Are Somalis ARABS or BLACK Africans?

追加: 2026-05-23

[00:00:00]Somalis are not black. Let me explain why. Look at me right now, chat. Am I black? I'm literally brown. I'm literally brown, bro. Think about it as well. Somalis are Arabs. We're in the Arab League. We speak the Arab language.

[00:00:11]We eat the Arab food, bro. Think about it like this, bro. If a whole community doesn't regard themselves as black, they can't be black, bro. We literally can't be black, bro. Boogie, did you eat your brain cells?

[00:00:20]Really and truly, Somalis are Arabs, bro. Think about it, bro. We're in the Arab League. We speak the Arab language, bro. Tell me I'm not lying, bro. Somalis are not black. There's a difference between African and black. If you really believe that, then baby, you're going to have a hard time IN THIS WORLD.

[00:00:37]>> [laughter] >> GOOD LUCK.

[00:00:43]>> [laughter] >> SOMALIA IS ARAB. DON'T WORRY.

[00:00:46]>> NO, NO, SOMALIS DON'T SPEAK ARABIC.

[00:00:48]YEAH, they do. No.

[00:00:49]>> say Allahu Akbar and stuff. Come on, bro.

[00:00:52]REALLY? LOOK AT THEIR QURAN. IT DOESN'T COUNT.

[00:00:53]>> YEAH, THEY DO. They speak Arabic. I don't know Arabic.

[00:00:56]They speak Arabic. He's coping.

[00:00:58]He doesn't want to be in the same boat.

[00:00:59]Hell, no. No, no, no, no. But Somalis, they don't I don't know what their What's their official language? I'm the captain now.

[00:01:06]Let's talk about why Somalis say, "Oh, no, we're not black." As a Somali who does claim her blackness, I want to explain this with love because that statement comes from history, survival, and sometimes pain. First, Somalia isn't a part of the Western world. In Somalia, a deeply homogeneous community, there's no reason to say you're black. Everyone looks like you.

[00:01:27]For example, like Nigeria, people identify by my tribe or nation, not race. Race as a qualifier, especially, only becomes relevant to most Africans when they leave their country and step into a world that sees them through that lens.

[00:01:41]During colonization, Europeans didn't just divide our land. They divided our identities. Somalis were mistakenly told, "Ooh, you look different. You're closer to Arab. You're better." Those lies that were told by whiteness seeded the anti-blackness that still lingers today.

[00:01:58]And because Somalia was not colonized in the exact same way as other African countries, many Somalis grew up thinking that blackness was synonymous with oppression, something to escape, not embrace. But Western propaganda is global, honey. So, in the same way that they show African-Americans or all Americans in general that that Africans are barbaric and starving, they show African-Americans to the rest of the world as lazy thugs were not to be trusted. violence. Many Somalis arrive here as refugees and want to rebuild their lives and think, "If I distance myself from this label, maybe I'll be safe."

[00:02:35]There's still no excuse. My own mother, who struggles with anti-blackness and hates my dark skin, would always tell me, "Don't be a yo-yo. Don't be a yo-yo."

[00:02:47]>> [laughter] >> It's pure ignorance, but it stems from fear and lies. Here's the truth.

[00:02:52]African-Americans are the moral backbone of this country.

[00:02:55]Every right, every protection, every piece of good experience that you are having in America was built through their blood, sweat, and tears.

[00:03:05]Their resistance, their strategic organizing, their sacrifice, it's the only reason why we have a foothold here today.

[00:03:12]And as much as Somalis want to say, "Ooh, why do you care about black issues?" It's because I'm in gratitude and they deserve reverence and solidarity, not distance and disdain.

[00:03:21]Somali man, I am not black because I fear Allah and I'm a Muslim. Somalis are black. They are both African and black.

[00:03:30]For the love of God, are Somalis black?

[00:03:33]You find some Somalis that say they are and some are saying they're not. All right, are Somalis black? Let's answer that real quick. Firstly, what is black?

[00:03:42]It's not tribe. It's a racial category that came from colonialism, right? To group people with a darker complexion. Yeah, like that. Right?

[00:03:51]Whether you're from Caribbean, West Africa, or in America. Chill like that.

