I am proud of some Black Americans such as Malcolm X, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Frederick Douglas etc. These are people I am proud of. That being said, if you look at many Black Americans today, the people have regressed.

All the successes in the Civil Rights movement seems to be forgotten by the younger generation. Maybe they should talk to their grandparents about the struggle before it is too late.

Bull, we haven't haven't regressed, there are almost 41 million American blacks and although some act ignorant thats not the case for most. Today is just a different struggle than the one we had years ago.

Ron Oneal:

Bull, we haven't haven't regressed, there are almost 41 million American blacks and although some act ignorant thats not the case for most. Today is just a different struggle than the one we had years ago.

Where are you getting 41 million American blacks? The last time I checked, it was around 35 million. In addition, remember that there are other blacks, besides Black Americans who live in the United States. Many come from the Caribbean, Africa, and Latin America. American black is very diverse.

And yes, there has been a regression. Go to any area, where blacks can be found in such large numbers. The Hip-Hop culture has destroyed black society in many profound ways. And you all have exported it abroad. Everyone wants to be the next Lil Wayne or T.I. Or one of those music video vixens. It is appalling.

Athletes, rappers or gang bangers is what many black american youth have turned to. Not doctors, lawyers, engineers etc.

I'm Nigerian, and in my personal opinion, African Americans have more to be proud of, in terms of modern (20th and 21st century) achievements - across a whole range of areas - than the majority of African nations, including Nigeria. It's just that in real life, the behavior of a lot of (young) African Americans negates this perception of them as a progressive people and is also kind of off-putting, to say the least. I'm not even trying to offend anyone, but that's just the reality.

Where are you getting 41 million American blacks? The last time I checked, it was around 35 million. In addition, remember that there are other blacks, besides Black Americans who live in the United States. Many come from the Caribbean, Africa, and Latin America. American black is very diverse.

I think YOU need to check the census stats, there are close to 41 million blacks in America, diverse? Yes.

And yes, there has been a regression. Go to any area, where blacks can be found in such large numbers. The Hip-Hop culture has destroyed black society in many profound ways.

WTF is a "hiphop" culture? Please don't use the same bullshit, stereotypical terms the mainstream uses, hiphop in itself is NOT negative or bad, it has more to do with environment these kids live in, not anything to do with an ambiguous "hiphop", culture, I'd like to see you define what it is. I grew up in Philly in the late 70s and 80s during the beginning of hiphop and it was a form of expression for people who had no voice then, now its just been owned and hijacked by white record company owners. Hiphop didn't destroy blacks just as Motown in the 60s and 70s didn't destroy blacks, thats bogus.

And you all have exported it abroad. Everyone wants to be the next Lil Wayne or T.I. Or one of those music video vixens. It is appalling.

BS, we have not exported anything and not everyone wants to be Lil Wayne or TI, how the hell are you drawing these conclusions?

Athletes, rappers or gang bangers is what many black american youth have turned to. Not doctors, lawyers, engineers etc.

Some have turned to doing the wrong thing but certainly not the majority, again what you say is fucking bogus. I've never seen so much ignorance about American blacks being painted with this broad brush. And I'm 37 not a very young but not very old either and I've walked in the streets of Philly, New York, New Orleans, DC, Baltimore and Atlanta so I know what I'm talking about.

Don't actually know what you guys have done that I should be proud of. Even your Obama is of the dictate of the majority. He hate Africans but professed to originates from there. You know what I think, some of you guys are just educated illiterates. The few educated ones amongst you still calls Africa a country.

Although you're being marginalize, stigmatize, disproportionately under-represented in decision making bodies, and often used as scapegoat when new laws are passed, you lack the skills and motivation to go on yourselves and make it big.

Enough of the media blaming. Crack is destroying the AA community. You're just 13% of the entire population and already 27% of you are in Prison for drug related offences. I do understand from the positivist point of view that you commit crime because of the social and economic deprivation emanating from your govt, you're not making it easier for yourselves as well. 1 in 3 deaths among AA is homicide. You glorify rap music that is so disrespectful not only to women but to your mothers. Rap music account for the deviant behaviour amongst AA.

