Multiracial Ugandans in Uganda

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This article describes the history of multiracial Ugandans in Uganda.

Contents

History

Colonial era

Ugandan-Europeans (Afro-Europeans)

Since colonialism, mixed-race people in Uganda have existed as a "product of Colonial history and are indeed considered as having a peculiar historical identity in terms of color and ethnic origin by other Ugandans" ( [1] pg 8); indeed, the topic has lately become one that is openly discussed. [1]

The product of colonial history saw the emergence of a new identity of Ugandans (in terms of color and multi-ethnic origin). Most interracial relationships occurred between male European explorers and local black African women. [2] It was seen and known but not openly talked about or acknowledged.

Mixed-race relationships were excluded from open discourse during colonial times because they were considered by traditionalists, as a violation of societal boundaries. To some academicians, the multiracial people that emerged from that era symbolized two aspects: a liberation from the “authority of tradition” and a departure from a status quo depiction of culture [3]

Ugandan-Arabs (Afro-Arabs)

Prior to and during colonialism, Arabs played a pivotal role in the East African slave trade. Numerous East Africans were sold as slaves to the regions of the Middle East and beyond via the Sahara desert and Indian Ocean. Many interracial relationships between (mostly) male Arab traders and black African women occurred. These unions gave rise to Ugandan-Arabs. Unlike the Trans-Atlantic slave trade, most of the slaves in the East African slave trade were women. Most of the women were sold as sex slaves, while some were taken as wives. [4] [5]

Ugandan-Indians (Afro-Indians)

During the construction of the East African/Uganda railway, the British Empire brought many Indian workers into East Africa for labor. The influx of Indians throughout Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, and other neighboring countries contributed to numerous Ugandan-Indian unions in Uganda--especially in small towns located along the Railway. Traders--who were mostly Indian and male--married local Ugandan women, thus birthing a visible emergence of mixed Ugandan-Indian people. [6]

Demographics

The number of multiracial Ugandans in Uganda is not known or tracked.

The "one-drop rule," [7] [8] derived from the Southern United States slave culture, does not apply to multiracial Ugandans living in Uganda. Thus, mixed-race descendants of blacks and non-blacks in Uganda, like the mixed-race people of Brazil, Colombia, Panama, and other Latin American nations, are not considered black. They are described by their skin tone and nationality, and racially identified as belonging to another race other than black. Typically, people of brown and/or lighter skin tones would be called Mzungu by the local people. [9]

Social status

Discrimination

In the past and most recently, multiracial Ugandans in Uganda have expressed grievances about not being recognized as true Ugandan citizens and were denied or delayed in getting benefits (considered as basic rights), such as obtaining a National ID card or passport. [10] [11] This prompted President Yoweri Museveni, [12] in 2016, following a meeting with a group of mixed-race Ugandans, to openly proclaim that mixed-racial people were to be treated as true Ugandans, per the established 1995 Constitution. [13]

Citizenship defined

Of note, citizenship in Uganda is open to the following (per the mandates of the Directorate of Citizenship and Immigration): [14]

(i) Every person born in Uganda, one of whose parents or grandparents is or was a member of any of the indigenous communities existing and residing within the borders of Uganda as at the first day of February, 1926 and set out in the third schedule of the constitution. (article10 a of the constitution) (ii) Every person born in or outside Uganda one of whose parents or grandparents was at the time of birth of that person, a citizen of Uganda by birth (iii) A child of not more than five years of age found in Uganda whose parents are not known is presumed to be Ugandan (iv) A child under the age of eighteen years neither of whose parents is a citizen of Uganda, who is adopted by a citizen of Uganda upon registration shall be a citizen of Uganda (v)  A person who successfully applies for and is registered as a citizen of Uganda.

The government of Uganda has had to notify various institutions that multiracial Ugandans are citizens of Uganda--as the Omari case demonstrated. [11]

Media and Coverage

Politics

A landmark case, [11] [1] involving one Yasin Omari, of mixed Ugandan-Asian heritage, illustrated how, on various occasions, he and many people of mixed race were "subjected to discrimination by ministry officials during the process of registration, renewal of passports and National ID [cards], hence violating their rights to citizenship."

