Just who is a Creole and what does it mean ?? Part 1

[Jewboyeae]

I love the Creole people,and their culture. Thank you ,for making this very informative video. Shalom

[SudanCarib]

The Highest percentage of black people in new Orleans are of Haitian ancestry. Most but not all.

[davidille]

this creole stuff is confusing...i just thought it was more of a culture, not an ethnic group.

[augustinecomeaux]

@davidille .. Well You though wrong.There is a whole group of People who self identify as Creoles just as their French Colonial Ancestors did a long before Louisiana became an American possession.I'm sorry They didn't teach You this in School because America has always been a Society where if You were not White You were not worth being a part of The History of this Country.Just because You are confused does not mean We don't exist.You might want to brush up on the subject

[davidille]

@augustinecomeaux ya might want to brush up on your manners, i was actually told this by a "creole" person.. escuse me for being "misinformed" &/or "not knowing" , which i clearly pointed out,. u dont have to be so condescending/rude about giving ur point of view.i never said i was confused cuz "u dont exist" dont know where that idea came from?/ i have nuthin against anyone embracing every aspect of their history/ethnicity.

[augustinecomeaux]

@davidille

I beg Your pardon..From Your response You appear to be the Arrogant Ass.You obviously can dish it out but can't take it. You got a long way to go in this world and You won't get far with Your attitude.You wanted to know something , I told You where to look, to get the info You needed and You respond like an ignorant Jackass..I don't really care who You are or what You think but don't come on My video and start clowning somebody You don't know..Whoever You are, You need to wake up

[augustinecomeaux]

@augustinecomeaux I don't know where You been for the last 450 Years but You need to wake up.How can You say that over 6 million Multi Racial people Who speak Creole French, Have French Surnames & have French Ancestry don't exist.The Word Creole by definition means to Create & is of Portuguese & not of French or Spanish origins.Y ou are living in a Racist past. How can You, who doesn't even know what a Creole is make such a statement without picking up a History book to read about Creoles

[reviloformtamesaws]

I am sorry but the word Creole is actually the misused and incorrectly spelled term for Spaniards born outside of Spain(Spanish colonies) or criollos which means criar or to raise.Please stop using this word to describe people of mixed race ancestry.

[augustinecomeaux]

@reviloformtamesaws I don't know where You been for the last 450 Years but You need to wake up.How can You say that over 6 million Multi Racial people Who speak Creole French, Have French Surnames & have French Ancestry don't exist.The Word Creole by definition means to Create & is of Portuguese & not of French or Spanish origins.You are living in a Racist past. How can You, who doesn't even know what a Creole is make such a statement without picking up a book to read about Creoles

[reviloformtamesaws]

@augustinecomeaux Whoa !!! don't excuse someone of being racist!!! Are you crazy! Creole is a borrowed word .It's the Portuguese form of the original word Criollo.Which means Criollo = Criar de"raise from" .It was use by the Spanish to put a caste system.Those born to Spaniards in Spanish colonies are Criollos.Nobody is denying Multi Racial people Who speak Creole French, Have French Surnames & have French Ancestry don't exist.Where in the hell did you get that assumption!

[augustinecomeaux]

@reviloformtamesaws You need to stop reading books that were written during the Slavery Period . For Your info The Creole Language is a African based & was developed in Africa prior to the introduction of Slavery to the New World. the term "Creole" was invented by the First African Slaves who arrive in the New World. In fact We Creoles date back to the introduction of the Moors into the Portuguese Society..Please stop trying to Define Who We are and just where We come from..Are You Creole ?

[reviloformtamesaws]

@augustinecomeaux I am not trying to define who are Creoles are.Creole is a word that has change from it's original form and meaning. Spaniards introduced the word long before any slaves where brought to Cuba and from their to the rest of North and South America.Criollo is the original term and it was invented long before any Africans were in the New World.Come to Spain and look at the records in Seville which stores all the records in what happened in much of the Americas.I am a Historian.

