Hi everybody, Cree here.

I apologize for the lack of update for the past few days; I was going through a heartbreak. It just goes to show you, no matter who we are, what revolutions we start, we are all still human. We go through human emotions.

To be human means to stand up for one another when injustice is taking place. So with that being said, I would like to thank everybody who has signed my petition thus far. I am so so so grateful, words cannot even describe how grateful I am. People from all races are supporting my petition, and it just goes to show you that no matter who you are, no matter how "small" you are, you can do big and great things.

I thought it best to create a list of African/African American people who have been doing great things, and who most certainly don't want to be referred to as "black".

Duchess Meghan Markle: This woman of African American and Caucasian ancestry needs no introduction. While she came under horrendous racist attacks, she stood her ground, and is now one of the most influential people in the world. She most certainly would not want to be referred to as "black".
Tiwa Savage: This African musician from Nigeria has worked very hard for the past decade to bring African tunes (popularly coined Afro beats) to the western world. She is currently signed to Universal music, an American company, and to boost sales she has had to caption some of her Instagram post to appeal to "black" people; something she hasn't done before.
Maria Borges: This African Model from Africa has been very vocal about her cultural heritage since she stepped on to the modelling scene, and even before. She has modelled for Victoria Secret, and made an effort to showcase her natural hair during her walk on the runway. This was a significant step as previously, they had asked her to wear weaves to appear more "acceptable" and "black". But she correctly stated that she is African and channelled her African roots.
Moulay Hafid Elalamy: An African business-man from Morocco who plans various automobile and aeronautics projects for Morocco.
Idris Elba: A Ghanian and Sierra Leonean African actor whose parents immigrated to London, England.
Now, some people may be wondering why I didn't include Elon Musk on this list, and the answer is simple. Yes it is true when people say "All life originated from Africa", but it is also true that REAL Africans are of a darker complexion. Elon Musk's parents are of European descent, and immigrated to South Africa. South Africa suffered apartheid for decades under European rule, something that they are having a hard time growing away from. Yes Elon Musk was born in South Africa, but he was born during a time when Europeans were exerting modern-day colonialism in South Africa. This doesn't make him African because he doesn't have the cultures of real African people. He has European culture.

This doesn't even need to be a debate. The term African has been thrown about loosely for a long time, we are reclaiming it back. African is a race, and not a thing Europeans and Caucasians can just claim because it is "cool". The Caucasians born in Japan, why don't they call themselves Asian then? Because historically and ancestrally, THEY ARE NOT ASIAN. They are European.

I could go on and on, but the reality is, most people who identify as "black" do so out of peer pressure. I was on the bus last night, and the bus driver; a Jamaican woman, made a comment because I forgot her name. She said "Us 'black' folk get it". What does that even mean? Other people from other races forget each others names all the time. I asked her if she felt it was right to call people "black" knowing the racist history it held, and she said no. I then asked her that it starts with the community itself. You NEED to stop identifying yourself as "black" for people to take you seriously.

Again, for those of you don't know or that haven't woken up yet, "black" was a term used to describe "negroes" or "niggas" during the slave trade in the United States of America. It was coined to ensure that those slaves completely forgot their heritage and where they were brought from. It was coined to help in further dehumanize and totally destroy the slaves so that they could be forced into various inhumane acts.

This is not a "hate Caucasian people" petition. This is a petition that teaches history so that the new generations (us, and the children we bring forth) realize and understand that there is more than being called a colour. This is about putting an end to racism in all its ugly forms. The truth is, yes European people have been at the core for a lot of misfortunes when it comes to minorities. We all know what they did to the Native Americans, we all know what they did with the slaves. Sometimes I sit and think if Caucasian people were taught to hate or be afraid of anything that doesn't look like them. I ask myself that question, that did the world suffer so much because Europeans just didn't like that they were other people who didn't share the same traits as them? Almost every race has some story to tell about how they were antagonized by a Caucasian person, be it telling the Chinese boy at lunch that he "eats dog", or asking the African girl "what is that" when she's just having her traditional dinner. Almost every race has a story about how Caucasian people have tried to tell them that they weren't good enough. Most times, these people are even better and more creative than the Caucasians harassing them.

