I knew it. The moment I saw Coca Cola’s Super Bowl ad, I knew there was going to be turmoil. As soon as I heard “America The Beautiful” in Spanish followed by other languages, I knew the racist, prejudiced, bigoted uproar was coming. For so long, America has lived under an unrealistic idealized expectation of “true” Americanism. It is often supported in every day speech like, “All American Girl” and “Hometown Boy.” When we hear “All American Girl,” what immediately comes to mind is a thin, blonde haired, blue-eyed woman. However, those are mainstreamed ideals of exclusion, in which people that don’t possess this look are othered and marginalized. Coca Cola as a corporation can be critiqued for many issues. However their latest commercial has added to an important discussion about who is truly American.
The truth is a girl wearing her hijab and speaking Arabic is an “All American Girl.” A young woman speaking Spanish and shopping in a bodega is an “All American Girl.” A woman speaking Igbo at church is “All American.” A “Hometown Boy” may easily speak Korean as a first language. This is America and to think otherwise is to delude one’s self. Our identity as Americans is not preluded by a certain ethnicity, dress code or way of speaking. Additionally, critics of the commercial believe that English is the only language for America, forgetting that American English is highly influenced by a litany of cultures and languages.
Perhaps this all stems from fear. The fact it is, America is browning. According to the Census Bureau, “50.4 percent of our nation’s population younger than age 1 were minorities as of July 1, 2011. This is up from 49.5 percent from the 2010 Census taken April 1, 2010.”
The Associated Press reported, “The government also projects that in five years, minorities will make up more than half of children under 18. Not long after, the total U.S. white population will begin an inexorable decline in absolute numbers, due to aging baby boomers.”
They go on to state:
As a whole, the nonwhite population increased by 1.9 percent to 116 million, or 37 percent of the U.S. The fastest percentage growth is among multiracial Americans, followed by Asians and Hispanics. Non-Hispanic whites make up 63 percent of the U.S.; Hispanics, 17 percent; blacks, 12.3 percent; Asians, 5 percent; and multiracial Americans, 2.4 percent.
America is getting browner everyday and this fact paralyzes some people, especially those who have become accustomed to Eurocentric ideals of Americanism. The fear of the “other” drives voter suppression laws, the prison industrial complex and racial profiling. These are enacted to prevent marginalized Americans from having full access to the benefits of citizenship.
Regardless of where the hatred stems from, “America The Beautiful” only holds true to its name if we recognize the beauty in all of America’s citizens, not just the ones that have been mainstreamed or appear to represent the dominant culture. When Langston Hughes penned those prophetic words, “I Too Am America”, he was putting America on notice. You can deal with it now or you can accept it later but I too am American. And I’m not going away.
Jessica Ann Mitchell is the founder of OurLegaci.com & BlackBloggersConnect.com. To reach JAM, email her at OurLegaci@gmail.com.
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Our Legaci with J.A.M. Aiwuyor 
Yes! Me with my Chicana ass is All American baby and they better get used to it!
Ha! Yes ma’am.
Love it! All-American equals all-inclusive. Thanks for sharing your point of view.
Thank you Courtney! Yes, more people should view “All American” as all inclusive because each and everyone of us is important to the fabric of America.
I think All-American is interpreted as all-inclusive; however I don’t think that’s what it means. No other nation sings their national songs in another languages. Diversity is great. But, have we gotten lost in the message of diversity to be “all-inclusive”?
I am so tired of narrow-minded folks trying to stir up controversy? I loved the commercial! It displays what America really is about! A melting pot of cultures, multiculturalism, and multilingualism. America is the only country where speaking another language is frowned upon, and discouraged. If a child speaks more than one language they see it as an impediment. If Marc Anthony (a US born citizen from Puerto Rican parents) sings the national anthem they want to send him to Mexico! Are you kidding me!!! Shame on America!!!! Sad! Great post! I enjoy really everything you have to say, and share on your blog.
Frances, I agree 100%. America is a melting pot and that tradition will only continue.
WE ARE ALL HUMAN BEINGS ON PLANET EARTH, PERIOD. WHERE DID THIS IDIOTIC THINKING COME FROM THAT HAS SET BACK MANKIND FROM ITS ELEVATION TO INFINITE INTELLIGENCE WITH THE WISDOM OF IT’S MAKER? I WAS BORN NATIVE AMERICAN IN THE PHYSICAL FLESH, THERFOR ALL RACES ARE FOREIGNERS BY IDIOTIC THINKING IN THE UNITED STATES. WHO TEACHES LIES, WITCHCRAFT, FALSEHOOD, & ALL THINGS NEGATIVE IN THE UNIVERSE? YAKUBS DESCENDENTS. A SYSTEM SET UP BY CRIMINALS & FALSE TEACHINGS, CAN ONLY BE FUELED BY THE SAME EXACT ENERGY OF WHAT IT IS TO SURVIVE. THE MASSES R THOUGHT WRONG, THERFOR THEY CAN DO NO RIGHT. IGNORANCE BREEDS IGNORANCE, THAT = HELL ON EARTH. KNOW THY SPIRIT & THY FLESH
BLESS !!!***€£
I just shared this article on Twitter and Facebook. Well written and great thoughts. I think the commercial is Beautiful!
Thanks for reading and sharing Nadeen!