People of mixed race were also, reportedly, denied access to political appointments. [10] [11] [1]

This case led to The Equal Opportunity Commission (EOC) tribunal in Uganda ordering the Ministry of Internal Affairs to give national ID cards and passports to multiracial persons—and directing all government components to treat all Ugandans equally without regard to color or racial heritage in the processing of citizenship benefits. [10] [11] [1]

Terminology

People of mixed or multiracial heritages in Uganda are commonly referred to as Half-castes (a term not regarded as derogatory or racist in nature) or chotara (singular in Swahili), wachotara (plural in Swahili). [10] [15]

The topic of mixed-race Ugandans continues to resurface, in the public arena, with the growing number of Chinese men marrying Ugandan women, in some cases attributable to sham marriages with an opportunity to obtain immigration benefits. [16]

One noted trend is the reported growing number of Ugandan women who were left behind with children fathered by Chinese men. [17] [18]

Related Research Articles

Black is a racialized classification of people, usually a political and skin color-based category for specific populations with a mid- to dark brown complexion. Not all people considered "black" have dark skin; in certain countries, often in socially based systems of racial classification in the Western world, the term "black" is used to describe persons who are perceived as dark-skinned compared to other populations. It is most commonly used for people of sub-Saharan African ancestry, Indigenous Australians and Melanesians, though it has been applied in many contexts to other groups, and is no indicator of any close ancestral relationship whatsoever. Indigenous African societies do not use the term black as a racial identity outside of influences brought by Western cultures.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Racial segregation</span> Systemic separation of people into racial or other ethnic groups in daily life

Racial segregation is the separation of people into racial or other ethnic groups in daily life. Segregation can involve the spatial separation of the races, and mandatory use of different institutions, such as schools and hospitals by people of different races. Specifically, it may be applied to activities such as eating in restaurants, drinking from water fountains, using public toilets, attending schools, going to films, riding buses, renting or purchasing homes or renting hotel rooms. In addition, segregation often allows close contact between members of different racial or ethnic groups in hierarchical situations, such as allowing a person of one race to work as a servant for a member of another race. Racial segregation has generally been outlawed worldwide.

Miscegenation is marriage or admixture between people who are considered to be members of different races. The word, now usually considered pejorative, is derived from a combination of the Latin terms miscere and genus. The word first appeared in Miscegenation: The Theory of the Blending of the Races, Applied to the American White Man and Negro, a hoax anti-abolitionist pamphlet David Goodman Croly and others published anonymously in advance of the 1864 presidential election in the United States. The term came to be associated with laws that banned interracial marriage and sex, which were known as anti-miscegenation laws.

Mulatto is a racial classification to refer to people of mixed African and European ancestry. Its use is considered outdated and offensive in several languages, including English and Dutch, whereas in languages such as Italian, Spanish and Portuguese it is not, and can even be a source of pride. A mulatta is a female mulatto.

The terms multiracial people or mixed-race people are used to refer to people who are of more than one race and the terms multi-ethnic people or ethnically-mixed people are used to refer to people who are of more than one ethnicity. A variety of terms have been used both historically and presently for mixed race people in a variety of contexts, including multiethnic, polyethnic, occasionally bi-ethnic, Métis, Muwallad, Colored, Dougla, half-caste, ʻafakasi, mestizo, mutt, Melungeon, quadroon, octoroon, sambo/zambo, Eurasian, hapa, hāfu, Garifuna, pardo, and Gurans. A number of these terms are now considered offensive, in addition to those that were initially coined for pejorative use. "Melezi" are called the offspring of Muslim Romani men and woman of host populations.

In the United States census, the U.S. Census Bureau and the Office of Management and Budget define a set of self-identified categories of race and ethnicity chosen by residents, with which they most closely identify. Residents can indicate their origins alongside their race, and are asked specifically whether they are of Hispanic or Latino origin in a separate question.