[00:03:56]Right? So, with that in mind, Somalis, you're black. Through job applications, through census. So, the next time you get a job application, go ahead and select that black. Because there's not a check mark for Somali or your clan. Racial category is a thing in the West. Chill like that.

[00:04:12]That's fine. All right, so what is the Somali identity then? Right? Somali identity is experienced through the language, through the culture. Right?

[00:04:20]Yeah, home all the way. Uh Horn of Africa.

[00:04:24]Right? And deep down, the Somali identity is more clan than race. That's the reality. All right, here's what I think. I think Somalis are Somalis, right? In the sense of identity, culture, language. Chill like that.

[00:04:37]Right? You go to the West, and now you're giving a racial label. Go ahead and take it, embrace it, enjoy it, and add value to that experience of that label. Right? Chill like that. Cuz the reality is if most people had that option to select Somali or whatever the other, you know, option, you probably wouldn't have this conversation.

[00:04:56]Let's be honest, right? So, the term black is low-key imposed and embraced at the same time because of this. So, embrace it, enjoy it, and add value to that experience of this label. Right?

[00:05:07]This additional layer of label. That's how I see it. Chill like that.

[00:05:12]I know most of us have actually seen this conversation online, and it is really trending. Are Somalis black? Are Somalis Arab? Or is this an entire debate that is being misunderstood?

[00:05:25]Because if you've seen all of these on social media, you've probably seen viral clips of some Somali voices saying that they are not We are not black. We are Somalis. We are Arabs. And now the backlash is intense, especially from the black community because Um, of them are saying, "Wait a minute, when it comes to rejecting black identity, some people say they are not black."

[00:05:53]But, when political solidarity or immigration issue comes up, suddenly black solidarity matters. And that is the controversy. So, this conversation is way more complicated than social media.

[00:06:09]Than social media makes it look. So, today we are going to break this down, the facts, the history, and why identity debate is getting so heated.

[00:06:22]Are Somalis considered black? I'm sorry to be the one that sparks this debate, but it has to be done. I used to be of the opinion back in the day that, of course we're black. Somalis, look at our skin tone. But as the years went on, my opinion started to change. If you're asking, are Somalis skin tone black?

[00:06:36]Then of course, yes, our skin tone is.

[00:06:38]But then I realized as the years went on, it's nothing to do with skin tone, because even people who are considered black come in different shades of black.

[00:06:46]I started to realize that when people ask whether Somalis are black, it's a reference to are Somalis the same as other fellow African countries such as Nigeria, Ghana, and the countries within West Africa. And then I thought, no, we're not the same as those people. Yes, we're all from Africa, but a Moroccan isn't the same as a Nigerian, and a Nigerian isn't the same as a Somali. A Moroccan isn't considered black. A Nigerian is considered black, and a Somali, for some reason, it sparks a big debate. You've got Somalis who say, "We're not black. We didn't go through a slave trade." I don't think going through a slave trade is what makes you considered black first. And at the same time, why are we listening to Western societies who categorize people based on their skin tones. This is a white man.

[00:07:23]This is a black man. This is whatever.

[00:07:25]This is an Arab. So, my question is, because I still don't have a definitive answer, can Somalis consider themselves black?

[00:07:32]I mean, don't shoot the messenger. I'm not black. Stop calling us black, fam.

[00:07:37]Do we [ __ ] look black? Do I look black to you like, bro?

[00:07:40]I'm I'm black, fam. I'm a Somali, bro.

[00:07:43]You get me, blood? We're not no [ __ ] black people, bro. Somalis are not black. Let me explain why. Look at me right now, chat. Am I black? I'm literally brown. I'm literally brown, bro. Think about it as well. Somalis are Arabs. We're in the Arab League. We speak the Arab language. We eat the Arab food. Think about it this bro. If a whole community doesn't regard themselves as black, they can't be black, bro. We literally can't be black, bro. Boogie, did you eat your brain cells?

[00:08:05]Really, Trudy? Somalis are Arabs, bro.