Your divorce rate is so high that your girls are running away from committing themselves to a long term relationship. You have baby fathers and mothers, but no real father/mother. Single parenting/lone parenting dominates the AA community. Single parent children accounts for all major crimes being committed by AA in the state.

Get yourselves educated to a standard that will leave the whites with no option than to recognise your superiority.

Get yourselves educated to a standard that will leave the whites with no option than to recognise your superiority

Amen ooo!

paris10:

Don't actually know what you guys have done that I should be proud of. Even your Obama is of the dictate of the majority. He hate Africans but professed to originates from there. You know what I think, some of you guys are just educated illiterates. The few educated ones amongst you still calls Africa a country.

Although you're being marginalize, stigmatize, disproportionately under-represented in decision making bodies, and often used as scapegoat when new laws are passed, you lack the skills and motivation to go on yourselves and make it big.

Enough of the media blaming. Crack is destroying the AA community. You're just 13% of the entire population and already 27% of you are in Prison for drug related offences. I do understand from the positivist point of view that you commit crime because of the social and economic deprivation emanating from your govt, you're not making it easier for yourselves as well. 1 in 3 deaths among AA is homicide. You glorify rap music that is so disrespectful not only to women but to your mothers. Rap music account for the deviant behaviour amongst AA.

Your divorce rate is so high that your girls are running away from committing themselves to a long term relationship. You have baby fathers and mothers, but no real father/mother. Single parenting/lone parenting dominates the AA community. Single parent children accounts for all major crimes being committed by AA in the state.

Get yourselves educated to a standard that will leave the whites with no option than to recognise your superiority.

I agree the AA's on this thread are really sugar coating the truth about their role in America. But we can't ignore the fact that us Africans (not in the U.S) are pretty Phucked up also.

Yeah, we AAs are really sugar coating every damn, and the Africans are much more morally better than we are, thats the theme. I truly believe we AAs have done a better job of dealing with the white man that Africans have. >ep we AAs all glorify rap music and live negative, Africans are all hard working and morally better, I'm sick of this ignorant African bullshit. I know the progress my people have made and the obstacles we need to still overcome.

Naw Bleep it, let me educated the jackasses about AA:

Don't actually know what you guys have done that I should be proud of. Even your Obama is of the dictate of the majority. He hate Africans but professed to originates from there. You know what I think, some of you guys are just educated illiterates. The few educated ones amongst you still calls Africa a country.

Name me one African leaders who hasn't been corrupt since the days your colonial masters left Africa who hasn't devoured and sold out his own people since you want to go there. Obama, as bad as he is with some things, was elected by the people, not put in place by a coup.

Although you're being marginalize, stigmatize, disproportionately under-represented in decision making bodies, and often used as scapegoat when new laws are passed, you lack the skills and motivation to go on yourselves and make it big.

Africa has the resources and so called smarts that us AAs are supposed to lack, yet the IMF and World Bank and your former colonial masters still control you all, explain that. Us AAs came from slavery from a people in Africa that sold us to the white man and have influenced the world all over and have made it big in our own country, you Africans still beg the IMF and World bank for crumbs and flee everywhere else to make it big except your own country. Explain that.

Enough of the media blaming. Crack is destroying the AA community

Evidence or are you pulling random bullshit out of your ignorant ass? Crack is destroying us? Thats funny because I don't see the same thing. I guess an ignorant African associates crack with blacks and makes an ignorant assumption, when in reality crack and most other drugs are used more by whites than blacks.

You're just 13% of the entire population and already 27% of you are in Prison for drug related offences.

Yeah, because of disproportionate laws that give a heavier sentence for crack cocaine over powder cocaine, not because we're constantly selling drugs more than everyone else and black neighborhoods are targeted more frequently by police, but go on and believe the bullshit that we're a people of drug dealer.

