Greetings to the board. I've been following this thread for some time and decided it was time to tell My Story. I was born and raised (not bred) in SAVANNA(H), GA. (I conveniently put parenthesis around the 'H', to show relation to the Afrikan word). Savanna(h) imported African slaves from the Caribbean and the Continent. Savanna(h) is complete with Islands and Swamp/Marshland. This is ideal for growing rice hence the "Lowcountry" being mainly composed of Rice Plantations. West Africans (the ones who survived the middle passage) were brought there to work the rice fields since they were already experts at it. (Savannah was named so because of the resemblance of the land to certain places on the coast of West Africa <NOT a coincidence!>) The Patriarch of my mother's family was an ex-slave who built a community in rural GA for the rest of his family who existed at the time in the 19th century. His mother was an Afrikan who was born on the continent. The patriarch of my father's family did the same thing in another rural GA town. You see, I'm part of the FOURTH generation of Afrikans who were enslaved here in GA. Have I ever been to Africa? No, I have not had the pleasure as of yet. Am I not an Afrikan? OF COURSE I AM!! Not in the PC definition. But to all "Black" people who would deny my birthright, I pose ONE QUESTION: If extraterrastrials (let's just say Martians) landed anywhere on Earth, procreated, and after a couple of generations would they still be martians or earthlings?? I know this is a bit of a stretch but the laws still apply. Just like brother Malcolm said, putting kittens in the oven DON'T MAKE THEM BISCUITS. Now, there are some "Black" people who feel the need to deny themselves and everyone else (misery loves company) of their ancestry. One more question, my lil' cousin is half Nigerian half Georgian. Is he an Afrikan? The thing is you would never know it unless he told you. My Brother-in-law is Haitian and whenever he comes to GA (not a big concentration of Haitians) He is "mistaken" for being from the Continent because of his skin tone, accent, right down to the food that he eats. And we all have heard some knowledge of the traditions that Haitians have kept to this day. But according to some, Haitians are not Afrikan because of where they are on a map(???) I have news for SOME of you. Right across the Savannah River in South Carolina there are some AFRIKAN settlements that have survived. Yes, I'm referring to the GEECHIE/GULLAH nation, who still speak a "pidgin" or creole dialect mixed with english AND West African words. Sorry for the long post but I HAD to get this off my chest. I'm tired of the division. How in the HELL are we supposed to UNITE and we're jabberin' and slobberin' profusely about who is what? What are YOU? http://www.ccpl.org/ccl/gullah.html http://www.islandpacket.com/man/gullah/ http://www.blackconsciousness.com