[00:08:08]Think about it, bro. We're in the Arab League. We speak the Arab language. Bro, tell me I'm not lying, bro. Black is just a social construct. Do not insult me or my ancestors by calling me black, okay? When the first European came to Somalia, they called us Caucasian. Dark Caucasians. My hair is different, nose different, facial structure different, even voice tonality and voice frequency Well, Somalian is Arab, don't worry. No, no, no, Somalis speak Arabic. Yeah, they do. No.

[00:08:31]>> say "Allahu Akbar" and stuff. COME ON, BRO.

[00:08:34]>> [laughter] >> WELL, THEN THEIR QURAN DOESN'T COUNT.

[00:08:36]>> YEAH, THEY DO. They speak Arabic. No, Quran. They speak Arabic. He's coping.

[00:08:39]He doesn't want to be in the same boat.

[00:08:41]No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no.

[00:08:46]I'm the captain now.

[00:08:47]>> [music] >> So, first of all, um, Somali as an ethnic group native native and and So, first of all, Somali is an ethnic group native to the Horn of Africa. That means Somalia, Ethiopia, Djibouti, and parts of Kenya. So, geographically, that part isn't uh geographically, yes, Somalia is in Africa.

[00:09:16]And that part is not is not controversial at all. But, here is where the debate starts. When Americans say black, they are usually talking about race. But, in many other parts of the world, people identity first People identify first uh by ethnicity and tribe, nationality, religion, or language, not American racial categories. A Somali person may say, "I am Somali first." That doesn't automatically mean anti-black sentiment.

[00:09:51]There Sometimes it means I don't identify using Western racial labels.

[00:10:00]But sometimes, you know, online rhetoric goes further, which is where more of a controversy begins. Now, let's talk about the Arab part.

[00:10:12]Why do Somalis say they are Arabs? A few reasons. Number one, Somalia is a part of Arab League. Number two, centuries of trade across the Red Sea connecting Somalia with Arabia. Number three, Islam is central to Somalia society and to Somali society.

[00:10:34]And Islamic history is deeply tied to the Arab world. So, culturally, these are connections.

[00:10:42]And ethnically, but ethnically, that's where experts make distinction. Being Muslim doesn't automatically make someone Arab.

[00:10:55]Being in the Arab League um doesn't auto Being in the Arab League doesn't automatically make an ethnicity.

[00:11:05]Make an ethnicity Arab.

[00:11:07]And Somalia's indigenous population is Somali, not ethnically Arab, as a Black head uh definition.

[00:11:15]Now, Somali families may have Arab ancestry. That is possible. But saying all Somalis are Arabs, that's where the argument gets challenged.

[00:11:30]So, um So, Somalis being uh uh being that they their origin is Africa, and they have said that they are Somali Arabs, it [clears throat] means they also uh reject being African, the Africanism. And they have faced backlash from it. And some African online push back, too. Why? Because from their perspective, Somalia is in Africa, and Somalis are African. So, when they hear um a rhetoric rejecting African identity, they see it as confusing and even insulting. Again, that doesn't mean every Somali thinks that way, but online debate creates that perception.

[00:12:17]And perception fuels conflict.

[00:12:19]And um Well, we also need to understand what blackness mean, because this is where America complicates everything, because black in the US is both racial and political. It is history, slavery, civil rights, shared struggle, identity, community. But outside of US, race categories work differently. Someone can visibly can be visibly black in America, but identify differently in their home country. And that is not unique to Somalis. It happens with North Africans, the Caribbeans, the Latinos, the you know, mixed communities, immigrants generally. And American race language doesn't always translate globally. And that's a huge uh reason this debate keeps exploding.

[00:13:14]So, the root controversy isn't biology.

[00:13:17]It is identity, solidarity, politics, and frankly, it's internet tribalism.

[00:13:23]People want clean boxes, uh black or not, African or Arab, us or them. Real identity doesn't always work like that. But online, complexity doesn't go viral. Conflict does.

[00:13:40]So, now you guys, from the little explanation that I've given being Arab, African, and the blackness, what do you guys think? I would love to hear from you in the comments section. Um are Somalis black? Are they African first?

[00:13:56]Is Somali in its own separate identity outside American labels? Or is it an entire conversation that is being twisted by social media outreach? Drop your thoughts in the comment section below and kindly remember to keep it respectful because the debate clearly isn't going away.

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[00:14:23]I'll see you in the next one. Bye for now.