts have doneJ0 they often i"nore theconnection bet&een their o&n travai*s and those of )revious "enerationsof African-Americans1 But those travai*s are connected0 for the mi"rationsthat are current*y transformin" African-American *ife are direct*yconnected to those that have transformed b*ack *ife in the )ast1 !he trans- At*antic )assa"e to the tobacco and rice )*antations of the coasta* /outh0

the +,th-century movement to the cotton and su"ar )*antations of the/outhern interior0 the 2Dth-century shift to the industria*i?in" cities of theorth and the &aves of arriva*s after +,. a** re'ect the chan"in"demands of "*oba* ca)ita*ism and its a))etite for *abor1

e& circumstances0 it seems0 re=uire a ne& narrative1 But it need not8and shou*d not8deny or contradict the s*avery-to-freedom story1 As themore recent arriva*s add their o&n cha)ters0 the themes derived fromthese various mi"rations0 both forced and free0 "ro& in si"ni$cance1 !heya**o& us to see the African-American e()erience afresh and shar)en oura&areness that African-American history is0 in the end0 of one )iece1

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Ira Berlin teaches at the University of Mary*and1 %is +,,, study of s*avery inorth America0 Many Thousands Gone0 received the Bancroft Pri?e1

Ada)ted from The Making of African America0 by Ira Ber*in1 2D+D1 3ith the)ermission of the )ub*isher0 ikin"0 a member of the Pen"uin ;rou) U/AJ Inc1

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Changing Definition of Afro-Americans

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