Do Africans Think That Black Americans Are "Diluted"? (selected comments from a YouTube video discussion thread)

COOPSCORNER, Jan 31, 2025  JOHANNESBURG

Live from Johannesburg, South Africa! Mr. Jackson Cooper aka J-Coop tackles a very important question "What do South Africans think of Black Americans?". These answers will truly SHOCK you. Check it out... Enjoy!

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Edited by Azizi Powell

This pancocojams post presents a sample of comments from the discussion thread of a 2025 YouTube video about random "man on the street" style interviews that a young Black American conducted with random students from a Johannesburg, South Africa university. This post focuses on some of the comments in that discussion thread that focused on two of those university students in separate interviews* describing Black Americans as being "diluted".

The content of this post is presented for historical and socio-cultural purposes.

All copyrights remain with their owners.

Thanks to all those who are quoted in this post and thanks to COOPSCORNER for conducting those interviews and for publishing this video.
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*Here's the Google Search results for the term "man in the street" - "A man-on-the-street interview is a type of informal interview where journalists ask random people questions in public places to gather opinions or reactions on a specific topic. This method is often used to capture the pulse of the community and provides diverse perspectives that can enhance storytelling."

Click 5:32 for the complete interview for a Black female student from Zimbabwe who said that Black Americans are "diluted and polluted". That part of her comment begins at 5:43. In response to the question "How do you view Black Americans"?, that student said "Okay, when it comes to us and black Americans, we are just two different groups. We are strictly from South Africa, from Africa, the roots of Africa and I feel like they are sort of like diluted in a way, polluted in a way"...  

(I didn't understand what this student said her first name is. The video captions didn't give that first name, but gave "Sambata" as her  surname.)

Click 9:17 for the beginning of the complete interview with Evans, a Black male student who was born in Zimbabwe. At 9:58, In response to the question "How do Zimbabweans view Black Americans", Evans said "Black Americans aren't really the same African as we are African. We view that as though oh no they're diluted". .

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SELECTED COMMENTS FROM THIS VIDEO'S DISCUSSION THREAD

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9XeK0MhRqxs

All of these comments were written in February and March 2025. These comments are given in no particular order and are numbered for referencing purposes only.

1. nondumisobuthelezi4570
"As a South African, i find words like DILUTED & POLUTED to be so disrespectful."

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2. @papaomphile5094
"As i south African i sonehow got really annoyed when the Zimbabwean dude and the tall girl associated Americans with the word "diluted" thats disrespectful. We love and learn from our Brothers & sisters in the states ❤"

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3. WayneKitching
"I'm a South African and I cringed when the girl said about about Black Americans who have lost their culture but developed a unique culture."

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4. @benjaminsmith2287
"Only two people said that. And we are diluted compared to Africans. I liked how varied the responses were."

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5. @QueenBee-il1oj
"I agree on one hand the words DILUTED to describe African Americans is disrespectful. But on another view many of us do not know from what part of Africa we originated.  What Africans in the diaspora and what Africans on the continent need only to understand 1 thing and that is that we ARE BLACK AND PROUD.         James Brown theme."

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6. @Kii_J
"Calling us diluted yet the whole world including SA 🇿🇦 follows our culture is very interesting. America culture is black American culture as a whole."

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7. @tolucontent3795
"💯 agree..  that’s only that persons view not every African"

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8. @missqt48
"Why do a lot of FBA/AA/ Black Americans get triggered by ONE persons opinion?

How you gonna get on the WM internet and be mad at one person opinion 😄😄😄

If y’all had emotional intelligence you could rule the world! But very emotional people don’t go far in life!"
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"FBA" = "Foundational Black American" is a new term that refers to Black people who can trace their ancestry to at least one person who was enslaved in the United States. 

A similar referent, ADOS, (American Descendants Of Slavery), was first used online for that same population around 2016, but you rarely come across that term online anymore. The referent FBA began to be used online shortly after ADOS began. but FBA appears to be increasing its online use (my guess) particularly among Black people under the age of forty. .

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Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2024/06/article-excerpts-about-population.html for the pancocojams post entitled "Article Excerpts About The Population Referents "ADOS" (American Descendants Of Slaves) And "FBA" (Foundational Black Americans)".

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9. @jbell73986
"She called us polluted"

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10. @jbell73986
"And how the hell do you think that happened? Smh"

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11. @sharadawilliams6394
"I perceive ‘diluted’ to mean that we have little of our African culture. I think about how the Yorubas in Brazil still practice their Yoruba culture. I’m not privy of Brazil’s relationship with enslaved Africans during the TAST; how the enslavers treated them but here in America, our ancestors culture was stripped by their enslavers so what do expect. At least some of us have the desire to connect with people from the continent and learn but the disrespect from some of you can be a deterrent that has caused some FBAs to delineate. If it weren’t for my belief that you are our siblings was instructed, per Scripture, not hold a grudge against you, I would do the same thing.  Accusing us of being proud while you’re over there basically boasting against us hypocritical. Our culture was birthed out of struggle and adversity."

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12. @linthexplorer814
"Hi I am sorry I needed to comment.. as an African who grew up in the US the fact that Africans in the motherland use the terms diluted and polluted to describe African-Americans is so disrespectful.. black culture is so beautiful it’s so unique. It’s so diverse and it should be celebrated and it should be taught . I wish both sides would learn about each other’s histories to understand each other’s walks of life. & also at the end of the day as black people no matter where we are in the world we will fight similar battles so why put each other down because of different geographical locations? You will see that we have a lot more similarities than  differences. Thank you Cooper for these interviews. They are very insightful."

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13. @mel-bp1kp
"Diluted and Polluted she is speaking for herself not all of us hayi that was wrong."
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"Hayi" = South African exclamation that means "No!" [addition and correction welcome.]

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14. @gwendolynallen3218
"I like how he pointed out their hypocrisy and delusions. Dressed like us but we are white washed. What does that make you? 😂"

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15. @FBA-Reddawg2.0
"Salute to the two lovely south African Sista's in the green and black that didn't pre-judge FBA's off something they so on t.v. obviously 🤦🏼‍♂️🤷🏼‍♂️as for the few misimformed S.A.'s who said black Americans are "diluted" y'all need to go get y'all minds right ASAP😂🤨🤷🏼‍♂️ we created and molded  our very culture in America that got it out the mud fr that our ancestors built from scratch ❤️ 🔱 🖤💪🏼 some of these ppl have no clue what they even talking about  whose "diluted"🤨 Educate yourself before you speak next-time, black Americans set the trends that the world follows respect that fact just pay homage ✊🏼💯 education was for free this time sheesh respectfully 🤨🧐✌🏼"

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16. @ConnorDelport-ff3dw
"Wow, the disrespect through ignorance is embarrassing. Black Americans have a culture of their own, they don't have to be tied to Africa to be an authentic"

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17. @mtuflani
"This is a great video if anything on the diversity of opinions. Everybody has a culture. Those who say that BAs have lost their (African) culture need to understand that they have their own "unique" culture now which was formed through great adversity and now the results have has greatly influenced the globe. And it is rich and BA's should stand on it with pride. Just facts. Let us celebrate each other's wins from both sides and unite. It is not that deep. We can learn a lot from each other when we share cultures and become even stronger as melanated people"

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18. @pholilemhlanga8664
"We need to dissect the term Culture. We understand African American's were ripped off their African heritage, cultural norms, spiritual practices etc. The "diluted" term comes from the unfortunate circumstances African Americans face.  We need a longer discussion and learn more about each other. This is a great topic Mr Jackson, Thank you for opening communication channels."

