eros said:

Funny you should mention the cuisine. My mother's parents are from Louisiana and everything she cooks is sweet and hot...never realused this until friends stayed for dinner and said their mouthes were burning. Because of this my tolerence for spicy foods is much higher than most As an adult I found this is also common with African and Thai cuisines

Yes, most Caribbean cuisines are spicy and I have noticed that with the Cajun foods as well. A lot of cultures have developed into sub-cultures from the combination of many, during the slavery eras, and have adopted specific foods/customs from one another throughout generations.

[Edited 10/7/11 9:23am]

This is not simple trying to identify from which part is his "african" blood, as he is a "mulatto" and from several parts are both his parents:

Prince is someone who can belong to any part:

Indian: north of it,

North Africa: Morocco, Mauritania..

He definetely could belong to any island where meltings pots, melted races get along together, such as : Mauritius Island 'lol for it's mine..ha ha )

Caribean...

I like his kind, cause he's from several... yessssssssssssssssssssssssssssssss all in one, one in all

[Edited 10/7/11 11:45am]

[SNIP - Comment is an attempt at creating flame arguements]

Riverman37 said:

I notice you are NEVER able to react on threads dealing with (Prince's) ethnicity or skin-colour by speaking from your heart / your own experience / your own views, its always lot of paragraphs copied and pasted from literature with a rather smallminded and negative views on these kind of issues. You might get some people along with your misplaced 'whining', but definitely not me.

I could give two shits about race-related issues, but your horseshit got me involved. What a dipshit. So what you're saying is "speaking from your own heart/your own experience" is somehow MORE credible than research and literature. That's like all the idiots hollerin' about "stayin' positive" when you're in a whole mess of hell. Seeing the world for what it is - clearly and without personal baggage - is the only way to change your life for the better. It's not entirely possible, but when I hear someone saying shit like "follow your heart" it makes me think of George Bush not needing FACTS because he follows his gut. You can't change your situation if you're too busy pretending you're a reincarnated Egyptian ruler or some shit. Positivity doesn't exist until you MAKE something positive happen. Feeling good about a fraudulent ideology is EMPTINESS. A rock is just a rock. Pretending it's a sign from god is fantasy as far as anyone can know.

Shit, people.

So Prince is African. African-American. Even though I was born here, and like Prince, know little to nothing about my "true heritage" aside form what I've read or heard, I must be Norwegian-American.

I wish people could let go of the divisive identifiers and just be a fucking human being for once. I don't give a shit WHO started it, two wrongs don't make a right.

"Hi. Nice to meet you. I'm a human being."

"Oh shit! I'm a human being, too! We have so much in common! Let's be friends!"

steakfinger, i dont get you, what are you trying to say? be more clear, please

[SNIP - Comment is an attempt at creating flame arguements]

Riverman37 said:

Indeed, some african-americans here whine about their heritage. I would respect them more if they show some maturity.

Riverman it is apparent it bothers you that any information on Black American heritage is shared with others here. If a topic regarding any specific culture, racial/ethnic group bothers you so much, then why do you choose to participate in it, when no one is forcing you too? You continue to whine and make silly, immature comments and insults towards those who are discussing this topic in a mature manner. You can choose to ignore it, participate in a mature manner, as you are the only one making it 'your problem and complaining'.

Riverman37 said:

Keeps wondering why afro-americans seem so obsessed with their origins and the 'blame game'? You can continue pointing at others for abusing your perceived past, for your own sake, you can also realise practically all the people in the world nowadays have some fucked up past.

And if any group of people deserves some respect in the first place: it are the native-americans. You did took their terrority along with the big, bad white people.

As i said, i am a white guy from the Netherlands: an immigration-country being conquered over the centuries by germans, spanish, english, french and again german people. Do i whine about that? Nope. I see myself as some individual. Maybe i even have some african blood in my bloodline. I don't know and I dont care.

What counts for me is the individual i am right now. No need to blame my forefathers for my own actions.

