we need to talk...

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[thepeanutgallery]

I think Raven is owed an apology. What she said wasn't wrong, and I hate how she was ridiculed for it. Black people have been in this country and practically built this country for hundreds of years. It's not right that we don't get to claim our right to be American.

[valkerey_reign]

Raven started a conversation that the world wasn’t ready to have. As she’s done many times before. My parents were born in Haiti migrated to America had me and I consider myself Haitian-American as a first generation American who very much was raised in a household where Haitian culture was very much instilled on us.

[DeQuayvious]

Let’s also remember in that interview? Raven literally ran down her ancestors origin from Africa. She also stated “I’m black” in that interview as well. People just heard the “Not African American” part and ran with it. I understood what she was saying the minute she said it. & I was 18 at the time!

[ki.rice]

I watched that episode of Oprah when it aired, and it totally made sense to me the second you said it. I used to try explaining it to my mom a while ago. However, some people will never understand other people's point of view.

[MyopicBiopic]

Raven doesn't have a problem with being black. She doesn't like the obsession with race.

[ravenrepentance]

As someone who also got called African-American & had to check the African-American box for most of their life I understand. It just doesn't make sense! I'm glad Raven was able to speak upon this & felt comfortable talking about it. Because everyone completely did her dirty for no reason whatsoever! And it also makes me sad that that was supposed to be her coming out moment & that got taken away from her.

[DavidDSR]

I completely understand what you were saying, Raven. I’m always identified as a black American. African American suggest I was born on the continent of Africa, had citizenship then moved to America and now have American citizenship. No. I’m an American. Born and Raised in America. If we want to break it down more into logistics, then yea, I’m a black American because of the color of my skin.

[chrisdiontewalker]

THANK YOU for covering this story!

I’m probably the 5% of people who understood what Raven was saying back when that interview first aired.

I would get sooo irritated when people mention it and say stuff like, “Oh, Raven said she isn’t black.” And I would internally scream and think “That’s NOT what she said…!” 😬🤯

But I’m glad that you guys were able to talk about this and give clarification.

[Sarafoxynpink]

My daughter is biracial & was 14 during that interview. She understood you completely as did I. Its frustrating when people selectively listen. Or as granny would say "Cherry-pick" negativity

[christina-marie-b]

Raven is so, unbelievably intelligent and well-spoken. She knows exactly what she means when she says it. I hate that she even had to explain anything, but people are so quick with "cancel culture" and quick to jump to conclusions before actually knowing the facts. Well said, girl. Sending so much love

[IsaiahWayne]

People need to leave Raven alone and let her be a human being.

[Trc]

Exactly there’s nothing wrong with wanting to be judged by labeling yourself that way, I agree. Im hoping we can discuss how spoke about certain names of the group she identifies with and if she still thinks that it should stop you from being hired.

[JonathanHarrisNews]

1) I don't know if Oprah set you up, but she definitely saw an opportunity for a viral moment for her fledgling show/network and threw you under the bus to get it. She's a very smart woman, and she knew exactly what you were saying, and she pretended she didn't.

2) Jesse Jackson popularized the term African-American, and a lot of people prefer it because it's far more accurate than "Black". No one is Black or white. We come from places. The problem is not with saying African-American, it's that, for example, "white people" don't say European-American. America is unique because all of us (other than Native Americans) descend from people who aren't natively from here. I think using regions to explain ancestry and group identification makes far more sense than using what we find in a box of crayons (colors).

That said, the backlash was ridiculous. It helps, though, to agree on the definitions of terms before we use them or to at least clearly define what it means for you before you use it. I do that a lot in my work, and it saves me a lot of trouble. I'll say something, and if there's any ambiguity, I'll say something like, "to be clear, I mean when I say just because different words mean different things to different people. I always joke that a biscuit is a cracker overseas, and that's not what it is here in the US, so it just helps sometimes to agree or clarify definitions first.

[bryyyyyaaaaannnnn]

Theres NOT 1 THING THAT WAS SAID THEN OR NOW, THAT I DONT AGREE WITH !!! Ive always felt this way . THANKS RAVEN AND MIRANDA FOR THIS CONVO.

[sumdayzzz]

no because i live in canada and i’ve never heard anyone here say we’re african canadian….we’re just canadians lmao

[louiecaine]

I’m not an African American my people were and are indigenous to this country 💪🏾💪🏾💪🏾

[SpammytheHedgehog]

Raven deserves at least 1 million subscribers.

[daydreamer]

interesting how identifying as an American was more controversial than identifying as being attracted to the same-sex. Speaks to the inherit shame our country holds towards our own history as a country. great episode, thank you Raven & Miranda!

[amandalc]

I love this so much!!!! Good for you Raven speaking your truth and not letting what people in Hollywood like Oprah think you should do/say. ❤

[YearSoul]

I only thought her original statement was weird because she said she doesn't like labels but then she identified herself as 2-3 different labels JUST not African American


But i understand her position. Someone who is Jamaican or Haitian born in the United States of America does not identity as African American & it's not questioned. They could say well their last 4 generations were born in Jamaica. *African Americans* as we know it are 5 - 6 generation Americans at the least.

When someone is saying they are Italian-American or Nigerian American they generally have a parent or grandparent born in Italy or Nigeria. US descendants of enslaved people know their parents were born in US as were their parents' great-grandparents. Black American culture is rich and pulls from great history to establish something new and real and we shouldn't miss that point. We have a culture as Black Americans/African Americans that was cultivated in the US.