Don’t Worry: Raven Symone Is Still Black, She’s Just Not African-American

Raven Symone has issued a response to the criticism she's received for saying that "I’m not an African-American."

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Complex Original

Image via Complex Original

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Well, this should clear everything up.

Raven Symone has issued her first comments since her controversial interview with Oprah in which she said “I’m tired of being labeled. I’m an American. I’m not an African-American. I’m an American.”

In a statement to theGrio, she offered:


“I never said I wasn’t black…I want to make that very clear. I said, I am not African-American. I never expected my personal beliefs and comments to spark such emotion in people. I think it is only positive when we can openly discuss race and being labeled in America.”

So what does this mean? Not a whole lot. It seems like Raven really just wanted to say that she wanted to be thought of as a person first and not as belonging to any one sort of group. While she may have phrased it inelegantly, at this stage her point has been made.

[via theGrio]

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