They aren't kind of Americans. They simply are Americans. I'm not eager to get into what defines who is and isn't an American, but it seems pretty clear to me that anyone who's family has been living in the United States for ~2 hundred years (or potentially even longer) is an American with no caveats. Additionally, I don't know if I agree with your framing as African American culture as being separate from the broader culture of the United States. It may be distinct but it certainly is not separate. It certainly isn't comparable to the situation in South Africa where there is a unique African culture and identity that was not shaped by European influences. African American culture in the United States is inextricably entwined with what you might call American culture and it has unquestionably shaped (and been shaped by) the broader culture in the United States.
I'd like to ask you (and anyone else who cares to answer) a few questions about Robert E Lee and the civil war in general. And none of these are intended to be gotcha questions. I'd just like to know and engage with what you (and others) think. What do you believe to have been the primary cause of the civil war? What is the legacy of the confederacy? What is important to learn/remember about Lee and the confederacy? What do you know about Lee's personal beliefs regarding the institution of slavery?
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Short of having an established reputation, I just figured I'd try and be candid about my intention behind asking these questions. I guess it might have been naive of me to expect that the folks here would believe me but as a bit of a longtime lurker of this community I had some hope that people would at least engage on some level with these questions.
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