You glorify rap music that is so disrespectful not only to women but to your mothers. Rap music account for the deviant behaviour amongst AA.

there are 41 million AAs and you mean to tell me that we all ,listen to rap music? Bleep outta man, lol, rap music isn't the problem and not all rap is negative any ways. The environment and where these kids like account for their behavior, neighborhoods didnt become bad because of rap music you idiot, there were bad neighborhoods BEFORE there was hiphop. The Public Enemys, KRS-Ones, Talib Kweli, The Roots, etc, are not negative rappers, its the bullshit that mostly white record company owners are pushing that are negative. There is no correlation between hiphop music and crime among blacks. Even if it was, whats the problem with Africans? You have none of the problems that we have in our land yet you can only make it big by fleeing from your land and coming to America, France or Britain, where have AAs fled to make it big?

As far as myself a North African person, African Americans is not on our collective radar, besides immaterial things such as entertainment. We have enough problems in North Africa to be concerned about the AA community. When i speak of North Africa, i refering to nile valley countries specifically Northern Sudan and Egypt, which is going through some extreme cultural and revolutionary changes. In other words, we have our own probems to content with instead of worrying about a group of people that does not have any relationship to with us. Needless to say, your government policies throughout North Africa and the middle east is full of contradictions, and many people don't trust your government, however this does not mean they don't like individual Americans. We are smart enough to realize to separate the government from the people.

I agree with Ron Oneal Whats up with this bashing of rap music and Hip Hop?? How can u ppl say Rap is deviant? It depends on what Rap music u choose to listen to. Hip Hop has also been a major positive factor in the AA communities, promoting morality conciousness and self respect. Who said it has to be Lil Wayne?
The ones buying Lil Wayne and Jay Zs album is by large white youths. And as stated before, big white owned record labels has bought up and control the mainstream Rap scene, and they promote bull s** and gangsa rap cus it sells. This does by no means portray the majority of black Americans.

Hey Africans, why this arrogance? And for black americans being in prison, cmooon! Do you realize you have a higher risk getting imprisoned because the color of your skin regardless of what you have done or not done. Crime is naturally higher among people in low income areas and blacks are the poorest group. Do you really blame them? Its not like after slavery they where uplifted as brothers with the same chances as white ppl. Prison in the state is our modern day slavery where black people work for nike and microsoft for free. And the prisons are privately owned so they r make money by filling the cells. Its a big time business.

Malstrom:

I agree with Ron Oneal Whats up with this bashing of rap music and Hip Hop?? How can u ppl say Rap is deviant? It depends on what Rap music u choose to listen to. Hip Hop has also been a major positive factor in the AA communities, promoting morality conciousness and self respect. Who said it has to be Lil Wayne?
The ones buying Lil Wayne and Jay Zs album is by large white youths. And as stated before, big white owned record labels has bought up and control the mainstream Rap scene, and they promote bull s** and gangsa rap cus it sells. This does by no means portray the majority of black Americans.

Hey Africans, why this arrogance? And for black americans being in prison, cmooon! Do you realize you have a higher risk getting imprisoned because the color of your skin regardless of what you have done or not done. Crime is naturally higher among people in low income areas and blacks are the poorest group. Do you really blame them? Its not like after slavery they where uplifted as brothers with the same chances as white ppl. Prison in the state is our modern day slavery where black people work for nike and microsoft for free. And the prisons are privately owned so they r make money by filling the cells. Its a big time business.

And who said AA are not often targeted by the Police. The point is, the media do not simply stumble upon crime in the AA community, the vast majority of these so-called crimes are presented to journalists by the police, we know that, ok! We also know Police create crime waves by their crack down on a particular type of crime in an area i.e AA community. We are also aware that the AA are now 8 times more likely to be stopped and searched and discriminated against.

We Africans share and sympathise with you. We also do understand that AA are easily prone to crime due to inequality and lack of adequate welfare support. We are also not ignorant that whenever you got discriminated against, you remember the boat ride from Africa, . It is true that even the judges send AA to prison more than any ethnic minority for same offences committed. We understand your struggle, but can we just sit and allow these struggles to determine our future?

You cannot allow the crack-heads to torment you this long. Arise my AA brothers and get up from your slumber! You talked about Rap music not so negative, how many world known rap stars say or rap something good without mentioning the N word and without talking about big t*tty, booty, bling-bling and some other degrading stuff about their brothers. White people have money they build Walmart and employ their fellow crack-heads. Black people have money they buy jewellery and bling cars.