Some people seem to get mad when they are held responsible for the action of their cousin who killed a man, but at the same time they ask for retribution and money for the period their grand-grand-grand forefather was held as a slave.

When you don't see the ignorance and stupidity in that kind of claims, i will never take you seriously.

Oh for goodness sakes, please show us where anyone in this thread 'blamed anyone' for the past? Secondly, the only 'whining' on this thread is coming directly from you. You singled out a specific segment of a population, and made a stereotypical assumption that they are 'obsessed' with their origins, when in fact 'they' are from the same origins as you...the human species. So what is your problem with a mature group of people sharing their knowledge with others on the topic?

Your insults and stereotypical assumptions does nothing but turn the thread in a negative direction, so it would be respectful of you if you stop imposing your own self guilt on others here, and making false claims against them, as an excuse for your own fears of this topic. Again, no one has forced you to read or participate in this thread, you made the decision on your own, and made it your 'own' problem. No one is out to get you or 'blame anyone for anything', it's a mature discussion taking place. Geez.

[SNIP - Comment is an attempt at creating flame arguements]

[SNIP - Comment is an attempt at creating flame arguements]

Riverman37 said:

self guilt, for fuck sake?

As if i personally should feel guilty about how my ancestors did threaten people whith another skin colour or ethnic background... lol

Nope, i don't.

What people are you talking about and who threatened whom? You see that is not what this thread is about, but you are trying to take it in that direction unecessarily. You come off very angry at the mere mention of Black American or African-American earlier in this thread; there's no need for that. It's just a discussion in where people are inquiring about ancestry. No one is pointing fingers or blaming anyone for the past. Most here are talking about ancestry, and the beautiful cultures, languages and people that come out of it, which is nothing for you to be so angry about...relax.

The issue is: some afro-american people here seem very obsessed with their ancestry (including you), while other people see it as it is: your racial background has nothing to do with how you operate as an individual.

[SNIP - Comment is an attempt at creating flame arguements]

It is in human nature to be interested in one's own roots. Especially small nations and minorities have an enormous need to belong somewhere and identify with someone who already has "made it" and become famous. Sometimes it's ridiculous. The rest of the world don't care, where Pamela Anderson's granddaddy's dad came from, but there were thousands of Finns eager to see "our Pam". Pamela responded well and finally came to meet her cousins in Midsummer Festival, so how many invitations Prince does already have? Even Sami people, the Lapps have already volunteered

http://www.northspace.com...290606.pdf

Actually, Prince's Sami origin is an April fool joke of Minnesota Finnish Folk Society, but Finnish Press, including Lapin Kansa and Iltasanomat took it very seriously. For some reason.

Riverman37 said:

To put it direct:

Just because your grand-grand parent was a slave, doesnt make you special.. or makes you owe somethin,

Nothing more annoying then people who 'abuse' some slave-past for their current day goals: open up and look at the rest of the world, then you might realise how hypocritical your claims are.

Oh for goodness sakes, your stereotypical assumptions holds no value. There is absolutely nothing wrong with learning about ancestry, cultures, history, ethnic groups and sharing that information with others. Again, you're incorporating your own hidden prejudices, personal fears, and stereotypical nonsense and assumptions of a specific group, into this thread, which is revealing itself in all your posts.

You're being hypocritical in your posting, because if one's racial/ethnic background didn't matter to you, then why did you mention what you think Prince's racial/ethnic background consisted of at all or your own for that matter? You demand for others to shut-up and not discuss the topic, while you throw out nasty insults, and make stereotypical, generalized judgements and assumptions, towards a specific group of people, you have clearly defined by their ethnicity, and claim that they are all 'obsessed with their ancestry'. You are being quite hypocritical and contradictive at the same time with your comments.

We are all from the same human species, with a wealth of beautiful cultures and ethnic groups, languages, etc. Like I said before, you are only expressing your own self-imposed fears of this topic, which is evident in your posts, and which no one here has caused on you, but yourself. Again, if this topic makes you uncomfortable, then you have a choice of not participating. No one here has forced you to. With that being said, I will no longer engage in discussion with you on this or your trolling and threadjacking of this topic. Have a good day.

