Slavery? AM I WRONG FOR FEELING LIKE THIS??? read details?

Question

I feel even though I'm not a slave, I have no identity from it. I feel lost. For one thing, I don't know my ethnicity. Just Native American and black. well, what's black?? What kind of black?? I know more about mt native american side than my blacks side which is SAD. When you don't know that, you don't know yourself. You have no identity. I'm just labeled a color. Second, I tried tracing me roots and there are a MILLION searcys in France. I may never know who I am. AM I WRONG FOR FEELING LIKE THIS??? TRUE, I AM AN AMERICAN BUT THAT IS A NATIONALITY! Big difference against ethnicity.

Answer 1

Aborigines in Australia, the stolen generation, face the same cultural identity.
Here, there is a whole generation who don't know there roots just as you have described.
I am sorry you feel the way you do. Perhaps if you contact other people in your position you may find some peace.
Whites have a lot to answer for.
Jonathan, reported!

Answer 2

Hey P
Sorry to have to answer you this way but you emailed but you dom't allow people to email you . You said
Message: well, it takes a long. it's not that we complain but IT IS PART OF OUR HISTORY! It's makes people upset when they see their race being abused. Sure, I'm not a slave but, it has affected me very deeply. For one thing, I don't know my ethnicity. When you don't know that, you don't know yourself. You have no identity. I'm just labeled a color. Second, I tried tracing me roots and there are a MILLION searcys in France. I may never know who I am. Plus, even though slavery ended 1865, lynching went on for 50 years. Every president, women, men, and children knew abouty and DID NOTHING!!! It wasn't a pretty sight to see a dead black man hanging off the tree. I believe the government and America should pay the blacks. I also think it should pay the native americans and the chinese. Blacks contributed inventions, cuisine, cotton, companies like De Beers GET THEIR DIAMONDS IN CONGO, Native Americans taught you how to cook, survive, and gave you land, and the chinese built railroads. Slavery and our history is a open wound. It needs decades to heal...

OK First I am sorry but you do complain
Your right slavery ended but that didn't make things fair
I'm sorry, I know where I came from , but I am an AMERICIAN
my roots, is nice to know but it doesn't make me who I am. What I do and how I treat people makes me who I am. If you want to be paid for slavery then you better be able to prove it. The U.S. goverment did not make you a slave My ancestors did not make you a slave so why should I have to pay. You say it will take decades for the wound to heal .....no wound ever heals when you keep picking at . Plus it has been decades even by your standards, the civil rights bill passed in the 60's (only because Rep. voted for it unlike Al Gores father who was a US senator at the time and many other Dem,s who voted against it) P that is at least 4 decades so So now is the time to heal RIGHT

Answer 3

Ethnicity, especially in America, is very malleable. Most people have very mixed ethnicities, and end up just picking whichever one they like better, and identifying themselves as that-- which is to say, it doesn't really matter.

Even if you had no idea what your ethnicity was (which isn't true, you do know your Native American side), that doesn't mean you have no identity! What's sad is not that you don't know what your ethnicity is, but that you think you have to label yourself to some group from hundreds of years ago that probably no longer exists as that group. Even if you eventually find a name somehow, and you can say that you're X ethnicity, what will that mean? It's just a word. You have to make your own identity, we all do. We have to live our own lives, not those of our ancestors.

Answer 4

America has traditionally been referred to as a great melting pot because immigrants that have come here have traditionally intermarried and assimilated into the larger society and have produced offspring without a strong connection to their ethnic heritage. Most Americans, as a result, do not have the strong sense of ethnic identity found in other places. I would say that your ethnic identity is one part of who you are. Realize that many people have felt the same way that you do and that knowing the names of some long dead ancestors you may have had doesn't give you a sense of identity and purpose in and of itself. Work on developing yourself as a person and making sure that you are someone of quality today, in the here and now. If you are curious about the African-American side of your heritage, I would look into reading books on African and/or African-American history and talking to black family members. This may help you to feel more in touch with that aspect of yourself. Even if you never know the exact details about who some of your ancestors were, by reading and learning about the times and cultures that they lived in, you may come to feel more connected to them all the same. And remember, no matter, a part of them still lives on in you and as a consequence survives to this day.