I recently Googled "Influential African-Canadians" and "Influential African-Americans" and do you know what popped up? "Influential black people in America" and "Influential black people in Canada". The only thing that was accurate (with some errors in their journalism) was "Influential Africans". It didn't identify ANYBODY as "black" because all the members on that list were African. (It did say Aliko Dangote was the richest "black" man in the world, and again this is a disparity and incorrect. He is in fact the richest African man in the world (as of now), not "black". That list was still referring to Elon Musk as African, even though we all know that he isn't. Elon Musk will always be associated with Caucasian people, because that's who he is; that's his race. He isn't African, he is a Caucasian man born in Africa. Those are two highly different things. Again, why aren't Caucasian people born in Japan addressed as Asian? Because that isn't their race.

To conclude, I went to get laser hair treatment recently. When it came down to identifying skin types, the options were (and I'm not kidding here): Easily sunburned skin, Not easily sunburned skin, thick skin but not easily sunburned skin, Black skin. What does that even mean? So you know what I did? I cancelled out "black" skin and replaced it with my own hand writing as African skin. I put in brackets that I do not identify as "black", I identify as African. And do you know what happened? The doctor and laser technician respected me more because of it. I wasn't afraid, and it was a thing I knew I was correct on. Not only did I get excellent service, healthy discounts, but I also gained respect. Try this my method out for yourselves. Next time a piece of paper comes at you trying to force you to identify as "black", cancel it out with a pen and write African instead. If they try and force you to tick "black, then you must know that you are not in a place where you belong. Nobody has the right to force you to accept what you don't want to accept. Nobody has that power over you, only you have that power over you. I know that they are people who want to "let sleeping dogs lie", but I am telling you that if you don't make the change, the change will never come.

I went to go get my hair done, and the girl asked me where I was from. I told her Africa, but I have some European ancestry. She said "They still refer to us as 'black'". I told her that refer to her and will refer to her as "black", and not me. I told her people call you what you want to be called, and if you tell them that you don't want to be identified as "black" nobody will ever call you that again. I have always identified as African, and that's what I go by and what people call me. And she was silent. The long and short of this is even though I will never be going back to that hair salon again because the girl bullied me, and tried to make me feel small, people like that do need our help. They have been so accustomed to accepting things that are not meant for them. We must help these people see that they are so much more.

So, challenge yourself today. Find out where you are from. Don't let these people; Caucasian or not, try and tell you who or what you are or are not. If a piece of paper comes your way, trying to force you to identify as "black", cancel out the "black" and write African on it, BECAUSE THAT IS THE NAME OF THE RACE. The US 2020 census and elections are coming up. This is the time to be heard. If the LGBTQ+ community can garner support for themselves and their cause and can acquire all the rights that they have acquired for themselves, I am calling on ALL AFRICAN AND AFRICAN HERITAGE PEOPLE AND AFRICAN SUPPORTERS to help me push this petition and help us fight for our rights to be called by the appropriate name. Next year is the start of a new decade, and we must start this new decade with INCLUSIVITY FOR EVERYBODY. Call up the US government and even the Canadian government. TELL THEM YOU DON'T WANT TO BE REFERRED TO AS "black" ANYMORE. Tell them that you are worth so much more than that. If we don't take a stance now, who will take a stance for us? United we stand, divided we fall.

As always, PLEASE SHARE THIS PETITION WITH WHOMEVER AND WHOEVER YOU CHOOSE TO SHARE IT WITH. MOST IMPORTANTLY, SHARE IT WITH THE AMERICAN AND CANADIAN GOVERNMENTS. Enough is Enough.

I love you all and I am grateful for you all,

Cree <3