"Who is an FBA?" "What is an FBA?" When these questions are asked, most Foundational Black Americans can't help but roll our eyes and/or sigh. Typically, this question is asked by people who have ulterior motives.
But for those who are asking in good-faith, this blog article will answer the question of "Who is an FBA?" once and for all.
The FBA Lineage
An FBA is a Foundational Black American, and the term defines itself. A Foundational Black American is a Black person who is foundational to the building of the USA (America). FBAs are, at least as of now, classified as Black or African American (a foolish term) and sometimes as Colored, Mulatto, Freedmen, or Negro on a birth certificate and/or other important document or record.
FBAs are people descended from Black/Freedmen ancestors who were present at the founding of the United States, not from later waves of immigration. FBAs are the people of The Most High who literally built the USA from the ground up. Being born or raised in the USA or raised around FBAs does not make you FBA. FBA is a lineage (not a group).
How do you know you're FBA?
FBAs have a culture of great record keeping, and we can typically trace our roots back to at least the 1870 census. FBAs often have slave and/or Native/Indigenous ancestry and although a white r@pist or other ethnic group may be mixed somewhere in the ancestry, we went through what some scholars refer to as an ethnogenesis. We became a distinct ethnic group with our own culture, history, and identity.
This is no different than how Jamaicans and Haitians delineate and distinguish their own unique identity and culture. Many Caribbeans descend from a mix of different ethnic groups, but they had an ethnogenesis in their respective countries and acknowledge that they are unique and separate from other groups.
Many people are "phenotypically Black," but not FBA.
What if I'm mixed? One FBA Parent, One Non-FBA Parent
An FBA needs at least one parent who is a Foundational Black American to qualify for the classification. They must be classified as Black now and on their paperwork (not as white, Asian, Hispanic, or any other ethnic group) and have proof of their direct ancestry to the Foundation of this country.
Their input regarding any FBA lineage decisions must also be at least scrutinized, as many individuals with direct mixed ancestry have dual allegiances and often side with their non-FBA lineage. This typically comes in the form of espousing white supremacist or white supremacist-adjacent ideologies, especially regarding FBAs. FBAs with direct mixed ancestry would do well to get on code (be B1) and stay on code.
Are FBAs the only ones listed in the B1 Rolodex?
No, but FBAs are the overwhelming majority of the listings here.
Non-Foundational Black Americans can be listed, but must go through a vetting process. They must be connected to the REAL Black Grassroots (not astroturf) and be on-code (B1). This is verified by on-code FBAs reaching out to me via email or X. Those FBAs are essentially putting their reputations on the line by getting your business added. If any tethering (undermining, malicious intent, hidden anti-FBA sentiment, disrespect) is detected at a later date, the business will be promptly removed, and the FBAs who recommended your business will no longer have any say in future B1 Rolodex entries, unless the reports of tethering came from them. Keep in mind, it is much easier to be removed than it is to be added.
The B1 Rolodex exists first and foremost to support FBA businesses and professionals, so non-FBA listings are the exception rather than the rule. For a full list of rules, go to the about us page here on the B1 Rolodex website.
Final Thoughts regarding "Who is an FBA?"
This question has been clearly answered and well explained in this article and in other sources. Anyone who decides to play dumb about this term after reading this article is not to be taken seriously.