Answer 5

You are not wrong for feeling like that. I was adopted when I was just a week and a half old, so I don't know my biological ethnicity either. After a couple years of feeling bad about that, I finally came to a decision that it didn't matter. I AM who I am (not to sound like Popeye). Of course you have an identity - you are the only you there is, and while you could certainly be proud of your heritage if you knew it, you shouldn't let it define you. Never pigeon-hole yourself like that. Start new traditions and celebrate who you are NOW. Remember that there are thousands and thousands of children who will never know what their ethnicity is - in the grand scheme of things, I don't think that finding out would be a life altering thing. Of course, you are always free to disagree with me :) I hope you find peace ~ good luck!

Answer 6

Wow!!! If you don't know who you are isn't determined by your race or nationality then you really are lost. It is not your race, religion, nationality or even your DNA that determines who you are but rather what lies in your heart. It is the twinkle of your eye, the beauty of your smile and the warmth of your spirit that makes you what you really are. When you get right down to it we are all God's children and in the end there is only one race. The human race. Don't worry so much about not being able to track down your family tree. Don't be sad. Be happy. Stand proud and stand tall. You have the best of both worlds. It must be very exciting to be linked to two cultures who pride themselves on honor and tradition. Instead of tracing your family roots you should put more time and effort in learning your history. You will find that you will embark upon a wealth of knowledge and wisdom. I pray that you find the peace and closure you seek. This is the Caveman signing out. Peace and God bless.

Answer 7

Don't feel bad. There are a lot of people out there of different races that have a hard time tracing their lineage. Thanks to WWII, a lot of records were destroyed. People who were persecuted because of religion/race changed their names. I have a friend who is adopted & has never been able to locate any info about her biological parents.

Start with your last name and see how far it goes back. Is it an English, Irish or Scottish Surname? If so, some of your lineage may, or may not, originate from UK Caucasians that came to the South.

I don't know if it can be done to determine your lineage with a gene test, but it would be worth having one done just for health reasons to know if there are any genes past down that could have negative impact in the future.

Good luck and I hope you are able to find some answers!

Answer 8

Yea, I understand what ur saying. But at least ur half Native American. I'm just Black as far as I know and I can't find anything on my ancestors either. I think sometime being Black is kinda unfufilling but if u go and read about Black history, it helps. I'm not talkin about Martin Luther King or Malcolm X! They're great but our history is so much deeper than that. Read about Marcus Garvey, Angela Davis, etc. U know, some of the lesser known activist. Maybe that'll help maybe that won't but either way, I understand how u feel. I thought I was the only one! :-) Good Luck! ♥

Answer 9

I know how you feel I'm going through the same thing. I'm a Black/Cherokee/French/British American. I know all about my white ancestors. But I have no knowledge on my Native American or African heritage. I always wonder, What am I? Who am I? And Where do I come from? I feel like I'm only half of a person. I desperately want to find my African roots.

Answer 10

I am a singaporean who is in a good job and position but at time I too feel like a 2nd class citizen here where I was born. Why you may feel, and the answer is the priority is given to chinese even when I was out of job and attended serveral interviews they call me for the sake of just feeling in the number and i was rejected eventho i fitted in their requiremments. Even now at times people give in to the chinese and even if they are at fault. I was retrenched for the reason being an indian and not because the company wasn't making money as after a month i was gone they employed a chinese girl for my position with a higher salary.

Answer 11

First of all no one has the right to slave another, so its so wrong that u feel that way just because you dont know your roots are, although its cool to know what ur roots are but its not that important, no matter what color or what race your are, the important thing is that ur a true person inside out...... the real identity we must have is " A PERSON, A HUMAN BEING. " and not by color or race