--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I identify as African American. I…" description: "\"I identify as African American. I identify as Black. Black is something I share with other descendants of Africa, African-American is something I share..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/72b/jamilah-lemieux-61755_african-american_i-identify-as-african-american-i-identif_1275946.jpg" --- # I identify as African American. I identify as Black. Black… ![“I identify as African American. I identify as Black. Black is something I share with other descendants of Africa, African-American is something I share with other Black descendants of America and both of those identities are of equal importance to me.” quote by Jamilah Lemieux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/72b/jamilah-lemieux-61755_african-american_i-identify-as-african-american-i-identif_1275946.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/72b/jamilah-lemieux-61755_african-american_i-identify-as-african-american-i-identif_1275946.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/72b/jamilah-lemieux-61755_african-american_i-identify-as-african-american-i-identif_1275946.jpg) > “I identify as African American. I identify as Black. Black is something I share with other descendants of Africa, African-American is something I share with other Black descendants of America and both of those identities are of equal importance to me.” [Jamilah Lemieux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamilah-lemieux/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The individual affirms both African American and Black identities, emphasizing equal importance and shared heritage. **In simple terms:** She values both African American and Black identities equally. Key Takeaway Honor all facets of your cultural identity. Themes identity heritage equality Mood reflective affirming Type cultural identity When to use this quote - community events - educational settings - personal storytelling Key Concepts Intersectionality racial identity cultural pride Questions to Reflect On - How do you navigate overlapping cultural expectations? - What benefits arise from embracing multiple identities? A Different Perspective Balancing multiple identities can be socially challenging. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [African](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/african/) [African american](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/african-american/) [Black](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/black/) [Equal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/equal/) [Identify African](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/identify-african-4106848/) [Identify Black](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/identify-black-2745357/) [Identity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/identity/) [Importance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/importance/) [Share](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/share/) ## Related quotes > [My mom is Jamaican and Chinese, and my dad is Polish and African American, so I'm pretty mixed. My nickname in high school was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayesha-curry/my-mom-is-jamaican-and-chinese-and-my-dad-is-polish-and-african/) [Ayesha Curry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayesha-curry/) > [I wanted to identify that the black experience is American experience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wadada-leo-smith/i-wanted-to-identify-that-the-black-experience-is-american-experience/) [Wadada Leo Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wadada-leo-smith/) > [I do identify with being black, and if people don't identify me that way, that's their issue. I'm happy to challenge people's understanding of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rashida-jones/i-do-identify-with-being-black-and-if-people-don-t-identify-me-that/) [Rashida Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rashida-jones/) > [I do identify myself as a black man before I identify myself as a gay man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jason-collins/i-do-identify-myself-as-a-black-man-before-i-identify-myself-as-a-gay/) [Jason Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jason-collins/) > [I identify as black.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-dolezal/i-identify-as-black/) [Rachel Dolezal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-dolezal/) > [Blackness is a state of mind and I identify with the black community. Mainly, because I realized, early on, when I walk into a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/halle-berry/blackness-is-a-state-of-mind-and-i-identify-with-the-black-community/) [Halle Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/halle-berry/) > [I'm African-American. There are more eyes on me than anybody. They're going to take the negative before the positive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bubba-wallace/i-m-african-american-there-are-more-eyes-on-me-than-anybody-they-re/) [Bubba Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bubba-wallace/) > [Everyone says we have our first African American president. Has there ever been a Jewish president? An Italian president? They don't say a damn…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/monte-irvin/everyone-says-we-have-our-first-african-american-president-has-there/) [Monte Irvin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/monte-irvin/) > [How many African American champions have there been over the course of WWE's history? It's something that was the elephant in the room. Nobody…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kofi-kingston/how-many-african-american-champions-have-there-been-over-the-course/) [Kofi Kingston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kofi-kingston/) > [Obama's a great speaker. Because of his speaking ability and his appearance, a lot of guys got on board. Being the first African American,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pete-rose/obama-s-a-great-speaker-because-of-his-speaking-ability-and-his/) [Pete Rose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pete-rose/) > [I get so tickled when that pilot happens to be an African American because I rarely see that. The same is true when I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-samuelsson/i-get-so-tickled-when-that-pilot-happens-to-be-an-african-american/) [Marcus