Smokey Robinson reveals why he resents being called African American

A 2004 poem by Smokey Robinson entitled “A Black American” has resurfaced sparking widespread conversation on racial identity nearly 18 years after its original performance on Russell Simmons Presents Def Poetry.

While the poem’s intent was to detail the Black experience in America, it also served as a testament on what it meant to be Black to Robinson.

Smokey Robinson on The View

In an interview on the daytime talk show The View, the Motown legend talked about the poem after it resurfaced when a teacher turned it into an animation to educate his students about the black experience for Black History Month. Robinson shocked viewers when he discussed his displeasure with being called African American.

Original piece

“I think that when you [use the term African American], you’re disclaiming all the contributions that Black people have made to America. I consider myself to be a Black American, and I enjoy being called Black, and Black has been so negativized as a color down throughout history by those who wanted to negativize it. And so, it spilled over into the Black community and to the Black people. And even Black people back in the day calling each other Black was a sign for a fight […] Like Black was so negative,” Robinson stated.

He then shared his resentment toward the term.

“I resent being called African American because Black people have contributed so much to the development of the United States of America,” he added while describing what he calls the greatest gift Blacks gave to America: their lives.

“The wonderful Black American who served in the armed forces and gave their lives in all the wars. They did not do that for Timbuktu or Capetown, or Kenya. They did that for Louisiana and Mississippi and Texas and Virginia. Okay? So that’s how I feel about it.”

Robinson gifted each host a copy of Walter Milton and Joel Freeman’s Black History 365: An Inclusive Account Of American History.

His philosophy has drawn mixed reactions. Watch the interview below.

Smokey Robinson on The View