[Edited 10/7/11 16:56pm]

Riverman37 said:

Keeps wondering why afro-americans seem so obsessed with their origins and the 'blame game'? You can continue pointing at others for abusing your perceived past, for your own sake, you can also realise practically all the people in the world nowadays have some fucked up past.

And if any group of people deserves some respect in the first place: it are the native-americans. You did took their terrority along with the big, bad white people.

As i said, i am a white guy from the Netherlands: an immigration-country being conquered over the centuries by germans, spanish, english, french and again german people. Do i whine about that? Nope. I see myself as some individual. Maybe i even have some african blood in my bloodline. I don't know and I dont care.

What counts for me is the individual i am right now. No need to blame my forefathers for my own actions.

Some people seem to get mad when they are held responsible for the action of their cousin who killed a man, but at the same time they ask for retribution and money for the period their grand-grand-grand forefather was held as a slave.

When you don't see the ignorance and stupidity in that kind of claims, i will never take you seriously.

This thread so far has been very respectful, just people talking about heritage and origins.

Your post doesn't make sense to me, is there anyone here whining about racial issues. Talk of race or better yet ethnicity is not a bad thing.

Do hijack this post and turn it into an ugly arguement which is what your post has done. If you don't like it and it's not a junk post then bypass it.

You post is very generalizing.

U could talk about Prince European origins and I will respectfully back u if it's a respectful thread

Do not post racist or 'hateful' material.
This means no racist/homophobic comments, period. Discussions of racism itself in the proper forum are OK. Making hateful comments, directed at a person or group, may get your account immediately suspended.

steakfinger said:

So Prince is African. African-American. Even though I was born here, and like Prince, know little to nothing about my "true heritage" aside form what I've read or heard, I must be Norwegian-American.

I wish people could let go of the divisive identifiers and just be a fucking human being for once. I don't give a shit WHO started it, two wrongs don't make a right.

"Hi. Nice to meet you. I'm a human being."

"Oh shit! I'm a human being, too! We have so much in common! Let's be friends!"

It all depends on the place it's coming from. A person with a dark heart may see/use race ethncitity gender as a divider. But it's not always like that. People also love diversity. To pretend there are no differences isn't realistic either. People can respect and celebrate differences.

Nothing in this thread so far has sugested that anyone is talking about division or wronging others.

People are talking about various African ethnic groups as well as European branches such as Cajun & Creole. So it's not one sided nor is it a negative thread happening here.

My recent family ancestors come from different ethnic backgrounds, they acknowledge it celebrate it and made some beautiful and respectful children & grandchildren.

99% of the posters have been very respectful and positive.

That being said it is turning into a 'Cultural Discussion' and may have to move to the General Forums

The true bottom line is that all people on this planet originate from Africa, no matter what their current ethnicity is...and science can prove it.

babynoz said:

neowa said:

Neither of Prince's parents are directly biracial, by this I mean their parents were of two seperate races. They are both indeed the hybrids of multiple races throughout the history of African Americans, especially the creole of Lousiana. What's next the paper bag text to prove Prince is something other than an American of African descent?

You would be appalled at some of the wild, off the wall speculation and silliness folks post on this topic, but Prince looks exactly like what he is...a black Louisiana Creole.

(Bolded part) That's a very good observation Babynoz. Never looked at it that way. I know very little about the Louisiana Creoles. Many of them vary in complexion and don't they speak some sort of 'pidgin' or 'patois' dialect? I know in the Caribbean they do.

There is a French Creole aka French West Indian community living in the Virgin Islands for years. They consider themselves no different from the Black Caribbeans culturewise, and practice the same customs (West Indian), i.e. eat the same type foods, music, speak similar West Indian dialects, etc. Many have intermarried with other Caribbean ethnic groups, and are descendants of French Europeans that lived on the island years ago. They have the same "West Indian" accents like the rest of native-born Virgin Islanders, no difference. I was visiting family in the USVI, last April and saw the French Creoles or French West Indians/Caribbeans having a celebration of their ethnicity in the islands, during a festival that they have every year, that my brother explained to me. My brother (and 2 of my other brothers and 1 sister) was born in the USVI, but me and my 3 sisters and youngest brother were born stateside. The French Creoles of European descent also participate in the annual Caribbean carnival with all the islanders every year.