The term "person of color" is primarily used to describe any person who is not considered "white". In its current meaning, the term originated in, and is primarily associated with, the United States; however, since the 2010s, it has been adopted elsewhere in the Anglosphere, including relatively limited usage in the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, Ireland, South Africa, and Singapore.

The one-drop rule was a legal principle of racial classification that was prominent in the 20th-century United States. It asserted that any person with even one ancestor of black ancestry is considered black. It is an example of hypodescent, the automatic assignment of children of a mixed union between different socioeconomic or ethnic groups to the group with the lower status, regardless of proportion of ancestry in different groups.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Free people of color</span> Persons of partial African and European descent who were not enslaved

In the context of the history of slavery in the Americas, free people of color were primarily people of mixed African, European, and Native American descent who were not enslaved. However, the term also applied to people born free who were primarily of black African descent with little mixture. They were a distinct group of free people of color in the French colonies, including Louisiana and in settlements on Caribbean islands, such as Saint-Domingue (Haiti), St. Lucia, Dominica, Guadeloupe, and Martinique. In these territories and major cities, particularly New Orleans, and those cities held by the Spanish, a substantial third class of primarily mixed-race, free people developed. These colonial societies classified mixed-race people in a variety of ways, generally related to visible features and to the proportion of African ancestry. Racial classifications were numerous in Latin America.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Afro-Asians</span> Persons of mixed Asian and African ancestry

Afro-Asians, African Asians, Blasians or simply Black Asians are people of mixed Asian and African ancestry. Historically, Afro-Asian populations have been marginalised as a result of human migration and social conflict.

Black Indians are Native American people – defined as Native American due to being affiliated with Native American communities and being culturally Native American – who also have significant African American heritage.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Race and ethnicity in the United States</span>

The United States has a racially and ethnically diverse population. At the federal level, race and ethnicity have been categorized separately. The most recent United States census recognized five racial categories, as well as people who belong to two or more of the racial categories. The United States also recognizes the broader notion of ethnicity. The 2000 census and 2010 American Community Survey inquired about the "ancestry" of residents, while the 2020 census allowed people to enter their "origins". The Census Bureau also classified respondents as either Hispanic or Latino, identifying as an ethnicity, which comprises the minority group in the nation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Interracial marriage</span> Marriage between individuals of different racial/ethnic backgrounds

Interracial marriage is a marriage involving spouses who belong to different races or racialized ethnicities.

The Indian diaspora in Southeast Africa consists of approximately 3 million people of Indian origin. Some of this diaspora in Southeast Africa arrived in the 19th century from British India as indentured labourers, many of them to work on the Kenya–Uganda railway. Others had arrived earlier by sea as traders.

A freedman or freedwoman is a formerly enslaved person who has been released from slavery, usually by legal means. Historically, slaves were freed by manumission, emancipation, or self-purchase. A fugitive slave is a person who escaped enslavement by fleeing.

There is a significant Asian presence in Africa of at least 3 million people. Most have arrived following European settlement in 1930s; however, there is continued immigration to the continent to pursue economic opportunities.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kenyan passport</span> Passport of the Republic of Kenya issued to Kenyan citizens

The Kenyan passport is issued to Kenyan citizens in accordance with the Constitution of Kenya, 2010 and as provided for in the Kenya Citizens and Immigration Act that commenced on 30 August 2011. In addition issuance process is regulated by Legal Notice No. 64. If eligible, an individual can apply for a New Passport, Renewal Passport and Replacement Passport. Passports are issued by the Department of Immigration. The department is under the Ministry of Interior and Coordination of National Government. Kenyan passports are usually used as a form of ID as well and would be rated as second to the Kenyan national ID card. Before Kenya got independence from Britain, British passports were used.