[augustinecomeaux]

@reviloformtamesaws I'm sorry Mr Historian. I'm not impressed.You seem to be twisting the Truth.The meanings vary & the word was used By the Spanish but in no way in it's original context did it refer to the Spanish as being the first Creoles. Mixed Race Creoles have their Roots & Language in Africa long before the Spanish used the term & long before their intro into the New World.If that is so how Do You account for the Millions of Creoles that reside in the islands off the coast of Africa

[augustinecomeaux]

@reviloformtamesaws.. It totally takes my breath away to find that there are still People out there who are not willing to recognize our Legitimate Right to exist as a People.We are World Wide have Our own language, Food, African & European Heritage, French Surnames, Our Own Music and of Course a History over 500 years & yet We are looked upon as imposters.How Ridiculous. It's like a Japanese defining the Origins of European Culture and taking credit for it's Creation..Let's stop it here !!!

[reviloformtamesaws]

@augustinecomeaux For the past 450 years! Are you insane.The Spanish where the first to put a Caste system and names to classify New Worlders. You are using a rather vague definition and deceiving definition to describe a set of people incorrectly.Historians used this term because it has been used in common terms.Doesn't mean that it isn't wrong.Creole is used incorrectly! Accept it.

[CadjinGisclair]

And I noticed that you said in one comment to someone that Louisiana Creoles don't speak French. Two great Creole musicians, Canray Fontenot and Alphonse "Bois-Sec" Ardoin both spoke and sang mostly in French. I'm sure they spoke Creole as well, but there's no denying that they and many other Louisiana Creoles spoke and speak French. Mais en tout cas, mèsi bokou pou tô vidyo-yé!

[CadjinGisclair]

Mo un Kréyol Françé de laLwizyàn é mo parl yé langaj françé lwizyàné é Kréyol la Lwizàn. Mo pa gain yé ansèt Afrikin mé mo toujou un Kréyol la Lwizyàn.

I speak Louisiana French and Louisiana Creole, I have no African ancestry, but I still identify as a Louisiana French Creole. I do have a little Acadian ancestry, but most of my ancestors came straight from France and Spain. I know you're not implying that one has to have some African blood to be considered Creole, but it seems like it sometimes

[augustinecomeaux]

@CadjinGisclair  You are absolutely right ...Creoles are White, Black and Multi Racial...Because I'm Multi Racial, I sometimes put the emphasis on Mixed Race People of Creole Heritage but of Course that is not the case at all..We can debate as to who were the Original Creoles but in Colonial Louisiana the focus was on the White Creoles..I know of many White Creoles in Louisiana that still speak Louisiana Creole...Thanks for clearing that subject up..

[CadjinGisclair]

@augustinecomeaux

And I think that the fact that we (Louisiana Creoles) are largely a mixed people is the beautiful thing about our culture and history. This kind of racial mixing was unheard of in the states in the colonial period, I. You'd think that it was the other way around, but my grandpa ("un vieux Français" as he calls himself) says he remembers it being less racially divided when he and his parents were young compared to now...

[CadjinGisclair]

@augustinecomeaux

[cont...]

He (mô granpèrr) said that back then, (black, white, amerindian, whatever) they'd all get together with their instruments and dancing shoes and "passer un bon temps", and he said, there was no racism as far as he could tell back then.

[CadjinGisclair]

@augustinecomeaux

[cont...]

He also said something interesting when I asked him if his black friends spoke French too: "Ouais, mais y avait des autres noirs qu'a parlé français mais eusse a parlé différent." (Yeah, but there were some other blacks who spoke French, but they spoke different). He didn't know it at the time, but what he was hearing them speak was Louisiana Creole! I thought that was pretty awesome that he knew creoles in the same community who spoke both French and Creole!

[CadjinGisclair]

@augustinecomeaux

I think it's just absolutely beautiful how the term Creole, in all its complexity, knows no one particular color or race and yet is akin to all who came to Louisiana in that period of our history! I love living down here in Louisiana because the of its incredible linguistic diversity, even just within the French and Creole languages. Both languages vary from town to town and even from family to family!