[Edited 10/7/11 20:11pm]

OldFriends4Sale said:

Riverman37 said:

Keeps wondering why afro-americans seem so obsessed with their origins and the 'blame game'? You can continue pointing at others for abusing your perceived past, for your own sake, you can also realise practically all the people in the world nowadays have some fucked up past.

And if any group of people deserves some respect in the first place: it are the native-americans. You did took their terrority along with the big, bad white people.

As i said, i am a white guy from the Netherlands: an immigration-country being conquered over the centuries by germans, spanish, english, french and again german people. Do i whine about that? Nope. I see myself as some individual. Maybe i even have some african blood in my bloodline. I don't know and I dont care.

What counts for me is the individual i am right now. No need to blame my forefathers for my own actions.

Some people seem to get mad when they are held responsible for the action of their cousin who killed a man, but at the same time they ask for retribution and money for the period their grand-grand-grand forefather was held as a slave.

When you don't see the ignorance and stupidity in that kind of claims, i will never take you seriously.

This thread so far has been very respectful, just people talking about heritage and origins.

Your post doesn't make sense to me, is there anyone here whining about racial issues? Talk of race or better yet ethnicity is not a bad thing.

Do not hijack this post and turn it into an ugly arguement which is what your post has started to do. If you don't like it and it's not a junk post then bypass it.

Your post is very generalizing.

U could talk about Prince European origins and I will respectfully back u if it's a respectful thread

Do not post racist or 'hateful' material.
This means no racist/homophobic comments, period. Discussions of racism itself in the proper forum are OK. Making hateful comments, directed at a person or group, may get your account immediately suspended.

He is a re-user who was banned as Riverpoet and other screen names for thread jacking and race baiting.

Riverman37 said:

To put it direct:

Just because your grand-grand parent was a slave, doesnt make you special.. or makes you owe somethin,

Nothing more annoying then people who 'abuse' some slave-past for their current day goals: open up and look at the rest of the world, then you might realise how hypocritical your claims are.

End it Riverman37

You've taken this thread in a direction that is turning negative, and it was not like that.

End it Riverman37

bobbyperu said:

Let me say a few words in defense of my fellow DutchRiverman. Me too I think it's unfair tobblame people who live today for what their forefathers did. There is a discussion going on about this very subject in Holland, because like I said, our country was involved in the slave trade as much as any European country. But I do not feel gulty for it any more than I would want to blame the Germans who live today for what Hitler did. At the same time I can understand black Americans wanting to know what part of Africa their ancestors were from, but even if they find out, they're still Americans in the eyes of Africans.

No one on this thread has blamed or is blaming anyone for 'anything' in the past. Riverman is projecting his own personal prejudices towards Black American heritage on this thread, and he has made that clear in his postings. He seems to do this anytime any orgers here mention that Prince is of Black American heritage, then he starts his rants/assumptions/insults/attacks. He even displayed anger towards Prince for performing at the State of the Black Union (SOBU) in 2009, that Prince's longtime friend, Tavis Smiley hosted. Riverman, then known as 'Riverpoet31" (as orger Babynoz has noted), had even inquired as to why Prince would Prince perform for that particular event. I would like you to find a post in this thread where anyone blamed anyone currently living today for slavery? You won't find one, because that is not what the thread is about.

Like orger Babynoz said, 'Riverman37' had the same behavior/attitude under the name "Riverpoet31" and when he found out Prince was performing at the SOBU, and made all kinds of assumptions of the name of the organization, what it represented, and assumptions about the intentions of that organization and American Blacks, similar to the assumptions he implied here. The event was open to anyone in the general public, as well as the concert Prince held for attendees and non-attendees after the event.

