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Argumentative Essay: Nationality Within Afro Germans

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Nationality within Afro Germans
The importance of blood and the principle of inheriting a nationality rather than acquiring it through assimilation are two significant factors that distinguish Afro Germans from other marginalized groups within the African Diaspora, for example black Americans and French Africans. As Asante points out, the ideas of race and nationality in the United States and in France do not intertwine or stay dependent on one another (6 7). The American construction of nationality rests on jus soli—being born in the United States—or on being accepted by the U.S. through naturalization. Mastering the French language, being born in a Francophone country, and accepting French culture all guarantee French nationality. French citizenship can thus be bestowed upon people of different racial and historical backgrounds. There were, however, two types of German citizenship: the terms jus soli (Recht …show more content…

In Expanding the Canon: Afro German Studies, Leroy Hopkins cites multiple instances of interaction between Germanic states and Africa from antiquity until the 1800s, when Europeans formed many racial perceptions and stereotypes (121 26). The significance implicit in the existence of any blacks in Germany deserves attention. However, to give a comprehensive account of all blacks in Germany, or of the diasporic connection between Africa and Germany, would exceed the scope of this study. There are many references to blacks in German literature from the Middle Ages to the present day (Gugelberger, Them ). In his article Race, Nationality and Culture: The African Diaspora in Germany, Hopkins gives an historical overview of interactions between Africans and Germans ( Expanding ). The importance of these many instances of German perceptions of blacks is self

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