Tanetjerian Race: A New Racial Name For The People Of Melanated & African Descent

As we all know, race is a social construct based on the observable reality and genetic variety among homo sapiens. Whether we like it or not, the concept of race to us humans will likely never fade away for a very long time. This brings me to the discussion for today.

As of late, I have noticed an increasing number of discussions among those of African descent. This discussion revolves around the use of the words “Black” and “African”. Let’s start with the word “Black”.

I’ve noticed that in recent times, the term “Black” has become a convoluted word that not only means “race” but also “ethnicity” for Black Americans. Over the past few months, there’s been a heated discussion on the use of the word “Black”. On one side, you have Black Americans who see the word “Black” as more of a categorization for ethnicity rather than race and have become ethnically conscious of the use of that word in recent times. This stems from the rise of Africans coming to the United States and also being labeled as “Black” by other races.

Fearing an ethnic erasure, some Black Americans have then begun to sternly oppose the use of the word “Black” by anyone who is not ethnically “Black American”, which is understandable to some extent.

On the other hand, you have Africans, especially those living outside of Africa, who view “Black” as just a racial categorization of anyone who is a descendant of Africa and has dark-skin. Adding also to the fact that you have other races referring to anyone of African descent as “Black”, most Africans have just accepted this categorization. It doesn’t help that the term “Black” literally changes depending on who’s using it, and in some instances, Melanesians, Aboriginals, and even some Indians have been referred to as “Black” in the past. “Black” at the same time changes on phenotype too, which often leads to some Africans not being seen as “Black” because they don’t fit some people’s classification of “Black”. Long story short, people of brown-skinned complexion who are descendants from Africa practically have no control over their own identity.

At first in the past, I proposed to just use the term “African” for the designation of the race of people with melanin skin and afro hair. It seemed reasonable at the time until a second problem arose. The term “African” is strongly correlated with the continent of Africa, and not everyone has a strong connection to the continent. We live in global times after all, so naturally there are people who reside in Africa who don’t have genetic descent from that continent but can still be considered African, similar to how Africans who are born in Europe are oftentimes referred to as Europeans.

Another example is people like the Black Americans and Caribbeans who have been distanced from the continent for such a long time. Yes, they know their origin lies in Africa; however, just like how White Americans no longer call themselves “Europeans”, it also seems unreasonable to call Black Americans and the Caribbean “Africans”.

So, what is the solution? Race is a social-political construct as well as a genetic reality to some extent. And as our people begin to live outside of Africa, we’ll likely need a name that represents us and our genetic history, so, in simpler terms, our racial name needs a soft update. This is nothing new, as a group of people’s identity has changed and morphed with time. So what’s the name that I am proposing for our race today? Well, if you read the title, you already know it, it’s Tanetjerians.

Since the words “Black” and “African” have caused such much contention among our people, maybe it’s time we used a new name to classify ourselves, while respecting everyone’s new homes and culture. Here’s my logic on how I got to this name.

Tanetjerian (pural = Tanetjerians), which comes from the word ‘Ta netjer’ (tꜣ nṯr), meaning “Land of the Gods”. It plays on two fronts that I feel give this new word some weight behind it:

1. Many scholars agree that the first humans came from Africa, specifically East Africa. Those Africans were of a dark melanated skin complexion, which serves as the genetic foundation of most African people today.
2. Ancient Egyptians viewed the Land of Punt (the word ‘Punt’ being where the word ‘Ta netjer’ comes from) as their ancestral homeland, so it has some significant meaning behind it. So by definition, the new word: Tanetjerian would mean:

Tanetjerian (pural = ‘Tanetjerians‘):

adjective

1. melanated-skinned, afro-haired; of African origin.

noun

1. melanated-skinned, afro-haired; of African origin; from the lands of the gods (Africa)

Word defintion

Now, I know the discussion of race can be controversial; however, having a way to identify ourselves globally is more beneficial, in my opinion, and it allows us to stay connected. Ignoring race at this stage is quite frankly pointless, seeing how it greatly impacts people’s reality, so we might as well strengthen our position in the global space by commanding our identity more accurately.

Another reason why I created the term “Tanetjerian”.

People nowadays see things as follows;

If you’re born:

In Europe=European!
In America=American!
In Africa=African!
In Asia=Asian!
In Oceania= Oceanian

The logic behind this way of thinking isn’t flawed, it’s just a result of human progression. In reality, it makes no sense to call a White American from the US living in South Africa, a European if referring to his race, right? So when we want to refer to their race, nowadays we tend to say “White” or “Caucasian”. Both are interchangeable, and the deciding factor of whether you belong to that race is often a combination of genetics and social politics, and it is decided by them.

It’s similar to Africans who’ve lived in Europe for hundreds of years. Yes, whether you like to believe it or not, Africans have lived in Europe for centuries, and honestly, can no longer be considered Africans as well in that same context, as they’re now European in every cultural aspect.

This was the argument that some Black Americans were making concerning being called African. While most people see African as a racial term, others are now starting to see that those terms are just the location you are from. Black Americans know that they are cut from the same cloth as Caribbean and Africans, but they simply don’t like the term “African” as they feel they no longer share any cultural aspect with those from Africa, and at the same time are starting to get concerned with their ethnic identifier “Black” being adopted by other Tanerjerians coming to the country.

Which by the way, is of no fault to anyone, as outside of America, “Black” is used the the racial identifier in the rest of the world. Some might say, “Well, why don’t Black Americans just come up with a new name?”

Fair question, but it’s not that simple for them. They have built an entire identity and culture around the term “Black”, while the rest of us are just called that by others. Let’s not forget that it was Black Americans who contributed greatly to why it’s now cool to be “Black” in the first place and shaped the image of our entire race as a whole. When people think “Black”, for better or worse, they think of the ethnic group called Black Americans. It’s their word at this point.

Besides, coming up with a new name for our race as a whole, that’s no longer tied or created by an outsider, is a far more appealing prospect to me.

Then you look at Melanesians, who’ve been disconnected from Africa for nearly 55,000 years, to the point that they don’t even have any genetic traces left of their original African starting point, you start to see why calling people “African” from a genetic racial point begins to look difficult and silly. They may look like us, but that’s about it.

Context is key here. The world is changing, and people are no longer confined to their original spawning points.

A similar thing is done with Arabs, which slightly solves the problem. Arabs are not a race per se, but it’s an identifier used for a community that shares similar values and cultural aspects. It doesn’t matter where in the world you are, you are usually always an Arab first if you follow or practice Arab culture, traditions, or speak the language. Arab evolved from so many different terms to now becoming its ethnic identifier.

Now, when it comes to our race, I’m sure you’ve likely seen the discourse that’s been going on online with the terms “Black” and “African”. It means different things to different people, in different parts of the world.

That’s why I’m now using the identifier “Tanetjerian” in place of both when I’m trying to talk about my race, regardless of where they are in the world. The unifier term for our race, while respecting everyone’s new spawning points.

The term “Tanetjerians” acts as a racialized classification of people mostly of African genetic ancestry, and it can also be used as a skin color and hair texture specifier. It also carries a creed of its own to guide the people.

So there you have it. It’s a proposition at the end of the day, however, I believe it is a better option than “Black” or even “African”. Tanetjerians should be seen as a replacement for the word “Black” when describing our race, for a more accurate description of people who are melanated and of African descent.

Let me know what you think.