Originally posted by TexasSky:
The majority of their population, as far as I know, is still Cajun, and that doesn't show up on the racial identification charts nationwide.
Actually, let me correct you here a little, if you don't mind.
New Orleans, not the greater metropolitan area, but the city itself, is somewhere around 70% black and 30% white. Of course subtract a point or two in each category for the small amount of "other".
Someone may have some extremely precise percentages, but that's about it as far a racial makeup is concerned according to my knowledge.
The words "Cajun" and "Creole" do not signify race. The are adopted words that describe culture and lifestyles.
And do not intermingle the two words. People from New Orleans have a distinct difference between the two.
True Cajuns (Acadians) are descendents of French people who fled Nova Scotia in the late 18th century. They were escaping British rule and they went to their French relatives in New Orleans. There aren't many of these descendants left and anyway...it's awfully hard to prove.
Today the word "Cajun" refers to types of music, cooking, speech dialect, and way of life. You don't have to be a descendent of the French Acadians to live like a Cajun.
True Creoles are a little harder to pinpoint. Different groups of people claim to be geniune Creoles. And again, it doesn't refer to one's race. It refers to a culture and way of life. Early in New Orleans history, you had MANY, MANY bi-racial people there. Well, 200 or more years ago, the white would not accept them and neither would the blacks.
Take these bi-racial people and have them intermarry the early French citizens and the early Spanish citizens and you get "Creole".
You won't find people who claim Creole as their race today, but they do claim it as their culture.
Even if they do have French, Spanish, African, and even more on their early family trees, by this time they each claimed a particular race or call themselves bi-racial or "other".
They don't call themselves "Creole" by race. And to look at a person who claim the Creole culture, you would say, "Oh, he's black" or "Oh, she's Spanish" or...you get the picture.
In fact, my Louisiana ancestors are both French and Spanish. We know who they were and when they came here.
However, I look white. That's because these early ancestors married white people.
I do not call myself a Creole, even though I have the racial heritage in my ancestors, because Creole is not a race. I also do not call myself Creole because I have not adopted the culture.
My people tend to call themselves red-necks. (Groan!!) And that is another Louisiana culture all unto itself!!!!! Ha!
Just a little history lesson.
Peace-
Scarlett O.
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