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19. @mzinformation8602
"I love my African people,  especially South African,  but many will never understand 2hat itnis to be black in America until they've been black in America.  It's not the worse thing in the world, but it's a terrible feeling knowing that you are hated, feared,  misjudged,  and misunderstood. You can't judge all based on what you see and hear in the media. The diluted polluted was rude. Lol. Of course we're diluted.  We've been mixed with the blood and accents of our ancestors masters. Lol. Come to America and go from state to state.  The accents are different and so are some of the ways. Meaning many blacks in different states maintained some of their African roots a d traditions, but we see ourselves as one"

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20. @benjaminsmith2287
"I don't think mixed is what is meant by diluted. I think Westernized Africans is what is meant by diluted. The Africaness of a people whose ancestry started in Africa has been diluted/polluted."

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21. @benjaminsmith2287 Feb 2025
"The "diluted" comment made sense to me. I took no offense to it. Your comment makes sense to me as well. But there is a non-mainstream Black American that is a great presence too and shows more depth IMO."

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22. @MissKittyKilpatrick
"Diluted and polluted. Some people just say any foolish thing."

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23. @oyunazone6283
"Wow, Calling us Diluted, Confused and people with no culture is craazzzyy Work. I mean, didn't our Music genres like Jazz, Blues, Hip Hop RNB and Rock N Roll not help shape music all around the world? what about the trends we set like our fashion and Dances, The Inventions we made, Or how our ancestors built AMERICA with their bare hands? What About being Literally One of the top athletics groups in the world today? Our Social, Political AND Resilience Influences that even helped Black south Africans?! Soul Food?!  Like I can Literally Go On. We Know Who we Are...its just sad that after all this, a lot of these people still act like they don't. Whether people want to act like they know us or not we're still gonna keep moving mountains. God Bless."

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24. @SoulBuddy2222
"I am a black South African, and I agree with you about black American culture. But please understand that they are talking about culture in the narrow sense of the word and not the broad sense of the word.

When they talk about culture here, they mean cultural heritage handed down from generation to generation, including language and spiritual practices.

Even though many black South Africans have been westernized or americanised, they still follow certain cultural practices, like honoring and celebrating their ancestors etc.etc.

In my opinion, there is no right or wrong, it is just what it is. For example, majority of South African Indians lost their languages and adopted English as their home language, but retained their Hindu and Muslim religions, Indian cuisine as well as other cultural practices. I am also aware that there is a very small African American group, who were less westernized than the majority (there is a unique name for them, which I've forgotten). Based on their lifestyle and culture, they would relate more to Africans than most black Americans. The same applies to some of the blacks in the Caribbean, who retained a lot of their African heritage."

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25. @cHAWELO3
"Wow didn't expect people to be offended by the word diluted. As a black South African woman, I guess I understand as it's like saying you're not Black enough. You also have to take into consideration we don't see culture the same. To me it seems Black Americans regards culture as music, food, clothes, style, people and pioneers who sacrificed and shaped the strong heritage that they possess. Black American culture is so strong and undeniable. I could be wrong in many ways and open to correction😂😂😂 . As Africans, culture means something else to us. It's bloodline, clan names, spiritual vibrations, ancient traditions, languages, ideas, a genesis, legacy,etc. The food, clothes and physical stuff is semantics. But our roots are who we are."

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26. @Pheloooooo
"I think we're confusing culture and tradition, food, music, arts, style etc is exactly what a culture is, tradition is something that's passed down from generations and they've done just that with theirs, the only thing that wasn't passed down was their language(but maybe we can say they do😂cause only black americans speak english the way they do)they have african spirituality in their black american culture too except many of them don't acknowledge that side, which is how that too might die one day but if you go to New Orleans, that place is africa for real😂so spiritual and see a lot of african culture. We have to be careful not to be disrespectful with terms like not black enough, those people didn't ask for the history they have and we SANs have a lot in common with them too, black is genetics and they are black guys🤷‍♀️I think we could learn from each other hey, they come here n teach us how to make money, we pour in where they can't like finding their language, tribe etc plus they lived in 1st world country seeing ⚪️ people do things to keep them oppressed, they could show us those loopholes here in Africa"

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27. @cHAWELO3
"@Pheloooooo  You make fair points. I have never been to the U.S which is why I gave my perspective of Black America from not only what I have seen on TV but history documentaries, proud Black American artists in different mediums of art, books,etc. I had no idea that African spirituality is practiced by Black Americans. While I can believe it's also hard to believe given some of the things they say about Africa and how a lot of people say they don't know much about the continent.

Just to clarify I wasn't saying they aren't black enough but that us making statements that they are diluted can be perceived as stating that they aren't "black enough". So I understand why someone would take offence to such statements even if we claim there is no ill intent behind those words.

Learning from one another is essential now more than ever as white supremacy keeps popping up. Our unity benefits ourselves and the world."

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28. @vividratsculpordwarf
"We’re all colonized.  There is no difference. Our cultures in Africa have a western influence"

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29. @Tytrades
"Most of us are diluted but you can say the same about many Africans"

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30. @JaimieWinston-l1l
"I think another word should have been used tho"

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31. @JaimieWinston-l1l
"I kinda understand , but it’s not our fault our history was lost"

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32. @jessharris8294
"As a black American..I’m not offended. I get it… our black culture is very western"

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33. @Onetoomanytimez
"Might I say as a black American(not by choice) to be referred to as diluted is beyond ridiculous. We have an African presence here and African communities and we don’t speak this way. I’ve worked with different Africans from different tribes and they are nice people. But they do say Africans feel like they are the REAL black people. I personally feel like it’s a blessing to be born in your native land where you are the majority. However I think they might be so privileged by their circumstances that they ignore how we actually ended up so “diluted”. And to not have to bother yourself with the details (our history)just proves my point even more. We have an identity crisis because there’s a war on race here and we are constantly reminded of who we should be instead of who we are. We spend more time defending ourselves than living our lives. It’s a constant fight and it’s exhausting. My wife and I talk about moving to Africa a lot to escape. She has Cameroon blood and I I’m (black,native Chickasaw, Cherokee, and I have some Irish blood as well). My family were apart of the 1921 race massacre here in Tulsa,Ok. We have culture here but unfortunately it’s riddled with violence and barbarism by the hand of our oppressors. 

You would be surprised to know how much black people here resonate with the African diaspora but I can tell by Some of their responses that they prefer we learn their culture even if they choose to ignore our history. They sound pretty intelligent for the most part but there is a lot of ignorance present as well. They seem to be so proud of themselves that intern they devalue us it’s a shame. Being African American is more of a geo-political term(by way geographical disposition)to us but you guys say it like it’s our identity or nationality . They would be surprised to know how white washed they sound as well. Our history brought us here but our blood lineages is stretched abroad just like you."
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I reformatted this comment to increase its readability. 

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34. @shaunstorm9967
"South African here , y’all aren’t diluted   Yall just evolved according to being in the heart of the west  . Y’all went through horrible things and yet you persevered . Sports , Music and Hollywood are your domains of dominance but bet that’s not all you have accomplished, your culture is mainstream and your contributions to building the Us’s military along with it’s scientific monopoly is a testament to your excellence and potential . We are honored to call you brethren and sisters . We pray and move towards a future we work and live among each other .❤"

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35. @TheIntrovert83
"Thank You. That comment made me angry. ❤🖤💚"

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36. @agangproductions1042
"I'm a SAcan who has travelled America a bit. Black Americans  have their owñ culture, survival skills and hustles. I think we should respect and understand that they had to create their own culture as Black Americans , we shouldn't expect them to be African cos they know nothing about that and there is nothing wrong with that, infact we should sympathize with them for being stripped of their names, heritage et al. I wish they can be open to learning more about other nations and stop being ignorant.  Traveling from their side could help a great deal ( even travelling within America could open their perpective a bit) .

Remember, America is good with markerting itself so, be open to learning about the real porverty striken, homelessness, joblessness America too. Aweee!"

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37. @SamraySimon-fy7sq
"Pan-Africanism all the way, y'all!"

