I hear some people complain that white Americans can't be proud of their race while black Americans commended for embracing their Black Heritage. Superficially, one could almost fall for the assertion that this is hypocritical. But you have to dig deeper.

Those of us who are of European descent usually have the privilege of knowing where are ancestors are from. That's why many of us can answer where our family is originally from, even if they landed on Plymouth Rock. We know if our ancestors were Irish, English, German, Scandinavian, Italian, etc. Many times, we can trace these things back with our last names like McGee would likely be from Ireland while Weber would be from Germany.

Black Americans oftentimes have "Caucasian" last names like Robinson or Burris. As I understand it, many black Americans have these last names because those names were given to their ancestors by their slave masters. They aren't able to trace their family history beyond the slave era. This is why instead of celebrating Mozambique heritage or Angolan heritage, we celebrate Black History.

As a white American male, I hope I am not speaking completely out of turn regarding the Black Experience. If I am wrong, I am open to learning.