Am I an African?

Peter Tosh sings that as long as you are a black man, you are an African, no matter where you are otherwise "from". The song came up on my random music feed on iTunes and got me thinking.

I was born and raised on the African continent and have spent the better part of my life there. I lived my formative years there, and yet am I African? I am not entirely European, other than by appearance. It is complex. The term Euro-African is useful.

What I am reminded of when the question comes up, however vaguely is when I was living in Nairobi, it was my privilege to be able to hear Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o speak. I forget the exact phrase, but what he said was along the lines that you never forget where you are from, that place forms who you are.

Whether I am African or not in the eyes of all, Africa and my efforts to deconstruct my whiteness as a white South African is probably the most significant part of who I am.

I am profoundly grateful for that and I like who those experiences have made me. I do not know what it is like to like who you are without having to put in work. I suspect that I, and those who like me who understand what the means are the richer.