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38. @alvinedwards434
"This was good! Especially that last interaction. Each one, teach one! Love that. I understand why some would think we lack heritage or we are "watered down", but what they may not understand is Black people in America influence much of what the world is doing. Style, music, and culture. The world follows our lead! I blame media though, because they only show one side of us, but there are many brilliant Black minds here in the States that dont get highlighted. This was dope though! Keep it up, Jackson! Salute!"

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39. @TsweloMolema
"Black Americans are African by blood and no one can take that heritage away from them. There's a shared narrative (in this video) that they are lacking in black culture “diluted.” I believe music expresses their blackness more than anything from the polyphonic jazz in New Orleans, African American Spirituals, songs that came out of slavery all resemble a part of Africa and the ultimate expressions of blackness (similarly in SA, miners created gum booting as a mode of communication that later became a form of expression and art, we have struggle songs, deeply invested in local forms of jazz, our church song that are sometimes European melodies translated to our languages.) We South Africans love our cultural food; black Americans have that too. There’s differences in the expression of our blackness but that’s what it remains… BLACK. I would’ve thought that the average South African would be more sympathetic in this regard. Great video, love the approach you’re taking in understanding the local culture."

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40. @Azrael-s2z
"For South Africans it’s easy to spot the difference between coloureds and blacks and black Americans. They aren’t the same, the reason many South Africans view them as “diluted” is a cultural thing. They see black Americans as being heavily influenced by western values and customs, they have formed their own culture in America. For me the problem is, media shows some of the worst parts of black Americans and they are portrayed as racist or self centred. Many people mistake what the media shows as the majority of black Americans, but I have met some black American immigrants and loved my interactions with them and as they were my clients I had many interactions with them for 3 years. They are definitely different than their african brothers"

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41.@tommytremble3910
"Imagine a South Africa calling ANYONE white washed 😂"

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42. @benjaminsmith2287
"To be honest, Black Americans are western people with a bit of Black, sometimes Africanish, spice on it. So, we kind of seem like other Americans to a lot of people outside of the USA."

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43. @uncommon1170
"I think the problem is South Africans have learned about African Americans through the media and Hollywood.  The media has predominantly painted us in a negative light.  I am so proud to be African American because we are multi faceted, we are extremely talented, we are resilient and I could go on forever! Now the problem as far as us relating to South Africans is that we come from the USA which has influenced the globe, everyone learns about our country but unless an American has a special interest in another country, we can go our whole lives never even thinking about most countries.  We live in a melting pot and can easily experience so many cultures at home in the states.  Most of us didn't even grow up knowing anything about  South Africa.  I am glad that content creators are educating us on this beautiful country.  I'm thankful to Coop for the hard work he's doing out there. God willing I'll be going this year."

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44. @johnnieolivier1010
"A very insightful video. It's sad that a lot of the young people you interviewed lack the knowledge of the history of black Americans. The influence of black Americans in music, fashion, politics, entertainment, etc is reflected world wide. Black American innovations is so underrated, it's sad because in every sphere of industrialisation the foot prints of black Americans is visible"

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45. @TraveLAttitudes
"The reverse is true regarding African Americans when it pertains to the history of Africa. I’ve come across countless AA who are clueless on the Colonization of Africa"

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46. @MelissaToday
"The dialogue would have completely different with older more experienced, more educated adults. But good to see what young people think."

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47. @cohesivesouls
"Exactly the youth perception is totally different!!!!"

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48. @adoro-ble521
"Yeah or a mix of both"

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49. @oohbabybloo
"These are smart young people. I guarantee if you ask the same question for non-college student not educated or poor the answers will not be the same. "

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50. @eporter8213
"I think we all need read more about each other’s history to get a clearer picture of Black Americans and South Africans."

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51.@junkworks-ok6sg
" "Diluted" & "polluted" is a vile way of describing people."

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52. @michaelsmith8947
"Crazy huh?"

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53. @leszjacobs1637
"It’s not to offend. Africans and black Americans are culturally different that’s just a fact"

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54. @Thesincereservant
"This is a great video on a topic which needs to be elaborated on.

Are we forgetting our forefathers was striped from their land, brought to a foreign land, renamed and brainwashed of their heritage.

Fast forward, the children of the enslaved return to the land, lacking knowledge of who they are, what tribe they are from and no knowledge of their heritage, just to be looked at as foreigners by their brothers and sisters. WE ARE ONE, and the day we get this is the day we can build in all areas of life.

Do Chinese return to China and they say you’re American Chinese?

Do Indians return to India and they say your British Indian?

It’s time our people wake up and unite because we are all one.

Acts 7:6

And God spake on this wise, That his seed should sojourn in a strange land; and that they should bring them into bondage, and entreat them evil four hundred years."

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55. @Thesincereservant
"@ If a person is born in London but both parents are chinese, is that person Chinese or British?"

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56. @MsUbhejane
"@Thesincereservant  Chinese descent and British nationality. There’s a difference between Genealogy and Nationality. I don’t know when the confusion happened, this was never a question. Also the fact that you were born in a certain country doesn’t translate that you will automatically take that nationality. Countries have different laws regarding citizenship and nationality."

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57. @QLivin
"@Thesincereservant  Stop comparing us to immigrants. We have had an ethno genesis. We are American not African."

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58. @nanas1319
"When it comes to disclipline I think there is no difference. It is instilled from an early age to respect elders, take care of family and the elderly. I think based on that we can find common traits among the black americans and south africans."

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59. @tommytremble3910
"This chick called us “diluted and polluted” and said we weren’t the same (people). But let a black American be critical of Africa and speak about them like they’re less then and we’d never hear the end of it or how we’re so self hating. If we not the same like y’all keep saying then it ain’t self hating. It’s just hating ignorant lames who happen to share your skin tone. 🤷🏾‍♂️"

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60. @mfundisombhele3856
"In every society you will always find foolish people & some will be the opposite ...so I hope Americans wont take some foolish opinions that some people have given in this platform.As a South African, I am extremely disappointed by some terrible choices of words used to describe Black American as "'diluted,polluted & white-washed"  that was so unintelligent of them!"

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61. @thepresidentialking9190
"We are not diluted versions of you guys! You have been lied to! 🫳🏾🎤"

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62. @jkelly1418
"Diluted?! Polluted?! I see why FBA stand on business the way they do. Blacks/FBAs we really only have us 🤷🏾‍♂️ "

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63. @ramerehoward9964
"Why is that just about half of the option mind set is that Us Foundational Black Americans are confused cause we know who we are why are We always under the microscope, why are we the lineage everyone likes to give there opinion on 🤷🏾 it must be something unique about Us 😆"

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64. @jkelly1418
"@ bet, I don’t speak for every FBA, there might be some that share the opinion of the interviewees but y’all are gonna call us diluted/polluted because we established our own culture."

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65. @tolucontent3795
"That was 2 out of the 10 people he interviewed…  every Africa doesn’t feel that way …"

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66. @lozi4163
"Show me videos of black South Africans leaving SA to America and interviewing young black Americans in universities asking them about South Africans, i mean we saw how ignorant old black Americans were regarding the Tyla issue let's not act holly. Until we come there and interview your young people in colleges then you might need to get off your high horse"
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A number of African Americans were very critical of Grammy award winning South African singer Tyla saying that she is Coloured and not Black. The Coloured category in South Africa is very different than the old, no longer used referent "Colored" as it was used to refer to African Americans. Read comment #70 below.

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67. @TheIrieman15
"Can't have it both ways. You guys are the most visible and influence black culture so you will be the most talked about."

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68. @ramerehoward9964
"@TheIrieman15  we shouldn’t get so much negative energy from other melanated kindred when we have always shown support & respect to our melanated kindred now us FBA’s have got feed up with it and are in straightening mode."

