Get it right! Zahara is not "African American", she is African!

Random Poll:

Do you or anyone you know celebrate Kwanzaa?

(I've heard more yt people assume blks celebrate it, than I've heard of blacks who actually do.)

WTF! So many questions - They're celebrating Kwanzaa for Zahara? Zahara's African-American? Not African? Not Ethiopian-American? Do Africans instantly become African-American once they step foot on US soil? Kwanzaa's not an Ethiopian holiday? More than 30 people celebrate Kwanzaa? I'm so confused…

@summer - My family made a few half-assessed attempts to celebrate when my siblings and I were younger. Mostly my mom just bought the stuff because she thought it was cute. I now buy Kwanzaa stuff mainly because I think it's cute and because the word Kujichagulia cracks me up!

I guess Charlize Theron is african american too?

In any case ethiopians don't celebrate kwanzaa, and neither does anyone I know for that matter.

If Brangelina were clever, they would be teaching Zahara about the ancient culture and religion of her homeland, which has one of the oldest christian churches in the world. Just a thought.

Okay, now that i've gotten that off my chest….

Why does Angelina look like a trashy pornstar on that cover?

Worst photo of her ever.

1987-If she lives in this country she will become African-American because of her socialization.

If they really want to do something for her culturlly9(tp), they should have her around Ethiopians.

I've always thought the term "African-American" was the wrong term for descendants of slaves living in America. I think that the term better describes someone like Zahara. It wouldn't be wrong to call MRF African-American, although it would be misleading.

She is an African-American in the truest sense of the term, she was born in a African country and is now an American citizen due to her adoption.
Anyone born here, is an American.

@solitaire - tracy morgan was the first person i heard referring to charlize theron as african-american when she was hosting SNL once.

it was hilarious, because it was so true, and it completely exposed (imo) the fallacy of the way the term african-american is used — as a euphemism for black rather than an indicator of one's country/continent of origin.

I know Angelina means well, but this is exactly why I have a problem with clueless celebrities or white people adopting black babies. Zahara is Ethiopian American and like many of her country people living in America she would be celebrating Lidet not Kwanzaa.

If Angelina and Brad want this child to grow up to be a well rounded confident black woman then I suggest that they make an effort to understand the culture of the child they adopt, so that they don't grow up to be confused or lost.

Angelina is the UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador, though she brings attention to their cause; I find her often times to only have a limited understanding of the issues that is fighting for - again I am not trying to knock her I know she is doing her best(which more than I can say for most people), but all I ask is that she get more informed.

I think Zahara will grow up lost and confuse. Sorry, I don't have much faith in Brad and Angelina in creating a stable for the Zahara,Pax and Maddox once they get pass the "cute stage".

Um, a lot of sites for transracial adoptive parents put on emphasis on Kwanzaa.

Zahara is Ethiopian, yes, but she's also going to be a black American/African American or whatever else you want to call it. She should have an appreciation and understanding of Ethiopian and black American cultures. Barack Obama is Kenyan. When he talks about his mom teaching him about his ancestry, a lot of what she covered was slavery and the civil rights movement. It's not just adoptive parents that deal with this. The white women who end up raising their biracial and multi-ethnic children alone face this. EVERY American should have an understanding of different cultures and religions.

There are definitely parts of her former self that have not died. In the same interview, she talks about having a gun and not being afraid to use it should anyone come near her babies and also making sure that the kids know how to defend themselves. This doesn't really blend very well with the whole peace-loving granola label that I think many people have stuck on her family. It makes her a bit more likable really because now I know they don't travel around the world strumming a guitar and singing Kumbaya while the forest animals sing merrily along.

@solitaire, some photographer (not Annie Liebowitz but one equally overrated) took it and it's essentially the same look as some other cover from 30 or so years ago. The lack of creativity is just so obvious. If someone is going to steal everything about a cover from the 60s or 70s, I suggest you get a photographer who isn't going to charge you twenty times as much because they're famous.

And I'm so mad at Dave Chappelle. After watching this clip repeatedly, the first thing I think when I see excess cleavage now is "damn. look at them titties!" in Dave Chappelle's voice.

I remember when I was in the 2nd grade and my teacher asked me about Kwanza. I was like: "what the hell is Kwanza?" Heck most of my "black" friends didn't even know what it was.

What do they do for the white baby, make the staff throw her a St. Paddy's Day pararde in the garden?

The idea of celebrating the cultures of different people during their holidays is one we should all adopt.

