ARE ETHIOPIANS BLACK?
Don’t be fooled by the pictures of light-skinned girls that most people post to justify that Ethiopians are not Africans. It is like claiming that all the black people in USA are tall and fit like the NBA players.
Ethiopia should not be associated with one ethnic group, religion or language. It is a very diverse country both genetically and culturally.
Indeed, Ethiopia is a federal country of 10 regional states each hosting at least one distinct ethnic group with a different language and/or religion.
To understand the origins and culture of Ethiopians it is important to identify the 3 major genetic groups: 1. Cushitic tribes (Oromo, Somali, Afar). 2. The Nilo-Saharan & Omotic group (Gambela, Mursi, Gamo) and 3. Semitic or Habesha tribes (Amhara and Tigray).
The Afar people who live near the sea actually tend to be extremely dark like the Nilotic tribes of Kenya and South Sudan.
A young Afar man. Does he look black? Yes
A beautiful Afar woman. Does she look black?
Now on to the next.
The Oromos are estimated to be around 45 million and hence close to 40% of the entire population of Ethiopia. In fact, the majority of Oromo people are dark-skinned.
Haile Gebrselassie, the legendary Olympic athlete. Does he look black? Yes.
Oromo youth, the majority tribe in Ethiopia. Do they look black? Yes.
Now on to the people of SNNPR.
Mengistu Haile Mariam, former president of Ethiopia. Does he look black? Yes.
Ethiopian teenagers in Gambella region. Are they black?
A pretty young lady in Omo valley, Ethiopia.
The people of Gambela and SNNPR regions of Ethiopia are mostly Nilo-Saharans or they speak Omotic languages. The Ethiopian Morsi look like the Nuer or Dinka of South Sudan.
“I’m not black, I’m Habesha (OJ)” Okay
The Habesha people are from the Northern part of Ethiopia, specifically, the regions of Tigray, Amhara and Beta Israel (The Jewish Ethiopians). The term Habesha is usually extended to include the Eritreans and most people from this region tend to think they are not black at all.
The Jews of Ethiopia or Beta Israel (meaning House of Israel). Are they black? Well, it took a while for them to figure it out.
The Jewish Ethiopians claim descent from Menelik I, the son of Queen Sheba (Makeda in Ethiopia) and King Solomon of Israel. When Ethiopia embraced Christianity in the 4th century, they refused to convert and preserved their Jewish traditions i.e. they prayed in synagogues, practiced circumcision and observed Sabbath and many other Jewish rituals.
In the 18th century, European explorers in search for the source of the Nile reported the existence the Beta Israel community in Ethiopia which ignited the myth of the lost tribe of Dan.
From 1980 to 1992, the Ethiopian Jews who were threatened by famine, political unrest and the hostility of the communist regime led by Col Mengistu were rescued on several operations in which around 100,000 Jewish Ethiopians were airlifted to Israel.
Black Lives Matter protests in Israel.
Unfortunately, the Jewish Ethiopians claim that they are treated like second-class citizens in Israel because they are BLACK. Indeed, Ethiopian Jews face discrimination, racism, suffer the highest poverty rate among the Jews in Israel and suffer much higher levels of police arrests and incarceration just like black people in America.
Regardless, there are positive changes happening in Israel.
This is Lt. Col. Dr. Avraham Yitzhak, Israel’s first colonel to come from the Ethiopian community. Is he black? Yes.
Eskinder Nega is a famous Ethiopian activist and journalist. Does he look black? Yes
Most people think that all the Amhara and Tigray ladies are light-skinned with curly hair as evidenced by the answers you will find here but this is completely false.
A group of Amhara people. Do they look white?
A group of girls in Tigray region (Northern Ethiopia). Do they look black? Yes if you compare with the pic below of the Caucasian, Asian and Ethiopian ladies standing together.
The Amhara people to a small extent and Tigrayans in general have minor Berber, Arab or Persian genetic ad mixture due to years of trade and cultural exchange between the ancient Axum Kingdom and Arabia. There is a reason why both Yemen and Ethiopia claim to be the origin of Coffee or the birthplace of Queen Sheba.
President Paul Kagame of Rwanda and PM Dr. Abiy of Ethiopia.
Pres. Paul Kagame and PM Dr. Abiy of Ethiopia. Do they look different? No. Are they black? Yes. Shall we say that the Rwandans are not black? That would be dumb.
Where does the confusion come from? I think it is an inferiority complex. The Ethiopians like most Africans and Indians were brainwashed by the Western media to believe that everybody with a white or light skin is better than them. I dated a beautiful Ethiopian girl and she would put extensions on her hair and use exotic lotions to look “white”.
Here is a picture of rappers Drake and Abel Makkonen Tesfaye known professionally as The Weeknd who is a son of Ethiopian immigrants to Canada.
Drake’s mother is white just like former President Obama’s mother. We all know Obama as the first BLACK president of the USA. The Weeknd is a proud successful black artist, but some people in Ethiopia still struggle with their identity and they would tell you a different story.
However, a recent sad anecdote can provide insights to your question; it is about the most famous Ethiopian in the world; who ironically is originally from the region most Ethiopians would consider highly mixed or Habesha (Tigray)… Dr. Tedros A. Ghebreyesus, the boss of WHO.
In the midst of the global pandemic of Covid-19, Dr. Tedros was subjected to racist comments and death threats. Dr Tedros responded: “I can tell you personal attacks that have been going on for months. Abuses, or racist comments, giving me names, black or Negro. I’m proud of being black, proud of being Negro.”
The only Ethiopian who will tell you he/she is not black does not either have a passport or an education.
