Nationwide — Raven-Symoné has as soon as once more addressed the backlash surrounding her controversial 2014 remarks about race, saying she didn’t establish as African American. She mentioned her phrases had been misunderstood and clarified what she meant.
In a current interview on The Jason Lee Present, Raven revisited her previous interview with Oprah Winfrey, the place she mentioned, “I’m not an African American. I’m an American. I’m a Black American.” She defined that her identification relies on her deep roots within the U.S., not Africa.
Based on BET, she added that she sees a “true African American” as somebody who was born in Africa or has dad and mom or grandparents from there. Since she doesn’t have that direct connection, she doesn’t use the time period for herself. Raven additionally shared that her household appeared within the first Virginia census that named Black folks.
She made it clear she respects those that establish as African American. However for her, calling herself a “pure American” comes from generations of her household dwelling, working, and constructing lives within the U.S.
Raven additionally opened up about how exhausting the backlash hit her. On her podcast Tea Time With Raven & Miranda, she mentioned she felt judged and misunderstood after the Oprah interview. “I walked off stage feeling like I had mentioned one thing fallacious,” she recalled.
Now, many followers are displaying help. One individual wrote on Instagram, “Beloved how she articulated her level. I can’t say I disagree. I imply we don’t name white folks European Individuals.”
One other mentioned, “I used to be utterly closed-minded to how she mentioned it at first, however as she defined her perspective, I completely understood what she was speaking.”