When I think of my culture, very little of my appreciation or understanding of it is limited to holidays. It's just part of everyday life which I suppose makes it difficult for nearly all people adopting children of other ethnicities and cultures. Yes, she and Brad probably have a better understanding of these matters than the average American thanks to their travels and her interests (she is one of the very few American celebrities who seems to understand that Africa is a continent, not a country… which kinda makes me scratch my head at this Kwanzaa thing), but unless one or both parents are part of that other culture and/or majored in African and Asian studies, they can't really fully immerse their kids in their culture. This being said, there are many family friends who are from my ethnic group and married within our ethnic group yet their kids don't speak the language and they don't eat our food because their parents have always made separate dishes for them. They know very little about their culture and are really only exposed to it on special occasions. Meanwhile, my nephew has an American mother. He spends weekends with my brother and sometimes my mother. In spite of this, he can understand the language, he knows the customs and he loves the food. If they get the appropriate help, provide them a good education and befriend Ethiopian, Vietnamese and Cambodian-American families, there's no reason their kids should grow up "confused"

I'm with Mary Mary on this one. "Ethiopian American" sounds way more accurate than "African American" for Zahara.

@Kmoney:

you know that made me think. Why do White Americans celebrate St. Patricks Day, which is NOT an American holiday but rather, an IRISH holiday from Ireland, when many white Americans don't have any direct Irish roots? Yeah sure their heritage is traced back to Ireland, but many of them dont have relatives in Ireland or have never been there. So why is it ok for White Americans to celebrate St. Paddys, but not ok for African immigrants to celebrate Kwanzaa in this country?

Just pointing out the double standards.

@DFP: St. Patricks Day seems more like an Irish-American holiday than an Irish one. Yes, it has Irish roots but based on the level of merrymaking, it definitely seems to be a much bigger deal here than it is in Ireland.

I do think that all Americans should be aware of Kwanzaa and what it's about, but really, few African-Americans actually celebrate it. When in grad school and during part of college and high school, I celebrated Kwanzaa so I don't see why Zahara, who will spend more of her childhood in this country than I did, shouldn't celebrate it as well.

I've always felt that African-American is an effective and disambiguated way to categorize black Americans (second generation or older) who are descended from African slaves or other blacks who immigrated to the US. For descriptive purposes I don't feel black is specific enough because to me black is a global term. Everyone from Dalits to Aboriginals to Pacific Island Negritos to Papuans to some Polynesians and of course various members of the African diaspora are black. I see how Africans who immigrate to the US could be labeled African-American and that would be accurate but usually people are labeled by the country they come from, hence Irish-American, Korean-American, Mexican-American etc. I would call Charlize Theron South African-American.

Lauren makes a great point above with regard to the term Asian-American. To me this term refers to American born (or nationalized) persons of Asian decent. More specifically you'd have various generations within the API community, i.e. First Gen, Second Gen, etc. First Generation being someone who recently immigrated or became nationalized and Second Generation being someone who is descended from those initial immigres.

Chic Noir said with respect to Zahara's experience of "blackness" in the US, "If she lives in this country she will become African-American because of her socialization."

Not necessarily. Many Africans and Americans of African decent (mainly first genners) living in the US do not necessarily identify with Af. Am. (or black American) culture. This also true for many Caribbean kids who move here. Cultural differences do remain. I had a dear Eritrean friend growing up and while we were both black she felt very much Eritrean-American and I felt very much African-American. We shared a common black experience but the back story was completely different.

I do agree with Chic Noir's point that Brangelina should make a concerted effort to find interaction opportunities with other Ethiopian families.

Ali, although she does not identify with the culture, she is seen as African-American untill she states otherwise.

I think any newer black American should make it a point to understand African-Americans and vice versa though I don't think African-Americans will necessarily be hurt as much if they don't know about African and West Indian cultures. Why? As far as blacks go, African-Americans are the majority in this country. Whether you like it or not, you will be put in the same category as them and treated like they're treated. You now live in American society and being black in America, you should have a good understanding of the black experience in America thus far just as you would the overall American experience. Simple as that. It's not about assimilation. That's not the point of learning about others. Really, this is stuff EVERY American should know and understand but it's especially important when you've got a Benneton ad family. Yes, it's a challenge but it's also an opportunity for them (Brad and Angelina) to learn about these things.

Zahara and her brother and sisters will be fine. She's got great parents.

By the way, that's a great cove of Angie!

She is one of the very few beautiful white women in Hollywood.

Daria, major cosign with comment 24.

Angelina Jolie is one of the few celebrities who is somewhat educated about what she speaks about and eloquent about how she does it. No, she didn't major in politics or international relations, but she has traveled far and wide, spoken to many people and when she has the time, tried to immerse herself into as much of the culture in order to connect with the people. In my opinion, this is Vanity Fair not Time magazine. They couldn't tell the difference ( or could care less) about the many different nationalities that make up the black population today as long they get their "ethnic chic/activist-chic" image out in the public-eye it's all good. All I'm saying is, I'm taking this article with a grain of salt.