[TheEdko1234]

@augustinecomeaux good job educating people about the history and people of louisana,(to which i belive is very unique in 'American' history). I was just wondering do you feel any kind of kinship with the modern nation of haiti?

[Roycewicz83]

I have a question. My father is African American and my mother is Caucasian. As far as i know, my father's family is from east central Mississippi. My mother's family has alot of French influence and they are from around east Louisiana and /or Coastal Mississppi. I dont know if my mother's family has migrated from other parts of Louisiana and if they are Cajun or not. People ask me what i am. Would i Cajun or Creole or some other ethnicity?

[igattam]

Sir ive been looking at alot of your videos and i'm wondering i dont know much about my Creole Ethinicity i am Criollo i think basicly a Spanish Creole i think...Though ive read up that Criollo have African american and Possibly believed to have Amerindians backrounds umm and my fatheris actually i believed to have french and spanish Creole in him im just really lost about it confused can you possibly help?

[reviloformtamesaws]

@igattam If your ancestry is strictly Spanish or European you sir, are a Criollo.If you have any other ancestry ,then you are not.By definition if you have a mix of Amerindian and European you are a meztizo.Don't let this man confuse you.Creole is an incorrect term.

[GullahGritsGal]

Hi Augustine,

I just arrived at your channel through another video on "Creole" topics and I have to reiterate that what Americans call "Creole" is not what the French call "Creole". I live in France, speak the language fluently, and have lived here for years where I'm married to a Frenchman. The term "Creole" in French simply means someone of African descent in the former and/or current French territories, who descended from the Africans enslaved in those territories. Nothing more.

[GullahGritsGal]

@GullahGritsGal I'm Creole, and I've noticed that when we Creoles use the term "Creole" we're using an anglicized/bastardized version of the word. It never meant "mulatto" (that term is offensive). It never meant "passes for White"...it simply meant you were of African descent descended from those enslaved in Louisiana Territory (not just what is currently viewed as Louisiana...it was much larger originally, 1/3rd of the entire US).

It's interesting that we've managed to flub up its meaning.

[augustinecomeaux]

@GullahGritsGal

You're becoming very insulting.Creoles on the Early French & American Census were labeled as Mulattoes because they were neither Black nor White but a Mix of Both.Mulatto is not a Derogatory term.It was Used to identify mixed Breeds.You are making a lot of assumptions.Not All Creoles Were Slaves.Many were Free People of Color & Many were never born into Slavery.Have You read any books on the History of the Louisiana Creole ? I suggest You do so Before making such statements

[augustinecomeaux]

@GullahGritsGal Living in France doesn't make You an expert on Creoles. We don't take lightly to non Creoles telling Us Our Culture doesn't Exist.I'm not interested in what the French might think.They deserted their Colony & Gave Up their Empire because they couldn't cut the mustard.For Your info there is a Whole Creole Culture Here & over 5 million Creoles, with Creole Values & self identify as such.I see You know very little about Creole history come to Louisiana & see for Yourself

[GullahGritsGal]

@augustinecomeaux Actually, I'm from Louisiana, born and raised (I already mentioned my Creole heritage from the beginning). The French left simply because the territory was no longer a lucrative venture for them with the loss of Saint Domingue. Whether or not some were "freed", our ancestors arrived via enslavement and on this premise. This is the "descendant" aspect, I am speaking of.

[GullahGritsGal]

@GullahGritsGal Whether or not you like it or would love to fancy yourself as something distinct and perhaps "exotic", I know French, French thought, and French culture. The term creole simply means someone, anyone descended from those Africans in their present and/or former colonies in the Americas and Ile de réunion. The current use of the term is now a bastardized meaning of the term.

