Culture

Raven Symone tells the world: “I don’t want to be labeled gay” & “I’m an American. I’m not African-American.”

RS

Raven Symone has joined the infamous ranks with Pharrell, Keke Palmer, Steve Harvey and other “new Blacks” who are rich, post racial and insulated from the cultural struggles and connections of Black Americans. They are the ones who got their start within the confines of the Black American community.  Once they hit a certain level of fame, they White wash their identities to conform with the majority populations dream of a post racial society. Ask Rekia Boyd, Renisha McBride, Trayvon Martin, Mike Brown and others if we are really post racial? She can’t and they can’t either. What I really mean is that “new Blacks”, such as herself know where the money is and it isn’t within 13% of the American population, which is Black. Think about it like this. This woman played a Black girl on TV for years and now rejects Blackness because it no longer suits her.

In 2013, she made it known that she was in relationship with a woman. We here found that awesome. She could have been a role model for millions of LGBTQ Americans, especially Black children. But in her interview with Ms. Oprah, on Oprah’s show, “Where Are They Now?” she said, “I don’t want to be labeled gay. I want to be labeled a human who loves humans.” Whelp that was the end of that. NO GLAAD dinners for you. Then she went on to say, “I’m an American. I’m not African-American.”  Ms. Oprah tried to save her but the hole Raven dug got deeper.

Oprah

Ms. Oprah tried. I mean she tried.

Oprah: Oh girl don’t set up Twitter on fire. Oh my lord. What did you say? Stop, stop, stop the tape. Right now.

((Somebody call Dr. Henry Louis Gates STAT!! I did a DNA test and can show her how it is done.)) Read the rest below.

RS: I don’t know where my roots go to. I don’t know how far back they go. I can’t go on you know. I don’t know how far back and I don’t know what country in Africa I’m from but I do know that my roots are in Louisiana. I’m an American and that is a colorless person. Cause we are all people. I have lots of things running through my veins. I don’t label myself.

Oprah: I mean you are going to get a lot of flak for saying you’re not African-American. You know that, right.

Here Raven and her parents look half Black and half Black.

Here Raven and her parents look half Black and half Black which makes her full Louisiana Black.

RS: I don’t label myself

Oprah: I want you to say what you really mean by that?.

((That sound you hear is the end of her career and her PR team rushing to resuscitate it.))

RS: I what I really mean by that is that I am an American. That’s what I really mean. I have darker skin. I have a nice interesting grade of hair. I connect with Caucasians, I connect with Asian. I connect with Black. I connect with Indian. I connect with each culture.

Interview

Oprah: You are a melting pot in one body.

Aren’t we all.

Oprah: Yes

RS: Isn’t that what America is supposed to be?

Oprah: Yeah. That’s what it is supposed to be.

She even tried to claim aka connect with Asians. LOL!. The only thing Asian about her are her wigs. Who knew she was another one who bought in to the whole “good hair grade” lie? African hair is good hair. Hardly any Black Americans are Indian. I wouldn’t want to be proud of being part slave rapist. I guess some, like most new Blacks are.

The truth is we all know race is a social construct. However what many “new Blacks” and post racial mythicists fail to realize is that, that social construct has real world implications. Those horrific implications come in the form of structural inequality and institutionalized racism that Ms. Symone seems to believe she insulated from because of her hair texture, the variety of races she assumes is running through her veins and her money. I think it is because of her young age.One lesson she will eventually learn is that America always finds a way to remind you regardless of your money and accomplishments, that you are Black. Just ask President Obama and he is half Black.

You know what? The awesome thing about the new media is that celebrities can no longer hide their ignorance behind a Madison Avenue corporate PR team. Their ignorance is on display for all the world to see.  My question is where is the drop squad when you need them? What do you think?

 

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14 comments

  1. Sandra 6 October, 2014 at 17:45 Reply

    Sady, in this day and age, some black fold feel comfortable branding themselves as colorless.

    This is just a subtle way to say that they don’t relate to their own culture.

    It’s just sad to hear that mostly black folks do that. You don’t hear hear it with others !!

  2. Nicks 6 October, 2014 at 17:59 Reply

    While I do not like what I gathered from her interview is her view of her African heritage and I think she should’ve considered long and hard prior to making the statements that she made, I can’t say that I completely disagree with her. How do you move toward a world where everyone recognizes Africa as the starting point of ALL of us? Can you really do by holding onto all of these social constructs? White people went North. Black people went South. Our skin is different. Our origins are the same. The fact is that there aren’t different races. There are social constructs and prejudices. I think it’s super whimpy to withdraw from the racial issues - which I don’t really know was her intent. But I don’t think it’s wrong to say “Enough with the labels. Call me a human and I’ll call you a human and that’s that.”

