In my eyes, there is nothing worse than not understanding the situations involved in your own personal history. I’m not talking about strange trivia specifics like the birthdate of Sir Menelik or the Malcolm X’s favorite meal. I’m referring to general facts that are there to help you understand how things came to be. It makes more sense to know and understand your overall historical situations than to make bland statements that infuriates others due to their arrogance or overall lack of knowledge. Thus, I always work to refrain from talking what I don’t know and try to advise others to do the same.
Too bad I’m not a part of Karrine Steffans PR firm (or whatever) because I would have made sure she didn’t put her foot into her mouth.
The woman known for her superhuman fellatio skills Karrine Steffans was recently on 106 KMEL talking about her present situation and where her head is at. At some point, she mentioned the amazing ideals that she believed in. One of those ideals surround her beliefs that she is NOT an African American and the actual track record of how many African Americans think:
And I think people forget, I’m an islander. I’m not African American. I don’t have like African American struggles. I just don’t. I don’t have the same history. So, and I’m not even tryna be facetious…There’s a serious mind state that comes with being black in America. And being a black American. And the history that comes with that. And all things that are passed down from generation to generation…Shame. Shame sexually. Sexually shaming. Shame on the female gender. Shame just all kinds of shame. And abuse. And belittling and all those things that come from post-slavery
I don’t have slavery in my family so and a lot of islanders don’t, so our mind state is different. We see things different and we’re not ashamed of our bodies. We have Carnival for Christ’s sake….That’s how we live our lives. We go to the beach; we swim naked. It’s just different. Island girls just do it better and that’s just a fact. [1]
Neato! Now this is something interesting!
Then there is the Twitter commentary that came along with it.
The problems with that is some of her ideals and beliefs are either off or just plain wrong. Let me break down where the real issues lie.
1.) The Slavery Issue
Please pay attention to the numbers and how they are broken up.
Whether or not her descendants dealt with any type of slavery is neither here or there. However, the statement dealing with a lot of islanders not having slavery in their family can become troubling. Many people don’t understand that the majority of slaves that came through that Columbian Exchange went to either the islands or to South America(mainly Brazil). So, as much of the “slave mentality” is prevalent in our culture, it hasn’t escaped the culture of anyBlack person that derives from that situation. It just may present itself in a different form or fashion.
2.) Shame of the female gender is not exclusive to African American women
Another thing some people don’t actually understand is sexual shaming isn’t something that is exclusive to women of African American descent. In actuality, sexual shaming is something that is not only AMERICAN but also religious, spread across continents, and just societal. I know that she likes to express her sexuality with freedom. I get that. But is that something to do with her cultural values or the fact that she is either sexually abused or just a “freaky girl”?
3.) Too bad she didn’t name any other worthwhile African American struggles.
Technically, she IS African American if she is from the islands. So, let me get that part out of the way. With that said, I have no idea as to what real struggles she is referring to. This is why her commentary came off condescending. She is a Black woman living in America. Newsflash: you will experience those struggles whether you culturally identify with them or not. So, she can un-identify with African Americans all she wants to. The nation, and its ever-present cultural values, will say different.
These are the things that happen when you, as a person, aren’t fully aware of the gravity of your claims. You will end up saying things are either historically inaccurate or simply ignorant. This is not a shot at Karrine Stephans in any way and I am always happy to see a successful Black woman do their thing. However, she can’t become shocked when people became upset at what she said. As much book writing that she does, she should have taken the time to open one.
‘Nuff Said and ‘Nuff Respect!!!
[Originally posted at Chocolate Covered Lies]
