Their language
and culture developed in Africa long before their African
lineage was brought to the New World. We creoles were
a seperate nation of people long before the "One Drop"
theory was developed, that, basically assimulated all people
of color into one distinct category.
Even though, at the present,
we are scattered throughout America, we still reach out to
one another and continue to maintain our "Creole"
identity.
There are many
of us, who, sometimes disagree as to whether we should
be entitled to a seperate nation, but we all agree as to who
we are! Whether you agree or disagree, one thing is for sure, and that is that we "Creoles"
are a distinct ethnic group of people and we should be recognized
as such.
Our accomplishments go a long way in showing the
world who we are!
As
a seperate group of people the name "Creole"
was not bestowed upon us until 1590 in the "Americas"
by a spanish priest, who determined that the mixed breeds
born in the New World were neither Spanish, African nor Indian,
but a mixture of all, thus a "Created Race" so he
called them "Criollos" which in spanish means "to
create." In its original context it was not to denote
"Race", but rather persons born in the New World.
It
must not be forgotten that there were people of all
races that used this same term, as before, it did not denote
race. Dictionaries throughout the English language offer different
explorations as to what exactly the word "Creole"
means. But again for a large part it is widely used to identify
someone of mixed percentage with a culture coming from Louisiana...
Whites who
carried the "Creole" label, eventually disavowed
this name as it began to indicate, more frequently someone
of mixed races. Not only does this name "Creole"
denote mixed Heritage but also it identified someone with
a unique and distinct way of Life, Language, Food, Music and
Religious values and a common demeanor...