We understand what the civil war has caused you and how affirmative action still puts you in an unfortunate position. We know about J Edger Hoover and Kennedy who are part of your problems. But fellows, ten times shall a righteous man fall and Lord will lift him up again. Educate your fellow brothers about this, and let every one account for their selves and lets stop blaming the present and the past. The future is where our hope should be.

I feel you I was bothered by the arrogant tone of many comments on this thread, lack of understanding and so on. Africans and African-Americans are not in position to judge each other in that manner and say which one is the better. Tackle the problems within your own group and then try to move forward as a unity. Both groups well being must be in both groups interest. As I said before its the same force that keeps us back, they killed Malcolm X, Nkrumah, Samory, Lumumba. And I think the positive people within both groups are doing their best. And when the positive forces take over, the masses will follow.

"As long as my brothers aint free, I'm not free"- Mohammed Ali

I am laughing right now at a few of the comments. I can't believe there are people that think ALL black Americans listen to hip-hop music. How dumb do you have to be to think that? In case you don't know, and you obviously don't, hip-hop music is not the only created in an AA community. Jazz was started in New Orleans by AAs. House music was started in Chicago by AAs. AAs also contributed to the creation of rock and roll. Blues is another AA creation. As for hip-hop music, you obviously need to stop paying attention to the mainstream garbage. Lil' Wayne is a lil' virus that needs to be stopped, along with his cohorts. You want good hip-hop? Listen to Public Enemy, Mos Def, Immortal Technique, A Tribe Called Quest, KRS-One, Talib Kweli, UMCs, Jean Grae, Bahamadia, and others whose names escape as I'm typing this. The folks who buy the mainstream garbage are silly. Are you silly? And blaming the mainstream garbage for problems in a society is laughable to me. It reminds me of when rock music and video games was being blamed for the ills of society. It's not the media's job to raise your kids. If you instilled good values in your kids and teach them not to be followers, then your kids will be okay.

I can't speak for others, but I'm not sugar coating anything. AAs do have problems concerning gangs (Bloods, Crips) and gang violence. That has to be solved and nipped in the bud. Black-to-black violence needs to be stopped. But when I see a comment like "every gang in the United States is black" or "every crime committed in the United States is committed by blacks," I will step in to correct the person. I guess the person never heard of the Latin Kings, Mara Salvatrucha aka MS-13, Aryan Brotherhood, Mexican Mafia, Hells Angels and the Irish Mob.

You know, this whole thing is so silly on so many levels. No human is better than another. We all mistakes we all learn from them. Some don't unfortunately. Why? I don't know. But I'm not going to act like one ethnic group is one in the same.

Well said.

lil virus lol

I think most of the stuff I'm hearing is stereotypical anti-African American bullshit. Any time someone believes rap music of all things, causes AAs to commit crimes is off their rockers. Over here I've heard some of the same anti-AA things but mostly from haters. In none of my posts have I ever tried to paint a picture of AAs being perfect people that are better than anyone, I even went as far as to say that any comparisons between us and Africans is stupid, yet some people still felt a need to generalize about all AAs and post out right lies about us.

^^^

Stop your whining. I have lived in the states long enough to understand your people. I have met good AA and I have met bad AA. Just like there are good Africans, and there are bad Africans.

However, if you look at AA society today, it has fallen from its former glory. After the successes of the Civil Rights movement, the black community has become lazier. If MLK was still living, he would be ashamed at how his people have fallen.

Many of you all do not even respect yourselves. At least we Africans respect ourselves, even though our continent is going through a lot of problems.

Maybe you all should go back to your roots like many Caribbeans and Brazilians have done.

However, i do have some issues whenever a AA or maybe other Africans make comments in some videos from Sudan. He is a list of a few interesting comments by members of mainly AA community.

I am a black woman, and I know that these people over there that are on this film are not of us. They look Arab, Iraqian, Iranian which are not us.  We look likwe the Hausa, fulani, and the Mali tribes. WE ARE NOT THOSE PEOPLE. They maybe imposters also.

anitaalford

They are dark like us black folks, but why their hair not nappy like ours?