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69. @mandisamthembu9230
"I don't think very highly of black Americans after they attacked Tyla  for calling herself Coloured. My thing is people were refusing to be teachable, it's a race that is valid here in South Africa.. Our traumas are really not share you guys.. Pissed me off honestly, but we move 😅"
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A number of African Americans took exception to Grammy award winning South African singer saying that she was Coloured and not Black. However, it's important to recognize that the South African referent "Coloured" isn't the same thing as the old, retired term "Colored" that was used in the United States as a referent for African Americans. Some Black Americans (prior to the 1980s) referred to themselves and tp other Black Americans as "Colored" as a way of emphasizing their mixed racial ancestry and de-emphasizing their Black African ancestry. Tyla wasn't doing that in June 2024 when she shared on "The Breakfast Club", a very popular African American radio show/podcast that that she is "Coloured in South Africa and Black in the United States".  https://ew.com/tyla-addresses-her-racial-identity-never-denied-my-blackness-8663341 

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70.  @shanicescheepers1487
"Love the video Coop. I think you should probably get an older crowd for this topic maybe 10+ older, these students are still trying to find themselves, some just came out of school and might still need to learn more about what culture is.

Also I think the coloured topic is another one that confuse Americans because not all coloureds come from black or white dads some of us already have a long bloodline of mixed males because I read some of the comments on the coloured opinions in the video and it’s still misinterpreted as u have a black dad, ur black💀

Speaking for myself here, my dad has khoisan ppl in his bloodline where a netherland white male came and then a xhosa and then his coloured dad and then him and it became coloured because when it cane to his dad a lot of the san, netherland white and xhosa traditions and believes  were intertwined with each other

My mother has khoisan, netherlands white and cape malay(her dad) family where a lot of muslim and indian believes are mixed so being coloured here is not as straightforward as black and white u guys are forgetting the indigenous and oldest group of people in South Africa, the San. That’s why I say being coloured comes from a long bloodline of different believes and cultures that were mixed and made one.

Just to add we kept the Scheepers(Netherlands) Surname because my grandfather was a son to a single mother(who was also a mixed race woman)"

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71. @Christocentric_Lifestyle

"Guys please don't take offence of anything being said here. These are random people expressing their opinions, and they don't necessarily stand for all of us. And most are pretty stupid to be honest."

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72. @KamanoPilane2
"They're not stupid but are kids expressing themselves on their experiences"

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73. @TheDiaryofaRhubarbie
"Diluted and polluted gosh that hurts. I want to react to this but, idk. I do agree we are not the same."

**
74. @Mattilainen45
"Black Americans qnd coloureds both generally have some European ancestry, so they're kinda similar in that regard."

**
75. @evamathebula4448
"The opinion that black American culture is diluted or that they don't have culture is very common among afrikan not just south afrikan and its very wrong I see this rhetoric on twitter all the time. I say this a s a South afrikan. First how they dance, music their dialect AAVE, how they cook the foods during thanksgiving different from others is the same country, their music, is CULTUREEEEE. n we have appropriated most of it globally. I'm not sure if everyone do it but when they get married they jump a broom. A tradition they created because their marriage wasn't recognised during them dayz. And we pay lobola.

Just because they can't trace their tribe from Ghana or Nigeria from literally multiple generations and live or speak what that trobe is doesn't mean they are uncultured. Traditions and cultures are created and evolve. We have also evolved in our culture and traditions as well. Does that mean we're diluted now? No. Anyway it's all❤❤❤that's my 2s"

**
76. @apextraxx2903
"@18:39 This is the problem. They don't seem to realize that in America WE ARE THE CULTURE. That's why you see people around the world dressing and imitating us. The food, the music, the CIVIL RIGHTS black people enjoy across the world started was achieved by us and advocated for by us in other places, MULTICULTURALISM was not a thing until we fought for it here and integrated and then heavily advocated to end apartheid in Africa, sports heroes that broke racial barriers and created a path for athletes to compete and make millions in America, the thousands if patents & inventions etc etc etc.....we are Not Africans living in America, we are Black Americans that built America...THE CULTURE AND THE FOUNDATIONAL PHYSICAL THINGS WERE BUILT WITH OUR HANDS... during and after slavery.

 

With that being said y'all have some adorable woman.😀"

**
77. @mamadeebuildsahouse
"Point of correction: it's not Wits it's Vats! Secondly those few people aren't good sample. I say this as a South African American who is Xhosa."
-snip-
This comment refers to the nickname of University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, South Africa.

**
Reply
78. @MsMak03
"@mamadeebuildsahouse  it’s pronounced ‘Vits’, like ‘Bits’"

**
Reply
79. @KamanoPilane2
"You can't say people aren't good example when bcoz they are not sharing same sentiments as you. What's proud South African American Xhosa? 😂😂😂 Waitse la re tshegisa."
-snip-
Google translate from Xhosa to English
"Waitse la re tshegisa" = "You've been making fun of us."

**
Reply
80. @mamadeebuildsahouse
"@KamanoPilane2  No, i understand that. I feel like there is always a versus being created which isn't helpful. Many South Africans aren't exposed to americans, they rely on what they see on television which is very skewed and often a misrepresentation. So, i wanted people to know that the sample does not represent us as south africans. And for me personally, I've lived with Americans for more than 26 years.  and ordinary americans and you will be shocked how lovely they are." 

****
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Visiting comments are welcome.

Byron Donalds' "Jim Crow" Comments And YouTube Comments About Byron Donalds Being A "Tether" (A Black Person Whose Ancestry Isn't From The United states)

Edited by Azizi Powell

This pancocojams post presents information about United States Representative Byron Donalds' (Republican-Florida) June 2024 comments about Jim Crow.

This post also presents a urbandictionary.com definition about the FBA (Foundational Black American) meaning of "tether". This post also presents selected comments from a Reese Waters video about Byron Donalds' Jim Crow comments.

The content of this post is presented for historical, socio-cultural, political, and linguistic purposes.

All copyrights remain with their owners.

Thanks to all those who are quoted in this post.
-snip-
Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2024/06/article-excerpts-about-population.html for the closely related pancocojams post entitled "Article Excerpts About The Population Referents "ADOS" (American Descendants Of Slaves) And "FBA" (Foundational Black Americans).

****
PANCOCOJAMS EDITOR'S NOTE
People who are members of or supportive of the ideology of FBA and/or ADOS believe that the fact that Representative Byron Donalds is of Jamaican/Panamanian descent (as indicated in his Wikipedia page*) is pertinent to his statements about Jim Crow. They certainly have a point, although I believe that you don't have to be FBA/ADOS to learn about and to recognize the evil of Jim Crow laws and Jim Crow attitudes.

For what it's worth, people who use the terms "ADOS" and/or "FBA" wouldn't consider me eligible to a member of either of these population groups. That is because I am Black Caribbean on my mother's side and I can't trace any enslaved Black American ancestry on my father's side. (My father was adopted from New York state by a Black family in Michigan. I believe that he was Black/White racially mixed, but I don't know anything about his ancestry.)

I consider myself to be pan-African in ideology and I'm highly distrustful of the motivations of the founders and spokespersons of both the ADOS and the FBA movements/lineages.

****
*From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Byron_Donalds
..."Donalds was born and raised in the Crown Heights neighborhood in the New York City borough of Brooklyn.[16][17] One of three children, he was raised by his single mother.[16] In 1996, Donalds graduated from Nazareth Regional High School in East Flatbush.[18] Donalds is of Jamaican and Panamanian heritage.[19][20]"...

****
BACKGROUND - BYRON DONALD'S "JIM CROW" COMMENTS
From https://www.politifact.com/article/2024/jun/10/fact-checking-byron-donalds-jim-crow-comments/ "Fact-checking Byron Donalds’ ‘Jim Crow’ comments on Black families, conservatism" by  Louis Jacobson and Samantha Putterman, June 10, 2024
"Rep. Byron Donalds, R-Fla., a prominent supporter of former President Donald Trump, recently tried to draw Black voters to Trump’s side, but a comparison he made involving the Jim Crow era drew criticism from Democrats.