[augustinecomeaux]

@GullahGritsGal

For someone who claims to be Creole You know little about Your heritage.I've been studying Our History for over 20 years & I find it to be very unusual that You know very little of Your Ancestry.Creoles Have a very long history beginning in West Africa before the Slave trade.For a People to possess their own Language ,Food, Music Culture and Demeanor I find it hard to believe You can.'t Accept Our Culture.The Term Creole has never been Bastardized & Creoles are Real People

[augustinecomeaux]

Nobody here want's to be "Exotic" at all. We just want to be recognized as a People.Not Black not White but Creoles.Just what would a Frenchman know about the Louisiana Creole..The Bond has been broken over 200 years ago.Creoles don't speak French.Those that do, speak Creole, like all My ancestors.Just what is Your point ?? why can't You accept the fact that the Louisiana Creole are a separate People ,again,not all Creoles arrived as Slaves and many never were..get your facts straight

[GullahGritsGal]

@augustinecomeaux You seem to be doing the culture a disservice. You have no monopoly on the term "Creole". LEARN FRENCH IF YOU'RE GOING TO USE FRENCH WORDS. Just as Blacks whose heritage is in Martinique, Guadeloupe, Haiti, and Réunion are called "Creoles" (whether or not they're of mixed heritage), so goes the same for the Louisiana Territory. As I said, the term "Creole" has been bastardized to mean as you stated "not White and not Black", only when in Louisiana.

[GullahGritsGal]

@GullahGritsGal However, the term means exactly what was initially stated: someone of African descent whose heritage is in the New World or Réunion circa colonization. Any other absurd designation you're thinking of is a mere bastardization of the term.

This is independent of debating whether or not Louisiana Creole culture exists (I'm not even sure of what made you feel this needed to be stated...it's obvious the culture exists and no one but you ever disputed that).

[GullahGritsGal]

@GullahGritsGal Though you would enjoy the "not White/not Black" monopoly on the term Creole, it's simply a bastardized usage of the word. It doesn't matter what you look like or whether or not you're of mixed race. It's simply a term used to refer to people of African descent in the (now former) French territories of the New World and in Réunion.

Some very famous Creoles are Maryse Condé, Mike Ibrahim, Louis Armstrong, Aimé Césaire, Lisa David, et Harry Roselmack.

[GullahGritsGal]

@GullahGritsGal Are they "not Black" to you? (Or better yet, are they "not Creoles" to you??)

Lol, somehow I'm convinced that they'd happily beg to differ.

I posted those names to drive home the point that Creoles can be of ANY racial "designation" (in themselves social constructs) as long as there is African ancestry present. Mixed or not. Stereotypically "mixed-looking" (whatever that means) or not. So stating that they're "not Black & not White", is absurd to most Creoles.

[GullahGritsGal]

@GullahGritsGal Perhaps you don't like the application of the "one-drop rule" in the case of Creoles?

Well, guess what? Most African-Americans in the US have European or Native American ancestry...so if you don't feel the one-drop rule is fair for Creoles, surely you hold the same opinion for African-Americans who lived outside of the French territory, no?

Because they are, in most cases, of mixed race, too.

I know what Creole is and am proud of it and I refuse to bastardize the term.

[augustinecomeaux]

@GullahGritsGal

Are You for real? Saying that one in not totally White nor totally Black does not imply that they are neither.You get a big Fat Zero on Logic..To state that My Comments imply that Creoles don't want to be Black is illogical and Racist.The Word "Creole" is not a Term it's a "Culture" that is over 400 years old in the New World alone..Saying You're Creole is an insult because Your negativity does nothing but harm Creoles and their Culture this is My last post & Yours also

[augustinecomeaux]

You seem to be rambling on & making no sense whatsoever.1) Creoles are Black White and Mixed Race.2) Dubois is a Haitian Creole with strong Louisiana Ties, Some of My Relatives are also of Haitian Extraction.1) Again Creoles Don't speak French they speak Creole..4) Why would a Louisiana Creole want to speak French?5) Creole is not a Bastardized Term it is Older that the New World.You are not listening to what has been said & Your original comments were Negative , distasteful I'm ashamed of You

[DeuceMP2]

I am writing a paper on New Orleans culture and this really clarified a lot of questions. Thanks for posting.

