Raven-Symoné Clarifies: 'I Never Said I Wasn’t Black' - East Idaho News
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Raven-Symoné Clarifies: ‘I Never Said I Wasn’t Black’

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OWN 100914 oprahravsym?  SQUARESPACE CACHEVERSION=1412867513439Harpo Studios, Inc/ George Burns(NEW YORK) — Former child star Raven-Symoné had the Internet up in arms after her interview with Oprah Winfrey, when The Cosby Show actress said she doesn’t prefer to be labeled “African-American” or a “lesbian.” Now, she’s clarifying exactly what she meant by that.

“I never said I wasn’t black…I want to make that very clear,” she told NBC’s The Grio. “I said, I am not African-American.”

During her sit down on OWN’s Where Are They Now?, the That’s So Raven star told Winfrey, “I don’t want to be labeled ‘gay.’ I want to be labeled ‘a human who loves humans.’”

She added, “I’m tired of being labeled. I’m an American. I’m not an African-American. I’m an American.”

A surprised Winfrey responded, “Oh, girl. Don’t set up Twitter on fire. Oh, my lord. What did you just say?”

Raven explained, “I mean, I don’t know where my roots go to. I don’t know how far back they go. …I don’t know what country in Africa I’m from, but I do know that my roots are in Louisiana. I’m an American. And that’s a colorless person.”

When Winfrey warned, “You’re going to get a lot of flak for saying you’re not African-American. You know that, right?”

Still, Raven reiterated, “I don’t label myself. …I have darker skin. I have a nice, interesting grade of hair. I connect with Caucasian. I connect with Asian. I connect with black. I connect with Indian. I connect with each culture.”

Quipped Winfrey, “You are a melting pot in one body.”

“Isn’t that what America’s supposed to be?” replied Raven.

The actress said she didn’t expect such a firestorm concerning her comments. “I never expected my personal beliefs and comments to spark such emotion in people,” she added. “I think it is only positive when we can openly discuss race and being labeled in America.”


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