Birth Name:
Aaliyah Dana Haughton
Birth Place:
Brooklyn, New York City, New York, United States
Date of Birth:
January 16, 1979
What Race or Ethnicity:
African American with distant Native American ancestry
The American R&B singer was of African American descent. This was confirmed in an interview with Emil Wilbekin, the editor-in-chief of Vibe Magazine, who followed Aaliyah’s incredible career. Her name in Swahili means “Highest, Most Exalted, The Best”.
It was written in a biography called Aaliyah Remembered by Sutherland, 2005 that Aaliyah is partly of Native American ancestry.
Source:
- http://archives.cnn.com/2001/COMMUNITY/08/27/welbekin.cnna/index.html
- Sutherland, William (2005). Aaliyah Remembered. Trafford Publishing.
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when aaliyah got light she got light and when aaliyah got dark she got dark so it’s 50/50 i don’t see her as light skin.
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Unlike Shar JAckson, Megan Good and Nicki Minaj, Aaliyah actually looks MIXED!
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yeah Aaliyah looks like she’s Native American.I always knew she had some in her . She did not look full black to me . An it turns out she has some in her . i think its awesome . i have quite a bit in me Cherokee on both sides. so drew is right don’t like the singer because of there race and all . like them for them and for the music and there acting .
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Please. Aaliyah looks no different than the average African American. She does not look Native American.
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Aalyah does look like a lightskinned sista!
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WHY DO PEOPLE LIE SO MUCH – ON THIS SITE
you knew she was black
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NATIVE AMERICANS DONT LOOK LIKE THIS
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SHE LOOKS JUST LIKE AFRICAN AMERICAN
people are stupid
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her granma was full native of oneiba tribe.
dumb fuck
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shes so beautifulllllll <3 rip
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As many of you Americans have forgotten that before the Pilgrims invaded the USA Africans were already here; therefore, almost every Black person is also Indian even if they don’t look like it. African arrived with the Spaniards and established cities and towns in the US then many many many yrs later the white folks came and ruined everything.
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very true.
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Thia is the dumbest thing that I have ever heard!
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To say aaliyah is pure black/african is bullshit…Q. How come when a black person has native american in there root’s they are hated or ppl say the are lien?(mainly by white ppl)…. alot of blacks have as much indian roots as white
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Most of the time native ancestry is nothing more than rumor
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Alot of Americans have native american ancestry Im white and I have 3 great grandparents that were Cherokee and ottawa idians. but Idk thats just me but When people have native American in them you can tell.
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For the same reason truly mixed people are critisized by black people!
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actually its BLACK people who get mad when someone who is black says they have native in them
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actually no its mainly black people who say that not whites. whites dont care lol.
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light skin w/long does not make indian…aaliyah look’s part white her feature do not look native to me…blacks with indian ancestory usally have high cheek bones or silky straight hair >depending on how much indian blood they have. There r also black’s with kinky hair with native ancestory
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she definately looks native american her facaial structure is long and she has high ass cheekbones.
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she didn’t have a high cheekbone my cheekbone is the same like hers was , my mom has a high cheekbone like mariah carey
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Aaliyah is not light skin, nor does she look part white. Both of her parents are unmistakeably black.
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Oh yeah, she looks like the typical African America. In fact, the majority of the black girls I see in Harlem look just like her! If you believe this, I will sell you the Brooklyn Bridge!
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What do they mean that her name is from Swahili?! I’m a native Swahili speaker from Kenya and we have no such word in our vocabulary! The closest meaning that name would have is a word relating to crying! It must Arabic though.
I wonder why some African Americans declare their names to be of Swahili origin yet they’re not! Is it cool to have African names? Is that the trend? Eg Kanye West insists his first name is Swahili yet their is no such word, the closest is Kanya which means to warn :)
Taraji P. Henson’s first name means ‘expect’ and not ‘gift’ or anything else special.
I’m in no way angry at these people. I just think it’s wise to confirm and check facts first. Kiswahili and all the other African languages have very beautiful names that can be used.. For example my country Kenya I believe has an amazing name!
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actually Aaliyah(a form of the male name Ali) is Arabic she says so in several interviews, why people keep saying its Swahili I have no idea
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So many American blacks feel disenfranchised so they lay claim to other cultures. I see that it is an insult when there are no facts to link the name to its roots’
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Why are people talking about her hair for? Aaliyah stated once before while shooting her music video for ‘Rock da boat’ that she has naturally long thick hair…So i’m sure that she sometimes used extensions but she never needed weaves because her hair was always so natural looking. And yes, Aaliyah’s grandmother is of Native American decent. There is even a picture of her grandmother inside her album cover for her last album ‘Aaliyah’. So Aaliyah’s mom is half Native American & African American & Aaliyah was only about 25 percent Native American & 75 percent African American, but does it really matter? Is that why you would love a artist just because of their race? She’s an amazing singer, dancer, actor, & overall full entertainer regardless of race. We miss our baby girl… :(
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Not every person who has part native american blood looks like they are mixed with native american my friend who is native american her half black kids don’t look half native american.Aaliah, looks more native then the kids of my friend.
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