After reading the literary piece, Americanah by author, Chimamanda Nogozi Adichie, I’ve started thinking about things. I’ve been questioning how others identify themselves and what group they tend to feel more connected to. When it comes to identities and what people identify as, sometimes finding where you fit can be a struggle. Growing up in the United States, you may be identified as a specific race, but when it comes to ethnicity, there are so many varieties.
In Americanah, Adichie writes that when you come to the United States, you are black, regardless of what you were in your previous country. You are automatically given a race because of your skin color. Most of the time you are treated a certain way due to the color of your skin and you are looked at as a whole group without differences. So, in order to differ from the crowd and be seen as an individual, people turn to identifying with an ethnicity. I am Polish-American, I am Kenyan-American, I am Korean-American, etc.
I am an American. I was born in the United States but I grew up in a Trinidadian household surrounded by many people from other Caribbean Islands. Soca music was a norm for me. Eating salt fish and bake or salt fish with provision (what West-Indian people refer to as ground vegetables such as yams, potatoes, cassava, etc..) was normal. I could identify as an African-American but in all honesty, despite the fact that I grew up here, I feel more of a connection with my Caribbean culture than I do with the African-American culture. Saying this, however, does not denounce the fact that I am black in this country. It also does not deny the fact that these groups do experience similar hardships. Rather, this statement is only my opinion and how I choose to identify myself. By making “touchy” statements like this, a lot of blacks tend to feel offended. They tend to think that one feels somewhat superior when they identify as African or Caribbean-American because they don't want to be associated with the term “African American” due to the negative connotations that are associated with that identity. My choice of identifying as a Caribbean-American, however, is more because of my connection with the culture.
These days it is hard to speak one’s opinion when it comes to racial identity, sexual identity, etc, but if there was anything I would like to say in this article, it would be, you can’t judge me on my choice. It is my life and I can identify as whatever I want. Heck, I could identify as a unicorn if I wanted to. Culture wise, I never really fit in well with African-Americans and this is just my experience. From some of the people I have met, there just wasn’t that connection. I was an outsider at my school, not only because of the way I talked (some would call me an "oreo"), but also because of my dislike of certain things. People were immediately turned off by the fact that I didn’t like soul food or that I didn’t particularly listen to rap and R&B. People were turned off that I, a black girl, didn’t like music and food that most consider apart of the African-American culture, or what some consider as the basic things that make a person “black”.
But isn’t “black” a race? Last time I checked, it wasn’t an ethnicity. According to Diffen.com, “Race refers to a person's physical characteristics, such as bone structure and skin, hair, or eye color. Ethnicity, however, refers to cultural factors, including nationality, regional culture, ancestry, and language.”
Yes, everyone is different, but to some, the way that I acted and the things I liked were something that wasn’t seen as “normal”.
My advice to others who are going through the process of deciding how they want to identify themselves, I say choose whatever ethnicity you feel the most connected to. If you are Chinese and all of your family from generations back are Chinese, but you grew up in Nigeria and with the Nigerian culture, if you want to identify yourself as “Nigerian” or “African”, then do it. Regardless of whether or not people think that you are denouncing your race or your upbringing, the culture that you felt more of a connection with, is the one that you should choose to identify with.Ignore the hate and just go with what you feel is right. For me, I identify as a Caribbean-American.