(Here's the link from that thread in 2009;refer to posts #152 and #155 - he uses the same term 'afro-american' in his description of Black Americans)

http://prince.org/msg/12/298946

It is not a crime for Black Americans to have the desire to search their family history no more than it is for those of German, Swedish, Italian, Spanish, Dutch, Arab, etc. to do the same. It always seem to be some type of anger coming from some who have no respect or have a miseducation/misunderstanding of Black American culture, and tend to devalue it as insignificant. As far as you stating that Black Americans who search their ancestry, regardless will still be seen as African American in the eyes of Africans, well there's absolutely nothing wrong with that is there, because it doesn't make our heritage of less value than anyone else's. So there is no reason for anyone to go off the deep end at the mere mention of "Black American or African American" heritage, and start making all kinds of degrading comments, insults and off-the-wall accusations, based on some ridiculous, personal, trumped-up fears they impose on themselves.

People discussing the origins of humans, their cultures/ethnicities, and the travels of humans around the world, is not a crime, and we should respect that. We all have a piece of one another in us, so as 'mature' adults we should be able to discuss, share and embrace one another's cultures/ethnicities, without feeling we will be attacked for it, regardless of our individual opinions of historical events, that happened in any country around the world. I think at this point it's best to ignore his insults, and hopefully we can get the thread back on track, like the mod suggested.

[Edited 10/8/11 10:48am]

bobbyperu said:

Let me say a few words in defense of my fellow DutchRiverman. Me too I think it's unfair tobblame people who live today for what their forefathers did. There is a discussion going on about this very subject in Holland, because like I said, our country was involved in the slave trade as much as any European country. But I do not feel gulty for it any more than I would want to blame the Germans who live today for what Hitler did. At the same time I can understand black Americans wanting to know what part of Africa their ancestors were from, but even if they find out, they're still Americans in the eyes of Africans.

Excuse me, but this is the original post...

Prince's African origins

I've been recently to Africa and I loved the experience.

I met some people from several ethnic groups: Peul, Toucouleur, Serer an Wolof.

I'd like to know if anybody can identify, mostly African people,

just by seeing Prince's face which ethnic african group he belongs to.

I tried with his old pictures of the seventies.

I know he's got many different mixed heritages.

Thank you.

It has nothing whatsoever to do with the nastiness that RP interjected into the thread or with what you're posting now, so what are you going on about???

"Black Louisiana Creole" suits Prince well; in my island, "creole people" are nowadays partly black, partly white, partly indian (or coolie"...)

This is a beautiful mixture indeed as a sweet-sour recipe hmmm Yummy Yummy: am hungry

BON APPETIT

ganesh said:

"Black Louisiana Creole" suits Prince well; in my island, "creole people" are nowadays partly black, partly white, partly indian (or coolie"...)

This is a beautiful mixture indeed as a sweet-sour recipe hmmm Yummy Yummy: am hungry

BON APPETIT

ganesh said:

"Black Louisiana Creole" suits Prince well; in my island, "creole people" are nowadays partly black, partly white, partly indian (or coolie"...)

This is a beautiful mixture indeed as a sweet-sour recipe hmmm Yummy Yummy: am hungry

BON APPETIT

Funny that you mention the term 'coolie' because that's what some people call people from Trinidad, Jamaica and Guyana, and people from the Caribbean who have an East Indian appearance, but I don't think that term is warmly accepted anymore. In the Virgin Islands years ago the French European West Indians were referred to as 'cha-chas' but my mother told me, today that would not be warmly embraced like it was years ago. Years ago, a lot of the French, European West Indians married Black Caribbean Women, and their offspring were/are often referred to as 'Creoles', like my cousin's father. My maternal great-grandfather also referred to like that when he was alive back in his days, because of his appearance. I've always had an interest for learning about other cultures/ethnic groups around the world.

[Edited 10/8/11 9:59am]

It's interesting to travel through one's origins, it's so rich because of the diversity..I do feel strong because of that.