At a June 4 event in Philadelphia, Donalds compared today’s Black culture with that of the Jim Crow era, when Black people in the South were subject to multiple forms of state-sponsored discrimination. Jim Crow laws were enacted over several decades following the end of post-Civil War Reconstruction in the late 19th century and formally ended with passage of the Civil Rights Act and the Voting Rights Act in the mid-1960s.

"You see, during Jim Crow, the Black family was together," Donalds said in a recording published by the Philadelphia Inquirer. "During Jim Crow, more Black people were not just conservative — Black people have always been conservative-minded — but more Black people voted conservatively. And then (the Department of Health, Education and Welfare), Lyndon Johnson — you go down that road, and now we are where we are."

Donalds’ mention of Johnson refers to increased federal efforts to fight poverty, which some conservatives say provided incentives for the breakup of families.

Leading Democrats criticized Donalds’ statement as lionizing the Jim Crow era. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York, called out Donalds on the House floor, saying his comparison was a "factually inaccurate statement that Black folks were better off during Jim Crow. That’s an outlandish, outrageous and out-of-pocket observation."

The Congressional Black Caucus, which consists of House Democrats, demanded that Donalds apologize to Black Americans "for misrepresenting one of the darkest chapters in our history for his own political gain."

Vice President Kamala Harris weighed in May 10, saying, "It’s sadly yet another example of somebody out of Florida trying to erase or rewrite our true history," referring to a controversy over a proposed rewrite of some Black history standards for middle schools in the state. "I went to Florida last July to call out what they were trying to do to replace our history with lies. And apparently there’s a never ending flow of that coming out of that state."

Donalds defended his comments on MSNBC, saying he was not being "nostalgic" about Jim Crow but was trying to make the narrow point about Black marriage rates and a stronger conservative identity.

During the Jim Crow period, he said, "the marriage rates of Black Americans were significantly higher than any other time since then in American history" and that since then, "they have plummeted."

Some Democratic characterizations of Donalds’ remarks were overbroad. But experts told PolitiFact that Donalds’ remarks about Black Americans’ families and conservative identity were thorny in their own right.

[...]

There is some statistical evidence to support Donalds’ claim about Black marriage rates being stronger during the Jim Crow era. However, it omits a lot of important context, experts told PolitiFact, including the role of broader social, educational and economic patterns."...

****
DEFINITION OF "FOUNDATIONAL BLACK AMERICAN" (FBA) AND THEIR MEANING OF "TETHER" 
From https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Tether 
"Tether

AS Defined by FBA's

Background Information: FBA (Foundational Black Americans) refers to the LINEAGE OF Black people who are the descendants of those blacks who were enslaved during the period of U.S chattel slavery. Those include:

-native born indigenous black Americans

- Black Freemen

- the 3% or so of Africans arriving during the American slave trade and mixed in with the natives.

Tether refers to a subset of black immigrants arriving mostly after changes to the 1965 Naturalization and Immigration Laws, whom appear to have an Anti-FBA, sociopolitical agenda to replace them and undermine their efforts to pursue protections legislation, long overdue reparations from the U.S Government, and other resources that were originally earmarked to benefit FBAs. FBA's interpret the actions of these "tethers" as traitorous and treasonous since they were primarily responsible for fighting to have the 1965 immigration laws changed and amended to allow black immigrants an unprecedented pathway to citizenship in the U.S. NOTE THE DISTINCTION being made: A "tether" does not refer to "ALL" black immigrants as suggested by the hyperbole of those black immigrants who would be considered "tethers" by FBA's. This only refers to those insurgent black immigrants who move to undermine the efforts of FBAs.

A black immigrant acting as a tether will frequently undermine the efforts of FBAs

by July 3, 2022 [no screen name given]

****
SELECTED COMMENTS ABOUT BYRON DONALDS BEING A "TETHER" (FBA MEANING OF THAT TERM)
From https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HJceGvENBiA "Byron Donalds & Black Conservatives Run Out of Atlanta Cigar Shop, Reese Waters, July 2, 2024

[summary statement]
"Byron Donalds didn't get the message the first time?!? Two of the most prominent Black Republicans in Congress gathered in a deep blue suburb of Atlanta to mobilize Black male voters and make a pitch for why they should consider voting Republican.

In a two-hour discussion, a crowd of close to 100, mostly Black men, sipped on cocktails and smoked cigars on Wednesday night as they filled a local cigar lounge to hear Reps. Wesley Hunt (R-Tex.) and Byron Donalds (R-Fla.) lay out their positions on everything from immigration and school choice to the future of Black families and Black conservatism. And they were NOT haviiAng it.

The event, billed as “Congress, Cognac and Cigars” and moderated by former ESPN host Sage Steele, was the second in a series of gatherings about why voting Republican benefits the Black community, and part of a broader outreach effort to shore up support among Black voters for former president Donald Trump as he runs for a second term.

But the questions and repeated interruptions from attendees throughout the event put on display that while many Black men in the room and across the country might be disenchanted with President Biden, they aren’t automatically voting for Trump this fall. Instead, Donalds and Hunt, serving as messengers for the Republican Party and Trump campaign surrogates, were faced with uncomfortable conversations from a largely Black audience who were not feeling the Black conservatives. Give it up for ATL yall 👏🏽👏🏽zzz"

****
[Pancocojams Editor's Note: This compilation quotes almost all of the comments about this subject in that discussion thread that were published on July 2, 2024 and July 3, 2024. As of July 3, 2024 at 6:55 PM there were a total of 254,227 of views for that video and a total of 3, 224 comments in that video's discussion thread.]

July 2, 2024

1. @harveyhotdog5085

"Bryron is not Black American"

**

Reply
2. @chadwickmitchell7067
"Neither is Wesley"

**

Reply
3. @reneem3895
"His ancestors weren’t even here during the Jim Crow era, but he has some strong opinions about reparations.

It’s very offensive to have people that did not have the black American experience, inserting themselves in something that has nothing to do with them."

**
Reply
4. @nicollettenyob
"Makes sense."

**
Reply
5. @ronaldhull8057
"@reneem3895 Someone should ask him what year his mother entered the US! He's never answered that question."

**
Reply
6. @thelovelycamille528
"@reneem3895 I feel the same way. I can’t stand these 1st/2nd generation immigrants telling us about “our” history here in America."

**
7. @DreamGirl650
"Byron Donald is Jamaican. He doesn’t have an African American perspective. It’s easier for him to throw us under the bus."

**
Reply
8. @Thisisjustname
"Seriously, I wish more people would bring this up. He doesn't have the loved history of the US to be talking about what period was implied to be better for black people."

**
9. @gusmacker919
"Byron Donalds is a tether. He’s of Jamaican and Panamanian heritage. He doesn’t come from the soil. He has no Freedmen lineage. He doesn’t speak for the grassroots FBA."

**
10. @Mike-di3mo
"Byron is not a descendant of black American slaves. That why he had no problem signing bill for that statue."
-snip-
"That statue" refers to a statue of confederate General Robert E. Lee. 

**
11. @thickblacklinenet
"He's non-FBA. They not like us. Cut the check. FBAB4U"
-snip-
"Cut the check" probably refers to FBA'd demand for reparations. 
**
12. @simssaber7503
"Byron is an immigrant, not for us."

**
13. @aquabone8118
"WE ARE NOT A MONOLITH!"

**
14. @autobotdiva9268
"why did the foundational black americans show up to this immigrant talk anyway?."...

**
15. @emilystevens6335
"Tethers are DESPERATE for us to return to sleeping and vote for Kamala/Biden. Years ago when I saw the devastation to FBA men after Kamala/Brown reign I CRIED.  It was so shocking to see them homeless and dirty on the streets in Large "

**
16. @ClubQRoundDeux
"3:04 From what I understand his mother was not born America. So he isn't really a descendant of American slavery.

