It was the year 2014 when the internet seemed to explode as it reacted to actor Raven Symoné’s comment about her sexual and racial identity. During an interview with Oprah Winfrey, Symoné said what many believed to be a statement denying her Blackness.
The tension in the interview began to bubble when Winfrey asked Symoné about a tweet she wrote in 2013 responding to the legalization of gay marriages in more states. Many people assumed that her tweet meant two things: one, she was planning on getting married soon, and two, she most likely is gay. Thus, Winfrey asked if Symoné’s tweet was her way of coming out to the world. Symoné later revealed that the tweet wasn’t her announcing to the world that she is gay but a way of expressing her pride for the country she lives in.
As illusive as that comment was, the That’s So Raven star’s follow-up statement surprised almost everyone, including Winfrey.
Raven Symoné Clarifies Her Stance on Being Black
Digging her metaphorical heels into the sand, Symoné follows up her response by saying, “I don’t want to be labeled gay; I want to be labeled as a human who loves humans.” She continues with, “I’m tired of being labeled. I’m an American. I’m not an African American; I’m an American.”
If Winfrey were wearing pearls, she would have clutched them. Instead, the famous talk show host responded with shock, shook her head from side to side, and moved up and down from her seat as if Symoné had cursed God. It’s unclear if Winfrey knew what Symoné meant then, but either way, Winfrey knew how Symoné’s words would be interpreted or misinterpreted.
Many pop culture viewers took Symoné’s words as a denial of her Blackness. However, I found it hard to believe that someone whose career helped push Black stories and Black television forward would deny their heritage and culture. As it turns out, she wasn’t trying to deny anything.
On Symoné’s podcast Tea Time, with her wife Miranda Maday, the couple revisits this influential moment in Symoné’s career. During the interview, Symoné opened up about how she felt attacked after the interview, especially since many people didn’t understand what she was trying to communicate.
“A lot of people on the internet thought I said that I wasn’t Black, and I never said that,” Symoné explains during her podcast. “When I say that African American doesn’t align with me, that label, it doesn’t mean that I’m negating my Blackness, or I’m not Black. I mean, I am from this country, I was born here, and so was my mom, my great great great, great, the pure logistics of it.“ She continues by saying, “I understand my history. I understand where my ancestors come from. I also understand how much blood, sweat, and tears they have soaked into this earth in order to create the America that I live in today as a free, happy, tax-paying American citizen.”
Because African American and Black are often used synonymously, many people thought Symoné’s statement was a denial or an attempt to take the attention away from race when she was bringing attention to a fundamental, often-looked-over topic.
Enslaved Africans were brought to the United States as early as the 1500s, before the country was established in 1776. Throughout generations, Black people or former enslaved Africans fought for the right to vote, own property, and become citizens. Black people have played and continue to play a crucial role in the development of America and are, without a doubt, Americans. So why the extra label?
While “Black” is often used to describe culture, “African American” is a better term for people born in Africa who have immigrated to the United States.
Let’s dissect what purpose the label African American serves or doesn’t serve Black people.
How should Black people label themselves?
Society has labels for everything. In high school, there are labels such as jock, popular, nerds, geeks, etc. While labels help us understand more about the world and how to function in society, labels also serve a bigger purpose. Labels can be empowering. The label “Black Nerd” or “Blerd” sends a message that Black people can also enjoy nerd-related things such as comics, cartoons, reading, etc. Having a label can help you feel accepted within a particular space and different communities.
However, labels can also be detrimental. Black people have always been on the hurtful side of labels, as many derogatory terms were once regularly used to describe Black people. Reflecting on Symoné’s statement makes me wonder where the African American and Black labels come from.
The label “Black” became popular through the Black Power Movement. The movement came about to bring attention to how the government excluded people of African descent, thus leading them to suffer from discrimination and lower socioeconomic situations. The movement also emphasized self-reliance and self-determination.
The term “African American” came about during the late 1980s as a way for Black people to connect with their past. When enslaved Africans were first taken to America, colonizers stripped them of their cultural identity. Thus, having the label “African American” can hold great importance to some people as a way to never forget where we came from.
Food For Thought
The internet can be like a live-action soap opera. People are eager to call anything a scandal and write about how shocking something is. However, this incident with Symoné reminds us to take a moment and consider what is being said. We should consider someone’s actions and words and not judge someone’s character based on ambiguous statements.
Every person of African descent living in America can identify as they choose. How we present ourselves in this world is more important than a label. Preserving Black history as a part of American history is vital to Black people’s future. Symoné calling herself American helps repaint the picture of what it looks like to be an American. Because being American doesn’t mean being white. So many cultures and ethnicities helped birth America, and being an American isn’t limited by one skin tone.