Samuelsson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-samuelsson/) > [I'm the kind of person that when I saw a lack of African Americans in the apparel business, that was something I set out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daymond-john/i-m-the-kind-of-person-that-when-i-saw-a-lack-of-african-americans-in/) [Daymond John](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daymond-john/) > [Fifty-eight percent of African- American youth don't have jobs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-trump/fifty-eight-percent-of-african-american-youth-don-t-have-jobs/) [Donald Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-trump/) > [For people of color - especially African Americans - the idea that racist cops might frame members of their community is no abstract notion,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-wise/for-people-of-color-especially-african-americans-the-idea-that-racist/) [Tim Wise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-wise/) > [I'm just trying to touch the world and touch the people and just get good material. And show them that we can get it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cory-hardrict/i-m-just-trying-to-touch-the-world-and-touch-the-people-and-just-get/) [Cory Hardrict](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cory-hardrict/) ## More by Jamilah Lemieux > [I think there's so much of us broken for Americans and particularly African-Americans. I think it's impossible to separate fully some 50-plus allegations of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamilah-lemieux/i-think-there-s-so-much-of-us-broken-for-americans-and-particularly/) [Jamilah Lemieux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamilah-lemieux/) > [There's no joy to be had seeing any black man, any black man taking a perp walk, let alone some of whom meant so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamilah-lemieux/there-s-no-joy-to-be-had-seeing-any-black-man-any-black-man-taking-a/) [Jamilah Lemieux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamilah-lemieux/) > [Identity is very personal...identity is political. My identity is what is and it is what it's gonna be. And I don't think that any…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamilah-lemieux/identity-is-very-personal-identity-is-political-my-identity-is-what/) [Jamilah Lemieux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamilah-lemieux/) > [ I think that the language that we use is a ritual, that my \[maternal\] grandmother was called "Big Mama" is a ritual, that my… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamilah-lemieux/i-think-that-the-language-that-we-use-is-a-ritual-that-my-maternal/) [Jamilah Lemieux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamilah-lemieux/) [Explore all 5 Jamilah Lemieux quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamilah-lemieux/) ## More African quotes > [We examine and highlight the history of the African descendants in America, and know that each and every one of us has come this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yvette-clarke/we-examine-and-highlight-the-history-of-the-african-descendants-in/) [Yvette Clarke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yvette-clarke/) > [I'm just trying to touch the world and touch the people and just get good material. And show them that we can get it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cory-hardrict/i-m-just-trying-to-touch-the-world-and-touch-the-people-and-just-get/) [Cory Hardrict](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cory-hardrict/) > [For people of color - especially African Americans - the idea that racist cops might frame members of their community is no abstract notion,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-wise/for-people-of-color-especially-african-americans-the-idea-that-racist/) [Tim Wise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-wise/) > [“For their never-ending endeavours to obtain or retain wealth, countries desperately need companies, because they—unlike most human beings—have the means of production, and human…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mokokoma-mokhonoana/for-their-never-ending-endeavours-to-obtain-or-retain-wealth/) [Mokokoma Mokhonoana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mokokoma-mokhonoana/) > [Virtually all of Darfur's six million residents are Muslim, and, because of decades of intermarriage, almost everyone has dark skin and African features.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samantha-power/virtually-all-of-darfur-s-six-million-residents-are-muslim-and/) [Samantha Power](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samantha-power/) > [I loved Ghana Must Go by Taiye Selasi. 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And I think that's a shame, An African look…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/king-sun/yo-i-m-from-africa-boy-you-re-just-a-faker-name-one-city-uhh-jamaica/) [King Sun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/king-sun/) > [I am of an African-Jamaican descent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/liz-mitchell/i-am-of-an-african-jamaican-descent/) [Liz Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/liz-mitchell/) > [When I was very little, I was into Michael Jackson. 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Even Adah, who's becoming an expert in tropical epidemiology…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kingsolver/but-we-ve-all-ended-up-giving-body-and-soul-to-africa-one-way-or/) [Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/) > [African Queen' is pretty darn great.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-eggers/african-queen-is-pretty-darn-great/) [Robert Eggers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-eggers/) > [Most Americans know nothing about the African forest, and it seems to them a very scary, spooky dangerous place. I've spent a lot of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-quammen/most-americans-know-nothing-about-the-african-forest-and-it-seems-to/) [David Quammen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-quammen/) [Browse all 576 African quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/african/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I identify as African American. I identify as Black. 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