**
17. @msjube
"Byron Donaldson heritage is not from American  chattel slavery. He is Jamaican/Panamanian."

**
18. @ignaciofuentes2642
"Was Byron's family even in this country during the Jim Crow era?  Where is his family from?  Is he really a Black American?"

**
19. @sanduskyohiobro
"Byron Donald is Jamaican not Black American"

**
July 3, 2024

20. @jhalahnw1916
"Byron Donald isn't even a foundation black American. He is 1st or 2nd generation caribbean."

**
21. @roseiswine8294
"Bryon is not ADOS..."

**
22. @Prettygirlbelike
"these are black immigrants thats why"

****

Thanks for visiting pancocojams.

Visitor comments are welcome.

Article Excerpts About The Population Referents "ADOS" (American Descendants Of Slaves) And "FBA" (Foundational Black Americans)

Edited by Azizi Powell

Latest update- October 21, 2024 

This pancocojams post presents excerpts from several selected online articles about ADOS (American Descendants Of Slaves) And FBA (Foundational Black Americans).

The content of this post is presented for historical, cultural, and political purposes.

All copyrights remain with their owners.

Thanks to all those who are quoted in this post.
-snip-
Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2024/07/byron-donals-jim-crow-comments-and.html for the closely related pancocojams post entitled "Byron Donalds' "Jim Crow" Comments And YouTube Comments About Byron Donalds Being A "Tether" (A Black Person Whose Ancestry Isn't From The United states)."

****
PANCOCOJAMS EDITOR'S NOTE
This pancocojams post isn't meant to be a presentation of information about what ADOS and FBA are or have been. Instead, most of the article excerpts that are quoted in this post provide opinions that are critical of those concepts and/or movements.

FULL DISCLOSURE
This isn't a neutral post.

I consider myself to be African American (Black American). I am pan-African in ideology and I'm highly distrustful of the motivations of the founders and spokespersons of both the ADOS and the FBA lineages. 
 
People who use the terms "ADOS" and/or "FBA" wouldn't consider me eligible to use those lineage referents. That is because I am Black Caribbean on my mother's side and I can't trace any enslaved Black American ancestry on my father's side. (My father was adopted from New York state by a Black family in Michigan. I believe that he was Black/White racially mixed, but I don't know anything about his ancestry.)

****
ARTICLE EXCERPTS
These excerpts are presented in no particular order and are numbered for referencing purposes only. 

EXCERPT #1
From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Descendants_of_Slavery
"American Descendants of Slavery (ADOS) is a term referring to descendants of enslaved Africans in the area that would become the United States (from its colonial period onward), and to the political movement of the same name. Both the concept and the movement grew out of the hashtag #ADOS created by Yvette Carnell and Antonio Moore.[1]

The ADOS movement focuses mainly on demanding reparations for the system of slavery in the United States.[2] They want colleges, employers and the federal government to prioritize ADOS and argue that affirmative action policies originally designed to help ADOS have been used largely to benefit other groups.[2]

Supporters of the ADOS movement say they should have their own ethnic designation on census forms and college applications, and should not be lumped in with other Black people—namely modern Black African immigrants to the United States and Black immigrants from the Caribbean.[2]

[…]

A distinguishing feature of the ADOS movement is its explicit emphasis on black Americans who descended from slavery and its disagreements with black immigrants from Africa and the Caribbean.[2] The group demands "a new designation on the Census with ADOS and another for Black immigrants" to the United States.[4] Supporters of ADOS push the issue on social media with the hashtag #ADOS and state that it "sets out to shift the dialogue around the identity of what it is to be African American in an effort to move the discussion from melanin and properly center the discussion around lineage";[5] they view ADOS as having distinct interests from broader groups, such as people of color or ethnic minorities generally.[3]

[…]

In 2019, some ADOS activists challenged Kamala Harris's authenticity as a Black woman, asserting that she was not "African American" (Harris's father is Jamaican American). The claim suggested that black Americans of immigrant descent, even from countries with a history of slavery under colonial rule (such as Jamaica) do not share the same struggle against racism and discrimination as the descendants of Black people in the United States.[3] The claim that Harris was not authentically black was amplified by right-wing figures, including Donald Trump Jr., and criticized by civil rights leaders,[3] who accused Carnell of engaging in xenophobic "birtherism."[2] Carnell and Moore have also criticized the African-American intellectual Ta-Nehisi Coates for his past support of Barack Obama because of his pushing only for a public study of reparations rather than endorsing reparations.[3]

[...]

Size of movement

The movement is "tiny but outspoken";[3] the number of active supporters is believed to be in the thousands.[2]"...

****
EXCERPT #2
From https://ibw21.org/commentary/understanding-ados-movement-hijack-black-identity-weaken-black-unity/ Understanding ADOS:- The Movement To Hijack Black Identity And Weaken Black Unity
By IBW21, January 21, 2020; Prepared By Jessica Ann Mitchell Aiwuyor
"Introduction

The term “American Descendants of Slavery” (ADOS) was created in 2016 to describe and distinctly separate Black Americans/African Americans from Black immigrant communities (Africans, Afro-Caribbeans, Afro-Latinos, etc). The movement claims to advocate for reparations on behalf of Black Americans.

However, this movement’s leadership is linked to right-wing media and white supremacists that have a history of attempting to cause divisions in the Black community,” ADOS leaders say they’ll use the moniker “ADOS” as part of their legal justice claim for reparations. But instead, it is likely to be used to create policies that would further marginalize and oppress Black communities. The ADOS movement is particularly seeking to impact the 2020 presidential election, the 2020 census, and beyond.

ADOS appears to be a highly sophisticated propaganda campaign using the combination of African American history (in order to build trust) along with disinformation and misinformation tactics. Yet, with the support of economist Dr. William “Sandy” Darity and Dr. Cornel West, the ADOS movement has been able to garner legitimacy in various circles – allowing it to grow through support from unsuspecting Black Americans that support reparations.

[…]

ADOS leaders do not believe that Black Americans can or should have any connection with Africa. They tell their followers to trace their lineage to America only and to stop acknowledging Africa as the home of our ancestors.

ADOS leaders have stated that Pan Africanism is dead and that African Americans are more closely connected genetically to white Americans than other people of African descent.”…
-snip-
The bold font was originally used in this article.

****
EXCERPT #3
From https://www.amazon.com/Foundational-Black-American-Who-Are/dp/B094NTGJY9 Foundational Black American Who We Are Paperback – May 9, 2021 by Christopher L Bowe DC (Author)
"A Foundational Black American is any person classified as Black, who can trace their bloodline lineage back to the American system of slavery. To be designated as a FBA, at least one parent must come from a non-immigrant background in The United States of America. If a person's matrilineal and patrilineal lineage traces back to slavery in the Caribbean, then they are not considered a Foundational Black American."...

****
EXCERPT #4
From https://newsone.com/4375128/foundational-black-americans-explained/ Foundational Black Americans: Who Are They And What Do They Stand For? Written by Shannon Dawson, July 19, 2022

"Foundational Black Americans are descendants of Black slaves who built the United States from scratch.

Over the last year, you may have seen the phrase Foundational Black American (FBA) tossed around the internet thanks to the “World’s #1 Race Baiter,” Tariq Nasheed. In January, during a Twitter Spaces discussion, the controversial media personality sent the buzzword trending when he argued that Black Americans were the originators of the United States. Since then, the polarizing author and documentarian’s belief has attracted millions of supporters from the Black community, many of whom claim they too identify as a Foundational Black American. But what does the term mean exactly?

