Definitions and Labels

I'm African, I say that often, especially since I live in a western world, I’m asked where I’m from several times in life, and not only in application forms. I’m asked to distinguish if I’m African, and sometimes its broken down to if I’m black British, black African, black mixed and many more options. I always tick the “Black African” box.  What does that mean exactly other than narrowing down a geographical location of where I’m from, I not sure if it defines me at all. I always feel like I’m betraying my heritage if I think of ticking any other box, so what I’m a British citizen but its not who I am, its not where my people are from, do I have people?  if so who are my people, and how do I define them? Does saying “I’m African” define who I am either and if it does, how? How does that tell people I like to write, or that cooking relaxes me or the kind of books I read, or that I like reading at all.

Although stating I’m African tells my heritage, it hardly says anything else at all. It doesn’t say that of the several of different races in Africa, I’m black or that of the many regions in Africa I’m from West Africa or that of the several west African countries I’m from Nigeria, it doesn’t even state of the 120 something ethnicities in Nigeria I’m of the Yoruba ethnicity.

How can your place of origin define you as a person? Sure it adds to it but it can never truly define you, your culture might influence how you are raised but so does many other factors, your parent’s beliefs religious or otherwise, the school you attend, the books you read and lots more.

Can being Yoruba have influenced me enough to define me as a person, if that’s the case, does the same apply to the Brazilian region populated by people of Yoruba decent , can they be said to be exactly like me?  In which case how are they to be defined, certainly not African?

I’ve often wondered if the people that read the ethnicity section of a form can really determine the character or worth of a person based on the box ticked. I mean how you interpret the options; can it really tell you anything other than a specific race in which case does that make that section relevant in a civilised and more tolerable world? Can we really say it adds any value? If a box can not clearly define a person then maybe having a box at all is a problem. Maybe having a box that defines a person is the actual problem.

What if putting a label on a person is truly the issue here, if we could get rid of labels completely, will be able to truly understand ourselves and others among us, if labels do not exist, can a person put a clear picture across of who they really are? Definitions or labels do not seem to do us any good now; it can not tell you who has the ability to be prime minister, a serial killer or even the next bill gates. I think Toni Morrison clinched it when in her book “Beloved” when she said “Definitions belong to the definers, not the defined”.