{"id":14078,"date":"2024-02-04T04:10:14","date_gmt":"2024-02-04T03:10:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ceoinfluencers.com\/?p=14078"},"modified":"2024-02-04T04:10:14","modified_gmt":"2024-02-04T03:10:14","slug":"is-elon-musk-technically-african-american","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ceoinfluencers.com\/is-elon-musk-technically-african-american\/","title":{"rendered":"Is Elon Musk Technically African American"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Elon Musk is a polarizing man, with a fraction of the population praising him as an innovator, businessman and visionary and the other fraction of people cursing and critizing him for his controversial decisions and spiteful comments. Many people have questioned whether or not he is technically African-American. Even though Elon was born in South Africa and identifies as a South African, the explanation behind his African-American status is more complicated, but with deep rooted implications.<\/p>\n

Musk is of mixed heritage, with a South African mother, Maye Haldeman, and a Canadian-British father, Errol Musk.The 66-year-old Haldeman is a white South African and most likely descended from Dutch and French Huguenot settlers. Her father descended from British and Dutch settlers, also.As for Errol, he is a white Canadian\/British.His mother, Hannelie Scott, is from the white Afrikaner minority who are descended from Dutch, German, and French Huguenot settlers.His father, Elton Musk, was an engineer who is of Dutch and British descent.<\/p>\n

Given his family’s complex background, the discussion of whether Elon Musk is African-American is important because it reflects the complex, evolving nature of racial identity in the U.S. According to a survey by the Pew Research Center, about one in 10 adults (9.2 percent) in the United States identify themselves as part of two or more races. This is the highest percentage of multiracial adults since the U.S. began collecting such data in the 2000 census, and it reflects how racial identity in America is changing.<\/p>\n

The concept of race is complex and often undocumented and difficult to prove in a court of law, as it is defined by individuals who identify themselves as such.That is why,in Elon Musk’s case, he has not taken a DNA test to determine whether he is considered African-American in the legal sense.He has in fact identified as a South African, said he was part black, and African-American,while acknowledging that the exact composition of his heritage is unknown.That being said, it is up to individuals to define their own racial identity, and many organizations in the United States are taking note of this fact.<\/p>\n