The History of the Foundational Black American

According to the Official FBA website, [https://officialfba.com/] Foundational Black Americans are descendants of Black slaves who built the United States from scratch. Followers of the ideology, however, believe that the origins and history of Foundational Black Americans did not begin at the start of slavery in the early 1600s. They strongly believe that FBA’s settled in North America in 1526, when they were allegedly brought over from the Caribbean by a “colonizer” named Lucas Vázquez de Ayllón.

Ayllón and 600 of his men settled on what would later become the South Carolina and Georgia Coast, but they weren’t there for long. The enslaved Black captives organized a successful rebellion against the Spanish colonizers, ultimately forcing them to retreat.

FBA historians believe that the liberated Black people integrated with local Native American tribes in the region and formed their own community and culture as a result.

[…]

The ideology of FBA’s

[…]

On social media, proud FBA ideologists often debate that American lawmakers should pay some form of restitution or even reparations for the “400 years of unpaid slave labour” they endured.

[…]

FBA’s don’t believe in the concept of pan-Africanism. They believe they are a unique ethnic group with complex cultural and societal ideologies different from Africans and other Black immigrants.  Community members often call those who do not identify with the culture “non-FBAs.”

Some FBA-identifying individuals believe that Africans and other Black immigrant communities do not respect them and their lived experiences throughout history.”…

****
EXCERPT #5
From https://honestmediablog.com/2019/11/12/whats-the-difference-between-fba-and-ados/ "What’s The Difference Between FBA and ADOS?" Posted by Broderick Russell Jr, November 12, 2019
"Social media is a hub for political commentary, and it’s been my go-to for information on grassroots organizations. In a previous post, the now mainstream ADOS (American Descendants of Slavery) movement and their agenda was addressed. Well, there’s another movement, somewhat similar to ADOS, that’s gotten my attention. FBA (Foundational Black American).

Film producer, author, and radio personality Tariq Nasheed, who coined the term, advised that Foundational Black American refers to one’s culture and lineage; it is not a group or organization. With FBA, you don’t have to have a specific political affiliation, group chapters, or events.

There’s been some discourse between both FBA and ADOS creators, most notably on Twitter, around the lack of clarity for the ADOS movement. The New York Times write-up for ADOS seemed to have been one of the precursors.

[…]

Both Yvette Carnell and Antonio Moore have reiterated that the ADOS movement is a political movement centered around lineage, reparations, and a Black Agenda for African Americans. They had a successful conference at Simmons College of Kentucky this past October, and guest speakers included Marianne Williamson and Dr. Cornel West. Several local chapters have been created in the process as well. “…

****
EXCERPT #6
From https://dwomowale.medium.com/why-pan-africanism-matters-lessons-from-ados-vs-fba-c643223b5672 "Why Pan-Africanism Matters: Lessons from ADOS vs. FBA" by Dwayne Wong (Omowale), Nov 13, 2019
…"My initial issue with ADOS was the manner in which the ADOS supporters were criticizing Pan-Africanism. The other issue that I had is how misinformed the ADOS movement has been. Here are just some examples of things that I have addressed. Yvette claimed that the Dutch invented dashikis and then sold them to African slave traders, which was utterly false. Antonio Moore (Tone Talks) has said that people in Africa do not identify as Africans. To help cure his ignorance on this matter, I invited him to Africans Rising’s African Liberation Day mobilization event to show Tone and others in ADOS that there is a very strong Pan-African movement in Africa. Then there are the ADOS supporters who keep spreading the untruth that Marcus Garvey came to America because he didn’t have support in Jamaica. So I have always seen ADOS as a very divisive and misinformed movement made up of people who don’t understand very much about African history, Pan-Africanism, or even their own history as African Americans.

For the most part, the people who supported the ADOS/FBA movement did not seem bothered by the divisiveness of their own movement, until recently when that movement began turning against itself when Tariq Nasheed fell out with Tone and Yvette. One of the issues that Tariq raised is the question of whether or not ADOS is a group or a lineage.

[…]

The problem is that Tone and Yvette are the founders of ADOS. They are the ones who created the label, so ultimately they are the ones to define what ADOS is. Tariq decided to use Foundational Black American (FBA) and then began using FBA interchangeably with ADOS, which created a lot of confusion. People were treating ADOS and FBA as if they were the same thing, but they are not. ADOS is Yvette and Tone’s movement. They co-founded it and continue to remind people that they are the founders of ADOS. It is their movement, not Tariq’s, although Tariq supported ADOS and helped the movement to spread.

[…]

I’ve argued that ADOS was not only divisive because of the line that it tries to draw between African Americans and other African descendants, but the movement has led to a lot of petty infighting among African Americans.

[…]

In my most recent article I addressed Morpheus Unplugged. When ADOS really started gaining traction he was one of those people who tried to present ADOS as a more practical alternative to Pan-Africanism. He recorded a video explaining why he choose ADOS over Pan-Africanism.

[…]

I mention Morpheus Unplugged because he seem to take serious issue with my argument that ADOS is a movement that is mostly talk and little action, but his response to the claims that myself and others have made is to do more videos where he talks about debunking Pan-Africanism. Again, more talk. As I explained in an article on why Togo is an example of modern Pan-Africanism, there are certain political and economic realities which makes Pan-Africanism necessary. No amount of YouTube videos talking about debunking Pan-Africanism can actually undo those realities. Doing so requires work and it requires organization, but the problem with ADOS is that it is a completely disorganized movement. As Morpheus himself admitted, ADOS seems to be imploding.

[…]

Morpheus had some very strong criticisms against me when I began criticizing ADOS. Perhaps if he listened to me he wouldn’t now be expressing concern about the fighting between Tariq and the ADOS co-founders. Morpheus himself said that choose the ADOS movement over Pan-Africanism, and even used the fact that I am a Guyanese to criticize me, rather than addressing my points directly. This the result of siding with a divisive movement that is largely built on personalized attacks against other African people. As I noted before, so long as the divisiveness was aimed towards Caribbean and African people there was no problem, but it’s a problem now because of the internal conflict within ADOS/FBA.

[…]

For some reason the ADOS movement thought that they could spread division and confusion among African people and that it the consequences of doing so would not eventually poison their own movement.

[…]

I just hope everyone who is paying attention to the conflict between ADOS and FBA understands why the ideology of Pan-Africanism is important. Pan-Africanism isn’t about building Wakanda, as Morpheus Unplugged suggests. Pan-Africanism has always been about African people uniting towards a common purpose. The ADOS vs. FBA dispute just further proves why we need unity instead of movements that are built on historical ignorance and divisive rhetoric."

Dwayne is the author of several books on the history and experiences of African people, both on the continent and in the diaspora. His books are available through Amazon. You can also follow Dwayne on Facebook and Twitter."

****
EXCERPT #7
From https://www.reddit.com/r/AskTheCaribbean/comments/1ckcn36/do_you_think_the_adosfba_movement_is_a_divide_and/ Do you think the ADOS/FBA movement is a divide and conquer strategy funded by conservatives in The US government?
[Pancocojams Editor Note: These are selected excerpts from that subreddict discussion thread. If you're interested in this subject, my recommendation is that you read that entire discussion thread.

Numbers are added for referencing purposes only.]

r/AskTheCaribbean
1. JungianFox, April 2024Go to AskTheCaribbean

"First, I’m a Black/African American with Pre-Civil War roots and I’ve been growing concerned with all the online BS activism and all these grifters co-opting actual concerns for American Black people.

ADOS stands for American Descendants of Slavery. FBA stands for Foundational Black Americans. Both ideologies are designed to delineate Pre-Civil War African Americans from other black diaspora groups and one of the goals for this is to make it easier to obtain reparations.

At first I was in support for ADOS/FBA because I definitely feel African Americans need a more specific term for our ethnicity and cultural lineage especially in regard to reparations and restorative justice. However the further I gotten into the movement, I noticed the alignment with Republicans and far right movements. Also the xenophobia, anti-African bias and colorism (many exaggerating the European DNA we have - rape blood ain’t no flex and Caribbeans are mixed too). Also what’s annoying is I grew up in the Northeast and had Caribbean, Latino and African friends and they were all Black to me. Also I never felt any confusion over who was who because they did all claim their heritage from the Caribbean or Africa.