Multiracial Americans or mixed-race Americans are Americans who have mixed ancestry of two or more races. The term may also include Americans of mixed-race ancestry who self-identify with just one group culturally and socially. In the 2020 United States census, 33.8 million individuals or 10.2% of the population, self-identified as multiracial. There is evidence that an accounting by genetic ancestry would produce a higher number.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Interracial marriage in the United States</span>

Interracial marriage has been legal throughout the United States since at least the 1967 U.S. Supreme Court decision Loving v. Virginia (1967) that held that anti-miscegenation laws were unconstitutional via the 14th Amendment adopted in 1868. Chief Justice Earl Warren wrote in the court opinion that "the freedom to marry, or not marry, a person of another race resides with the individual, and cannot be infringed by the State." Interracial marriages have been formally protected by federal statute through the Respect for Marriage Act since 2022.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anti-miscegenation laws in the United States</span> Laws against interracial marriage

In the United States, anti-miscegenation laws were passed by most states to prohibit interracial marriage, and in some cases also prohibit interracial sexual relations. Some such laws predate the establishment of the United States, some dating to the later 17th or early 18th century, a century or more after the complete racialization of slavery. Nine states never enacted such laws; 25 states had repealed their laws by 1967, when the United States Supreme Court ruled in Loving v. Virginia that such laws were unconstitutional in the remaining 16 states. The term miscegenation was first used in 1863, during the American Civil War, by journalists to discredit the abolitionist movement by stirring up debate over the prospect of interracial marriage after the abolition of slavery.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 "Equal Opportunities Commission, Omar vs AG. Before Hon. Joel Cox Ojuko. RULING" (PDF). Equal Opportunities Commission Publication. Retrieved 17 Jul 2020.
  2. ↑ Ehud R. Toledano (1998). Slavery and abolition in the Ottoman Middle East. University of Washington Press. pp. 13–4. ISBN   978-0-295-97642-6.
  3. ↑ Ojwang, Dan (27 March 2009). "The half-caste and the dream of secularism and freedom: Insights from East African Asian writing". Scrutiny2. 13 (2): 16–35. doi:10.1080/18125440802485987. S2CID   144340777.
  4. ↑ Ehud R. Toledano (1998). Slavery and abolition in the Ottoman Middle East. University of Washington Press. pp. 13–4. ISBN   978-0-295-97642-6.
  5. ↑ "East Africa's forgotten slave trade". AFRICAN HISTORY. Retrieved 17 Jul 2020.
  6. ↑ Jotawa: Afro-Asians in East Africa". Color Q World. Retrieved 15 July 2008.
  7. ↑ Dworkin, Kari, L (18 October 2009). "Race, Sexuality, and the "One Drop Rule": More Thoughts about Interracial Couples and Marriage". The Society Pages.
  8. ↑ Davis, F. James. "Who is Black? One Nation's Definition" . Retrieved 19 July 2020.
  9. ↑ "In Search Of Black Identity In Uganda". Matador Network. 24 Aug 2011.
  10. 1 2 3 4 "Ministry ordered to issue National IDs to multiracial persons". New Vision. 13 June 2017. Retrieved 17 July 2020.
  11. 1 2 3 4 5 "Uganda: Yasin Omar vs. Attorney General". Citizenship Rights In Africa Initiative. 29 September 2017.
  12. ↑ "Yoweri K. Museveni, President of Uganda" . Retrieved 17 July 2020.
  13. ↑ "Uganda: Multi-Racial Tribe To Get Citizenship, President Assures". The African Exponent. 11 Feb 2016. Retrieved 17 July 2020.
  14. ↑ "Ugandan Citizenship". Directorate of Citizenship and Immigration, Ministry of Internal Affairs. Retrieved 17 July 2020.
  15. ↑ "Chotara". Swahili - English Dictionary.
  16. ↑ "Uganda is worried about the number of Chinese men marrying their women". Quartz Africa. 7 December 2016. Retrieved 17 July 2020.
  17. ↑ "Pregnant Ugandan women abandoned by Chinese expatriates they love". The Washington Times. 12 December 2017. Retrieved 17 July 2020.
  18. ↑ "Ugandan women stranded with babies fathered by Chinese". Daily Nation. 23 November 2017. Retrieved 17 July 2020.
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