An Open Letter to My Fellow Black Americans:

ADOS, FBA, Freedmen—Are We Dividing

Ourselves Again?

To my brothers and sisters in the Freedmen, ADOS (American Descendants of Slavery), and FBA (Foundational Black Americans) movements, I write this not as an outsider, not as an adversary, but as a Black man—one who, like you, is searching for truth, identity, and unity in a world that has systematically erased and rewritten our history.

Recently, I was denied entry into a group because I did not fit into one of these three categories. That made me pause.

How do we define Blackness?
How do we define belonging?
And why must we keep dividing ourselves?

I want to speak plainly, without aggression, but with strength—because what is happening here is not new. It is the same division that has been used against us for centuries, and I believe it is time we confront it.

The Question of Identity: Who Decides Who Belongs?

I have been told that certain spaces are not for me because I do not claim the titles of Freedman, ADOS, or FBA. But what if I don’t fit into those labels?

I do not know my father, so I cannot trace my lineage to an enslaved ancestor.
I believe my ancestors were already here, long before Columbus, before any European set foot in the Americas.
I know I am Black—and that should be enough.

Yet, for some, it is not.

This reminds me of the same divisions that were forced upon us by white supremacy. It echoes:

The House Slave vs. the Field Slave—a tool used to divide and control.
The Paper Bag Test—a system that dictated worth by proximity to whiteness.
The Mulatto Elite vs. the Darker-Skinned Masses—a legacy that continues to affect our communities today.

And now, in modern times, ADOS, FBA, and Freedmen are creating new lines in the sand, deciding who gets to be included and who does not.

Who benefits from this?

Certainly not us.

We are following the same old blueprint of division that has kept us from rising together. And while we argue over who is truly “Foundational” or “Descendant” or “Freedmen,” real power is being built by those who see us only as numbers and voting blocs, not as people worthy of self-determination.

ADOS, FBA, and the Freedmen’s Bureau: A Cycle Repeating Itself?

I want to be clear—I understand why ADOS and FBA were created. Their purpose was to fight for the specific struggles of Black Americans who are descendants of U.S. chattel slavery. But if the movement that was supposed to uplift is now being used to exclude, what are we really building?

A Brief History of ADOS & FBA

ADOS (American Descendants of Slavery) was founded in 2016 by Yvette Carnell and Antonio Moore to advocate for reparations and economic justice for Black Americans descended from U.S. slavery.
FBA (Foundational Black Americans) was coined by Tariq Nasheed in 2019 as a response to ADOS, emphasizing a cultural and historical lineage unique to Black Americans who built the U.S.

Both of these movements claim to fight for justice and reparations, but when that fight turns into exclusion of other Black people, we have to ask: Is this another form of gatekeeping?

The Freedmen’s Bureau & The Mulatto Elite: A Historical Parallel

If we want to talk about who has been excluded, let’s talk about the Freedmen’s Bureau, which was established in 1865 to help Black people transition from slavery to freedom. On the surface, it was meant to be an institution of liberation, but in reality, it reinforced divisions within our own people.

The Freedmen’s Bureau prioritized mulatto elites over darker-skinned freedpeople. It favored lighter-skinned Black people for leadership, education, and economic opportunities, leaving the masses to struggle.

Howard University, established by the Bureau, catered more to the Black elite than to the majority of freedpeople.
Bureau-backed contracts often benefited former slaveowners more than the freedpeople forced into sharecropping, which was nothing more than slavery by another name.
Lighter-skinned freedpeople were often given better job opportunities and access to education, setting up a racial hierarchy that still exists today.

If the Freedmen’s Bureau divided us by skin tone in the past, is that not the same thing happening today when ADOS, FBA, and Freedmen draw lines between who is “in” and who is “out”?

We have seen what division does. We have lived through its consequences. Why are we repeating the same mistakes?

Who Are We Leaving Behind?

If we continue policing Blackness, we will create an even smaller circle of unity, leaving out:

Those who can’t trace their lineage due to forced separation, lost records, and broken families.
Those whose history was erased by colonization, whether in the U.S., the Caribbean, or Latin America.
Those who don’t fit a strict definition of Black American identity but share our struggles and experiences.

At what point do we recognize that we are all connected, whether our ancestors arrived on a slave ship, were already here, or came later under different circumstances?

At what point do we say, if you are Black, if you are searching, if you are here to build, you are my people?

We Need a New Approach

I understand the frustration that led to the creation of ADOS, FBA, and Freedmen movements.

Black Americans do deserve reparations for centuries of slavery, economic exclusion, and systemic oppression.
Black Americans should have the right to define their own unique cultural and historical identity.
Black Americans have a specific struggle that must be acknowledged and addressed.

But defining who is “in” and who is “out” at the cost of unity is a dangerous path.

Instead of gatekeeping Blackness, we should be focused on building alliances that strengthen our people globally. We should be opening doors, not closing them.

Because when has exclusion ever freed us?

Final Thoughts: If You Are Black, You Belong

To my brothers and sisters in ADOS, FBA, and the Freedmen movement—I am not your enemy. I am you, just without the label you prefer.

I am Black. I am here. And I refuse to believe that our only path forward is division.

We must ask ourselves:

Do we want true liberation, or do we just want to be the ones holding the keys this time?
Are we building a movement of empowerment or just another exclusive club?

If you truly want to uplift Black people, then consider this: If someone is Black, willing to learn, and wants to build alongside you, why would you turn them away?

This is not a call for anger but a call for reflection. Because in the end, if we keep creating smaller and smaller tribes, we will eventually find ourselves alone—and that is exactly what our oppressors want.

It’s time to stop dividing. It’s time to build. Together.

Respectfully,
A Black Man Who Refuses to Be Left Behind

Claude D. Rhodes

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