    I call bullshit on the hair comment.

  3. K. Sutton 6 October, 2014 at 18:01 Reply

    Oh so Raven…you are in total denial. You are Black and racism/white supremacy is alive and well in the US.

  4. Lynn in DC 6 October, 2014 at 19:02 Reply

    Is gray hair a thing now with young women? I don’t know Raven Symone’s financial situation and I hadn’t heard of Keke Palmer so I’ll focus on Pharrell. He obviously has a boatload of money and fame and yes that does insulate him from some of the issues that surround non wealthy blacks aka most of us. Unless he pulls an OJ, he is a “new black” and I don’t have a problem with him saying that because it doesn’t change my life. This policing of the statements of other blacks or African-Americans stems from Jim Crow when we had to keep each other in line otherwise it would be bad for the outlier and bad for everyone else too. It is practically 2015 and Old Jim is dead. Raven’s statements affect no one but Raven. If she ends up in an “I told you so” situation, it’s on her, right?

    I am also unfazed by her hair comment. I have 4a/4b hair that is nappy as can be and I consider it a nice interesting grade of hair. Don’t you feel the same about your hair?

    • Nicks 6 October, 2014 at 20:47 Reply

      I do, actually. 🙂 It’s always knotted at the ends and sometimes I haaate my decisions to go natural. But, I’ll still very likely continue to deal with it because I DO think I have a fantastic grade of hair - kinky as hell.

  5. von 6 October, 2014 at 19:05 Reply

    I don’t believe in labels either, but denying my African ancestry will never be one of them. She can forget about what little fanbase she has left because only fool’s would continue to support this ‘colorless’ woman. Black folks better think long and hard from now on about who they financially support. I know I do.

  6. D,Palmer 6 October, 2014 at 20:03 Reply

    Hello Bougie, Miss Raven Simone need to stop drinking the kool aid. In this country she is consider Black American period. She does not know her history because she has made a choice not to learn. The only thing spewing from her mouth is rubbish. She has not learn anything about life. I myself do not support the Hollyweird industry, therefore I have no concern about those people. Also a majority of Black American in this nation has European heritage in their DNA. Another point in case the 4a,4b and 4c hair type is rubbish also. When humans were traveling across the plains of Africa, coarse tightly coiled hair help regulated and cool the head, because it retain water. This was a important feature, along with the large amount of melanin to protect the skin from sun damage.

  7. Lady A 7 October, 2014 at 18:22 Reply

    This is as embarrassing as Lil Boosie calling black women the worst race on the planet. Look it up, it’s in a recent interview.

    Or the black men saying they want recipes from Paula Deen and give her a hood pass.

    As soon as she said this, white sites and blogs jumped on it like a panther starving for food. They are happy to see these black people disown and be ashamed of being associated with blackness.

    Whites see this and they’ll believe it’s perfectly logical to categorize and shame black people if our own are doing it now more so than ever.

    Something is totally messed up about the black community. Not just here in America but globally. I see the same stuff coming from non-American black people too.

    I’m shocked by Raven, she was just in a photoshoot talking about being proud of her natural hair.

    • Lady A 7 October, 2014 at 18:23 Reply

      I mean not calling black women but black people in general the worst race on the planet, sorry for the mess up.

  8. MixedUpInVegas 12 October, 2014 at 00:19 Reply

    If what she says is what she feels about herself, then what’s it to anyone else? Does being Black mean you have to long for Mother Africa or something?

    Being Black shouldn’t mean you have to march in lock-step with what the Black Community in general holds to be true. You’re still Black.

  9. JamaicanWomanAMK 13 October, 2014 at 12:12 Reply

    I disagree with Raven. Although I understand that she wants people to move pass race and come together as Americans, does she realize how much marginalization that gays and Black women particularly gay Black women face in African American social constructs and by wider society? America is still as racist, sexist and patriarchal as ever before. Young Black people like Renisha McBride are getting killed by racist Whites, housing discrimination, Prison Industrial Index, Institutional racism are still issues in society yet many Blacks still believe in colorblind America? SMH. Raven, you are a Black woman!

  10. RCNAL 14 October, 2014 at 03:39 Reply

    Raven is estimated to be worth around 50 million give or take. Those monied circles you no longer interact with every day folks. Its about money. She can buy (to some extent) insulation from the racism and other isms every day black men and women face. Entry into that ‘club’ where everyone is as rich as you and almost always white, is that you must leave your group behind. Distance yourself. Its the price of entry with the ‘elites’. At some point, Raven may get a “reminder” where she is somewhere and the white person doesn’t know or care she is Raven and she is starkly reminded of her race and gender and possibly her sexuality. Until then we just gotta write them off from the ‘struggle’. I did notice she tried to ‘clean up’ the mess with a statement.

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