[augustinecomeaux]

Creoles have been mixing with Our Racially mixed Black Cousins for over 200 years...There is no such thing as a Pure French Creole if You know what I mean.The one drop Rule has all but diluted the Creole People...We also have Irish and Italian in Our Veins as well..Not one Race nor nationality on this earth can boast purity not unless you go to some far away Island out in the middle of nowhere..Don't forget that Creole is more of a Culture and not a Race

[LuV4RoBnFaB]

@augustinecomeaux "There are quite a few books on the subject and it's up to the individual to decide whats true and whats not"

I don't understand what you mean by what's true and what's not. Yes not all black women were raped but why does it seem as though you wont mention the MANY black slaves who were but prefer to romanticize black/white relationships when there was so much racism going on and blacks being seen as inferior to whites? And divide & conquer was the main tool whites used...

[LuV4RoBnFaB]

whites used to conquer non white peoples. That's why there's so much self hate & division going on amongst us and even some Mulattoes hating their black side and it is well known how prejudiced many Creoles were towards dark skin blacks. The race that's in power is usually the one we want to identify with. I suggest you also read the book The Destruction of Black Civilization with an open mind. European colonization has been destructive to Africans and continues til this day.

[LuV4RoBnFaB]

I also want to add that there is a popular hard core movie about the slave trade under the French that you can watch online called Goodbye Uncle Tom. It is very shocking and hard for some to watch. It goes into great detail how slaves were dehumanized. It is described as making Roots look like an episode of Good Times. I'm proud of my Creole heritage but I am not going to romanticize my history & pretend I can have a Mulatto worldview when that is impossible. Racism hasn't changed that much.

[augustinecomeaux]

The Issue of Mulattoes being in denial of their Black side is not as prevalent as one may think.I don't know of any Mulattoes who are strongly embracing their White side because a great majority of them know that White America is not buying it.Mulattoes just want respect from the Black community that they rightfully deserve.The destruction of the black Race will come when Black People Light skinned and dark refuse to stand together as a Team.The black Community needs to embrace all

[LuV4RoBnFaB]

@augustinecomeaux I've heard some blacks on here speaking out against some racist Mulattoes calling them niggers. I've seen a few on here trying hard to get white acceptance. User "BiracialWhitePride" for one. I recently had a Nazi call me a "nigglet" meaning half nigger. But whites have used both blacks and Mulattoes to serve their agenda. Some Mexicans are protesting the Hispanic/Latino label cause they would rather identify by their native ancestry and feel whites are ignoring that.

[LuV4RoBnFaB]

The question we should ask ourselves is what good has Multiculturalism done for Africans when all these other races have turned their backs on them and put them at the very bottom? Europeans telling the lie that Africans never contributed nothing to the world and are genetically inferior that many still believe now. Europeans & Arabs doing ethnic cleansing on Africans while exploiting Africa's natural resources.

[HybridD91]

@LuV4RoBnFaB Africans were multicultural before the term existed.

[LuV4RoBnFaB]

@HybridD91 That doesn't address what I mentioned in reference to colonialism and racism.

[augustinecomeaux]

nobody's romanticizing anything I'm just responding to Your Question. their are many books on the subject and Each person needs to Decide..I am no fan of the White Race. people think that because I'm light complected I am anti Black but not True.Nobody's Glorifying Mulattoes but Not all White People are Racists.The Laws were such that many had no Choice.Many whites sent their Black Families abroad to have have better opportunities.There are many opinions on the subject and I listen to them all

[smokeykisha]

Enjoy your videos... You made me want to warm up some leftover Gumbo my mom made the other day...

[hourglas39]

Nice Video !

Keep up the good work :)

[RacqDom]

I have a question: Creoles are of English blood to? Not just French?

So does that mean any mulatto that has English blood is a Creole?

[dawnye1]

your right about the Cajuns and the Creole. you are really breaking it down, Augustine. Alot of the stuff you speak of is the same thing my mother and grandmother use to tell my simbling and I

[dawnye1]

you are right alot of people use the word but dont know what it means.

[briarts]

Very informative

[iamcreole]

Keep up the good work!