Also, people forget Harry Belafonte, Shirley Chisholm, Malcolm X, Louis Farrakhan, Cicely Tyson and others have Caribbean roots. And we all face anti-black racism and share a similar history of slavery and colonization. And it seems stupid to argue over lineage. Majority of Black people in The US are Pre-Civil War Afro Americans and nobody is replacing us. It’s literally the same fear that racist white Anglo Americans had over every immigrant group like the Irish, Italians, Germans, Chinese and now Latinos and Indians.

And we know that governments have used the internet for social engineering and propaganda just like they did with old school media. Because before Twitter, nobody was arguing about this.

We all Black at the end of the day and I hope this FBA/ADOS nativist nonsense doesn’t go beyond the chronically online. Power is in numbers"

**
2. adoreroda, April 2024
"The ADOS/FBA movement isn't an organisation, it's an ideology, so it's nothing that the GOP could fund to begin with. The only thing you are right about is that it is a conservative movement, but the difference is that many if not most black americans are very~extremely socially conservative and are only liberal on paper (largely voting democrat) pretty much only because of race issues. The average cishet "ADOS" black man whether they be from the north, south, or west has similar values to a conservative (southern) white man if you pushed aside the views of race (particularly on topics of queer acceptance, feminism, religious tolerance, diversity, etc.)

It also doesn't help that extreme conservatives and racists are given platforms and often praised within the American-Black (ADOS/FBA whatever) community (people such as Umar Johnson, Hebrew Israelites, erasure of indigenous american history and saying that they were actually African and that black people are the real native americans, etc.) Even amongst white americans extremists like this (equivalents would be people like Nick Fuentes) are not widely regarded or at least superficially accepted compared to black equivalents"

**

3.JungianFox/ OP, April 2024
"It’s infuriating because so many of my people are so uneducated on the left and radical views of activists like WEB Dubois, Booker T Washington, Dr King, Malcolm X, Huey P Newton, Monroe Trotter, Lucy Parsons, Ella Baker and Fannie Lou Hamer were. Many people don’t know Pan-Africanism goes back to the 1800s among Black American intellectuals. It definitely seems Evangelical Christianity and cults like NOI and Israelites did a number on a lot of us to be indoctrinated into regressive social values."
-snip-
"NOI"=Nation Of Islam

**
4. adoreroda, April 2024
"I think to certain extents it's resentment for Afro-Caribbeans and African immigrants (or their recent ancestors/descendants i.e. children grandparent w/e) often having better predicaments than their ADOS counterparts, especially Jamaicans and Nigerian Americans. Also doesn't help that the first black president and black vice president (and female vice president) are African and Caribbean rather than ADOS.

I also think something a lot of ADOS (only using this term to distinguish them from Caribbeans and Africans) is that they are very American in their thinking and can't process anything outside of their own framework (ethnocentrism) and also often look down on people who are culturally different from them, even other ADOS (especially queer black people or specifically queer ADOS). The American mindset often times--and especially the conservative variant--is very much "the nail that sticks out gets hammered down"".

**
5.  my_deleted-account_,April 2024
"Yvette Carnell and PFIR tried their right-wing anti-immigrant pity party only to see it get screwed up by COVID-19. Tariq Nasheed's involvement makes it FBADOSism impossible as a mainstream political force.

The saddest part is that all their so-called evidence, when examined are lies, with usually the exact opposite being true."
-snip-
Click https://www.splcenter.org/hatewatch/2010/10/08/anti-immigrant-groups-continue-greenwashing-campaign for a 2010 news article about the Progressives For Immigration Reform (PFIR). 

**
6. Specialist-Smoke, June 2024
"Anytime Steve Bannon is on your side, you're moving in the wrong direction. There's a reason Bannon wants you to focus on slavery. There's no viable path for reparations through slavery. The path to reparations will have to be for what happened after slavery. When Black people paid taxes and didn't recieve the protection of the government.

As with the NOI, the ADOS people are asking for something Bannon can't and won't give. Also as with the NOI, if the KKK supports you and agrees with your message, you're broken and need a new message that doesn't resonate with those whom hate you.

I'm blocked by damn near every ADOS ijiot. I call them out on their love for their colonizer DNA, they're slippery grasp on history, and most importantly, how they sound just like white supremacist. The truth hurts."

**
7. Specialist-Smoke, 2024
"So do we stop claiming those who aren't FBA? How is this different from other races who do this? You can't separate Black people from other Black groups of people. Slave records aren't well kept, so how would you know if a Black person had roots in slavery?

It's a reductive movement meant to appease and never obtain results. If Bannon, Steve Bannon supports you, then you need to rethink your rethoric."

****
EXCERPT #8- DEFINITIONS FOR THE WORD "TETHER" USED AS A PARTICULAR POPULATION REFERENT (revised on October 19, 2024)

Here's two definitions from https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/tether for the noun "tether":
" a

: a line (as of rope or chain) by which an animal is fastened so as to restrict its range of movement

b

: a line to which someone or something is attached (as for security)

A crewman can clip the tether of his harness to the [safety line] and leave it clipped as he makes his way forward and aft".

****
Here are some urbandictionary.com definitions for the word "tether" when it is used as  a verb or a noun by Black people from the United States who identify themselves as "Foundational Black Americans (FBA) or as American Descendants Of Slaves/ADOS) or as used by their supporters or people influenced by FBA/ADOS people.    

* Urban dictionary.com is an online dictionary of slang words, phrases, and sayings. Visitors to that website submit their definitions of particular words to that dictionary.

As of October 19, 2024 there are five urbandictionary.com pages for the word "tether" and forms of that word. However, only the first page contains seven definitions for "tether" that pertain to its use as a population referent. 

Here is the earliest urban dictionary entry:
"Tether

A slur used by ados and fba cultists as a means to degrade and intimidate black immigrants from across the globe

Ados npc 134685: “ThESe TeTHerS KeEp UnDERmiNing Us!”

by TheBaiterX January 19, 2022, https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Tether
-snip-
As of October 19, 2024, this definition was upvoted by 111 visitors to that page and downvoted by 283 visitors to that page. As such, it is ranked as the fifth out of seven definition for that term (when it is used as a population referent). The ranking order of urbandictionary.com definitions is  is subject to change over time.[For the record, I didn't submit any up or down votes for any of these entries.] 

Here are the first two visitor submitted definitions as of Oct. 19, 2024 at 9:30 PM EDT. 

 https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Tether

Definition #1

"Tether

A term used by members of the American Negro ethnic group (refered to later in history as colored, African-American, Black, FBA/ADOS) to describe African and/or Caribbean immigrants who move to America for economic opportunity using the benefits of the American Negro Civil Rights struggle while simultaneously disparaging the history, legacy, and lineage of the Negro American movement.

I don't know why Kuku Kufi is on the news saying African-Americans don't need reperations, he/she is a whole tether. Why are they even in the conversation? Why do they keep saying WE? Yo, that's a whole first generation immigrant.

by Crispus Attucks Reloaded September 1, 2022"
-snip-
upvoted by 560 people/downvoted by 121 people 

****
Definition #2

"Tether

A black person who moved from Africa or the Caribbean to the United States and pretends to be a Black American native to the country. Often they take anti-Black, white supremacist view points despite being black.

Jafari comes from Ghana, he’s always talking bad about Black Americans, but he wants to appropriate their culture when it’s convenient for him. He’s a tether.

by Red Joker August 4, 2022"
-snip-
-snip-
upvoted by 321 people/downvoted by 66 people 
-snip-
As of October 19, 2024 there are four additional definitions for "tether" (as a population referent) on that urbandictionary.com page.

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