I am an AfRAkan. I am aware that there are yam-colored, genetically-pure AfRAkans. I am also aware of the amalgamation that occurred between genetically-pure AfRAkans and straight-haired (FUR) primates who are a result of a genetic mutation known today as Caucasians. Some Caucasians are dark and some are pale. This amalgamation produced the mongrels residing all over North AfRAka and parts of East AfRAka. They are Mulattoes

Some of us laugh at the ignorance from some members from your community, however we also realize that many of your community is searching for their ancestrial origins, therefore some of us give you a past for your ignorance or lack of knowledge of Africas diverse population.

Good advice, EzeUche_.

I'm not the one thats whining, you are, whining about how bad AAs are supposed to be. I am an AA and I lived damn near my entire life around AAS, thats why I know its stupid for anyone to say that rap music makes AAs backwards, that notion is only parroting whites. Don't get it twisted, AAs have not regressed, if we did Africans would not be able to come to America and have it as good as they have it now. And don't make stupid ass comments talking how AAs don't respect themselves and then generalize about how all Africans respect themselves. Its really retarded for an African to look down on an AA to make themselves look bigger considering everything going on in Africa.

Some of us laugh at the ignorance from some members from your community, however we also realize that many of your community is searching for their ancestrial origins, therefore some of us give you a past for your ignorance or lack of knowledge of Africas diverse population.

We recognize our ancestral origins, thats why we call ourselves African Americans, unlike some Africans, especially the Muslims who swear they descend from Arabs and Mohammed. Despite knowing our origins, we know recognize that we are a distinct group of people who have developed our own history, culture and customs within America, in fact, most of what people call "American" was created by African Americans. From what I see there are certain Africans who don't know shit about AAs except negative, stereotypical bullshit.

Africans must be proud of African Americans. Why else would Africans emulate A.A's to such a great degree? Music, clothes, manner of speaking, on

and on. Or maybe Africans are jealous of African Americans. African Americans are some of the most copied people on the planet!

And everyone knows it!

Ron Oneal:

Name me one African leaders who hasn't been corrupt since the days your colonial masters left Africa who hasn't devoured and sold out his own people since you want to go there. Obama, as bad as he is with some things, was elected by the people, not put in place by a coup.

With regard to the part in bold, it's ironic that you're here going off about ignorance yet you're making the same blanket statements that you're condemning and criticizing others for.

The other part doesn't even make sense. A coup? In America? By a black law lecturer?

Africa has the resources and so called smarts that us AAs are supposed to lack, yet the IMF and World Bank and your former colonial masters still control you all, explain that. Us AAs came from slavery from a people in Africa that sold us to the white man and have influenced the world all over and have made it big in our own country, you Africans still beg the IMF and World bank for crumbs and flee everywhere else to make it big except your own country. Explain that.

If you really want to know: http://www.daily.pk/how-the-imf-world-bank-and-structural-adjustment-program-destroyed-africa-21602/
                                           http://www.amazon.com/Globalization-Its-Discontents-Joseph-Stiglitz/dp/0393051242   (pretty great book)

But once again, what you said doesn't really apply to all African countries (though it certainly applies to Nigeria), so you're basically doing the exact same thing you were accusing others of doing and were complaining about.  

Evidence or are you pulling random bullshit out of your ignorant backside? Crack is destroying us? Thats funny because I don't see the same thing. I guess an ignorant African associates crack with blacks and makes an ignorant assumption, when in reality crack and most other drugs are used more by whites than blacks.

http://weeseeyou.com/2010/02/13/rosa-lees-story-revisited-the-impact-of-crack-cocaine-on-all-of-us/

Yeah, it's subsided somewhat now, but maybe you were in Germany when all this was going down.  

Yeah, because of disproportionate laws that give a heavier sentence for crack cocaine over powder cocaine, not because we're constantly selling drugs more than everyone else and black neighborhoods are targeted more frequently by police, but go on and believe the bullshit that we're a people of drug dealer.

