I have just begun reading Paul Robeson's Here I stand-just getting through the three introductions, and I am very much immersed in it. I would like to stop and do some analysis though. I very much love Paul Robeson, he is wonderful,magnificent, a God. Alas, I must detract from some of his tactics. At one point in his introduction, he states very plainly that he is an American. He goes about stating that he is an American and that he is one and will remain tied to this country/land despite all of the bad things that have been done to him, and despite the fact that this country is lead by forces of pure evil.I must detract from that with a statement that has certainly gotten me into trouble more than a few times, and that is, that I am not an American.

I am an Afro-American. I am not an American, because I very much believe that the word "American" (unless it is all encompassing--meaning Canadians and Mexicans,as well as the people that live in this country-- a context in which it is rarely used) is most definitely synonymous with "white." I further this conclusion by stating that one cannot be an American without being a full citizen of this country. To be a citizen requires that one has full protection under the law. As an Afro-American, and especially as an Afro-American male, this is not the case. Therefore, I am not a citizen ( ask Amadou Diallo's mother).

Alas, I will also state that I am an Afro-American. I am not an African American, for I have never been to Africa, was not born there, and I am not African. I am an Afro-American, because the essence of ME is from Africa- the legacy of my ancestry, is from Africa. The imprint of my skin is from Africa. I am also Afro-American because not only is my legacy from Africa, but my heritage is from here in this country-- we as a people are the bastard children of the White Power structure. There are virtually no people of color descended from American slaves that don't have white ancestry (and so called white people need to look down their family tree as well). And even more so than bloodlines, culturally, socially, economically, and politically-- we are the bastard children of the White Male Power structure in the United States.

Everything we have learned,and I do not intend to essentialize, everything we know, the entire context in which we live has been defined by the Great White Father. And before we are EVER to make any kind of progress, and before we are EVER to attain any kind of REAL footing, we will have to deal with that reality. We cannot return Africa, we cannot become kings and queens. Before we can fully come into our connection with the whole of the African Diaspora and really appreciate the richness of our African past, we must contend with what we have to deal with here in this country. We have to get our act together and try to figure out why we are still begging the power structure for that which we should already have. We have to deal with the fact of our powerlessness here in this country (yet we do have potential).

We need to look at examples of people's who have come into their full integrity, who accomplished self-attainment and were self-sufficient as a people. Dr. John Henrik Clarke told us we should study the example of the Japanese after World War II and look at the way in which they rose from their most terrible defeat. I also say we should look at the Irish, and how they rose from being "white niggers" to having John F. Kennedy elected president and being the powerbrokers of Chicago, Boston, New York, Philadelphia, and other areas. We as a people have to deal with this. We are enslaved not only physically and politically, but also psychologically and at the very depths of our beings. We were taught from our earliest experiences here in this country to devalue our hair, our nose, our skin color, our bodies. We were made to love and to value European ideals and standards, to accept them and to operate under the living conditions offered up by them. This deserves and is in need of TOTAL ERADICATION. In order to preserve our lives and our legacies, we have to begin to understand, know, and appreciate ourselves.