A Deeper Dive Into the Diaspora: African American Heritage

The African American Heritage Flag 

The African American heritage flag was created in the 1990s as a way to celebrate and symbolize the diverse cultural heritage of African Americans in the United States. The flag has three horizontal bars - red, green, and black. The red bar represents the blood shed by ancestors, the green bar represents the rich natural heritage of Africa, and the black bar represents the people themselves. The flag is a point of pride and unity for many African American communities nationwide. It is displayed at cultural events, parades, and community gatherings to honor African Americans' resilience, achievements, and continuing struggles throughout history. 
 

Soulaan Subgroups 

Within the larger African American population in the U.S., there exist several distinct subgroups with their own histories, traditions, and cultural identities passed down over generations. These include: 

• Gullah Geechee - Descendants of enslaved Africans from the coastal areas of South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida who preserved much of their West African language and traditions. 
• Louisiana Creole - People of African, French, Spanish, and Native American ancestry with their own French-based Creole language and cultural influences from the Louisiana region. 
• Afro Novans - An isolated group of mixed African, Native American, and Portuguese ancestry in coastal Georgia known for their distinct dialect and traditions. 
• Afro Seminoles - Descendants of free Blacks who lived among Seminole Native Americans in Florida and Oklahoma, blending African and Seminole cultural practices. 
• Mascogos - Multi-racial descendants of African Americans, Native Americans, and Europeans living in Tennessee, Kentucky, Ohio, and other areas. 
• Merikins - An isolated Tri-racial community in Delaware descended from African Americans, Native Americans, and European settlers. 
• Jersey Ameris - A community in New Jersey descended from early free African families from the colonial era. 
• New York Ameris - Prominent landowners of African descent that emerged in areas like Brooklyn after the American Revolution. 

These diverse subgroups maintained unique languages, spiritual practices, foodways, arts, and other cultural traditions passed down from their African, Native American, and European ancestral roots while facing discrimination and oppression in America. 

Here are some tips for trying to determine what soulaan subgroup you may be from within the African American community: 

Genealogical Research 
One of the best ways to trace your potential soulaan roots is through extensive genealogical research on your family history and ancestral origins. Look for clues in census records, birth/death certificates, property records, wills, and other documentation that could reveal where your ancestors lived and came from. 

Regional and Settlement Patterns 
Many of the soulaan subgroups were concentrated in specific geographic regions of the United States. For example, the Gullah Geechee people are from coastal South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida. Louisiana Creoles have ties to Louisiana. Paying close attention to where your earliest traceable ancestors lived can provide hints about their ethnic ties. 

Language/Dialect 
Some soulaan groups maintained distinct Creole languages or dialects blending influences from Africa, Europe, and indigenous tribes. The presence of certain language patterns or words in your family could be a link. For example, Gullah Geechee and Louisiana Creole have their own Creole languages derived from English and French roots. 

Oral Traditions 
Stories, songs, spiritual practices, foodways, and other cultural traditions passed down orally through generations within families can offer clues. See if any of the patterns match up with documented folkways of the different soulaan communities. 

DNA Testing 
Taking an autosomal DNA test could potentially reveal genetic ties and matches with others who have already traced their soulaan ancestry through genealogy. Admixture breakdowns may also point towards African, Native American, and/or European influences consistent with different subgroups. 

Historical Documentation  
For families descended from free people of color in certain areas before the Civil War, there may be specialized historical documentation like local registries, plantation records, or church archives that could indicate ethnic roots. 

Connecting with Local Cultural Groups 
Lastly, connecting with soulaan cultural organizations, museums, or historians who specialize in the history of those communities where your ancestors lived can provide invaluable guidance in your research. Tracing soulaan subgroup ties often requires piecing together fragmentary evidence from multiple sources. But doing this genealogical and cultural detective work can help recover these important ethnic origins and connections. 
 

Womanism and African Feminism 

Womanism and African feminism are two related but distinct perspectives that emerged in the late 20th century to address the intersectional experiences of Black women in Africa, the African diaspora, and women of color worldwide. 

Womanism, a term coined by Alice Walker, focuses on the "survival and wholeness of all people, male and female." As Walker describes it:  


"Womanist is to feminist as purple is to lavender." 


Womanism celebrates Black women's strength, heroism, and contributions to their race and culture. It emphasizes the importance of Community building, embodying traditional African values, and fighting against racism, sexism, and all forms of oppression.  

Notable womanist scholars include Katie Geneva Cannon, Chikwenye Okonjo Ogunyemi, and Clenora Hudson-Weems.In her book "Africana Womanism," Hudson-Weems outlines 18 tenets of Africana Womanism, including a focus on African-centered cultural values, the solidarity of all people of African descent, a commitment to struggle for liberation, and respect for the Family, elders, and ancestors. 
African feminism emerged around the same time from writers and activists across the African continent. It critiques how mainstream Western feminist theory often neglects the diverse realities and priorities of African women shaped by factors like neocolonialism, traditional cultures, and globalization. 


The essay "African Feminism: Toward a New Politics of Representation" by Gwendolyn Mikell explores how African feminists aim to improve educational, economic, political, and social prospects for women while uplifting African culture and challenging oppressive traditions. African feminists like Mikell call for female empowerment and gender equality contextualized within African frameworks and epistemologies rather than imposed from the West. Both Womanism and African feminism provide vital lenses for understanding how these Soulaan subgroup cultures in the African American experience embody and perpetuate a powerful intersection of resistance, community building, spirituality, and complex identities rooted in the African diaspora and the struggles for Black liberation. 

Work Cited

Alice Walker’s Definition of a “Womanist” from In Search of Our Mothers’ 
Gardens: Womanist Prose Copyright 1983

Morrison, T. (2024). Chapter IV: The Agenda of the Africana Womanist. In Africana Womanism: Reclaiming Ourselves (6th ed., pp. 1–230). essay, Routledge.

Mikell, Gwendolyn (1995). African Feminism: Toward a New Politics of Representation. Feminist Studies 21 (2):405.