Yeah, you're right.

http://afrodaddy.com/411-articles/because-we-destroyed-ourselves-anonymous

A pretty bad situation.

there are 41 million AAs and you mean to tell me that we all ,listen to rap music? bleep outta man, lol, rap music isn't the problem and not all rap is negative any ways. The environment and where these kids like account for their behavior, neighborhoods didnt become bad because of rap music you , there were bad neighborhoods BEFORE there was hiphop. The Public Enemys, KRS-Ones, Talib Kweli, The Roots, etc, are not negative rappers, its the bullshit that mostly white record company owners are pushing that are negative. There is no correlation between hiphop music and crime among blacks. Even if it was, whats the problem with Africans? You have none of the problems that we have in our land yet you can only make it big by fleeing from your land and coming to America, France or Britain, where have AAs fled to make it big?

The part in bold doesn't exactly make sense. Why would anyone flee America (the "Land of Opportunity" to try to make it somewhere else? The claim is that some people (AAs) are already somewhere where they could/should be "making it big" yet a disproportionately high number aren't doing so. There are reasons for that of course, but at a certain point you just get disappointed and then ashamed as a fellow black person. I have no doubt many African Americans feel the same way about Africa's many failures since the 60s.

As for having "none of the problems" AAs have, you're right in that we don't have the same problems, but different African nations have their own problems. Nobody was claiming Africans were perfect.


The premise of the thread is fundamentally flawed in that, the reality on the ground, for Africans like myself in America doesn't lend itself to Africans being "proud of" Black Americans achievements because young Black Americans in real life (not just rap videos) are wrecking their peoples' image and weakening the impact of their past and present achievements. In the exact same way, the reality on the ground in Nigeria and many other African countries doesn't lend itself to Black Americans being proud of or unembarrassed by Africa. It's a lose-lose situation, but pride/admiration for the achievements of any group doesn't follow merely from being of the same race as that group.

This topic has been done to death, in my opinion. Little is likely to change in either group's perceptions. This forum (a Nigerian forum) is inherently biased ground anyway, so there's not much point to this going much further.

Yeah more of the same redundant bullshit about young African Americans being no good, blah, blah, the same shit was said about my parents in the 60s and 70s and those people have grown up to be outstanding citizens. I have a young son myself who likes rap music and yet he isn't the stereotype of what some of the Africans think about young African Americans, plus I myself of the hiphop age. The truth of matter is that all kids of all colors are rebellious as teens in some way shape or form, yet the notion that most AA kids is lost is false, the majority do the right thing, but funny how Africans here think they're the moral authorities. As an AA myself I know the real story and I'm no mere outsider observing it.

Ron Oneal:

Yeah more of the same redundant bullshit about young African Americans being no good, blah, blah, the same poo was said about my parents in the 60s and 70s and those people have grown up to be outstanding citizens. I have a young son myself who likes rap music and yet he isn't the stereotype of what some of the Africans think about young African Americans, plus I myself of the hiphop age. The truth of matter is that all kids of all colors are rebellious as teens in some way shape or form, yet the notion that most AA kids is lost is false, the majority do the right thing, but funny how Africans here think they're the moral authorities. As an AA myself I know the real story and I'm no mere outsider observing it.

1. You seem to be under the impression that people responding in this thread are not in America and not around Black Americans. Paris10 and pleep are possibly not, but every other person in this thread is (except for ababda, who I'm pretty sure is in Sudan).
2. Bullshit? I'm speaking from experience. How on earth are you an authority on "everything going on in Africa" that you mentioned in your earlier post when you've never even been there, but people who've lived and live in America are mere outsiders that can't know "the real story"? I can't count the number of AA stereotypes I've seen fulfilled in real life. It's just too many at this point.
3. Did I say anything about rap music? Check my signature. It's been that song for a few weeks now, and before that it was another rap song. This isn't about rap.
4. It's simply not true that all kids are rebellious as teens and definitely not true that all kids are rebellious in the same way. Please go to Chinese, Japanese or Indian households and find out for yourself what the difference is between the way their children/teenagers/young adults almost always act and the way certain other groups' kids act.
5. If you must know, there are many people with bad/horror stories about Nigerians (and some of them post these stories on this forum) and many people with bad stories about African Americans, so this isn't about me trying to hoist Nigerians up as "superior" or as "moral authorities." It's about correcting this erroneous notion that Africans, being of the same race, will just automatically praise AAs or ignore reality.